Home / Social Studies / Printables / Grade 3 to Grade 5 / Making a Map Others Can Read Making a Map Others Can Read is a free printable Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies worksheet on constructing maps of familiar and unfamiliar places, aligned to Common Core standard D2.Geo.1.3-5. It prints 8 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two pupils in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.
One paper per pupil
Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.
Making a Map Others Can Read D2.Geo.1.3-5
Name Date
Circle the best answer.
1. What does a scale bar on your map tell a reader?
A. Who drew it B. Which way is north C. How far a distance on the map is on the ground 2. You are mapping a place you have never seen. What do you use?
A. A blank sheet B. Photographs, other maps and written descriptions of it C. Your imagination 3. Why might two correct maps of one valley look different?
A. They were made to show different things B. One is wrong C. Maps must all match 4. What should the title of a map say?
A. The paper size B. What place it shows and, if it matters, when C. How long it took to draw 5. You are mapping the valley. What must a map have to be read by others?
A. The maker's age B. A border in gold C. A key explaining what each symbol stands for 6. Why does a map need a compass rose?
A. To show the date B. To make it pretty C. So a reader knows which way the map is oriented 7. Why show the railway and the canal in different symbols?
A. So a reader can tell one route from the other at a glance B. Canals are older C. Railways are longer 8. Your map of the valley leaves out the station. Why is that a problem?
A. Stations are small B. It saves ink C. A reader could not find the place the map is meant to explain LessonPrint · D2.Geo.1.3-5 · Set 4 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Making a Map Others Can Read Set 4. Prints on its own sheet.
1. How far a distance on the map is on the ground 2. Photographs, other maps and written descriptions of it 3. They were made to show different things 4. What place it shows and, if it matters, when 5. A key explaining what each symbol stands for 6. So a reader knows which way the map is oriented 7. So a reader can tell one route from the other at a glance 8. A reader could not find the place the map is meant to explain Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to D2.Geo.1.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.