Mapping Penny’s World
By: Loreen Leedy
Grade: 3rd-4th
Erica Hudson, Rani Iqbal, Blake Young
Summary: Lisa’s class is making maps and each map has to include a title, a scale, symbols, keys, labels, and a compass rose. The teacher tells Lisa that her map can be of anyplace, so she decides to map her own room. She has so much fun with this she decides to map her dog’s, Penny’s, favorite places. The places she includes are: the treasures Penny buries, how Penny’s friend will get to their house, and the park where Penny and Lisa play. Lisa and Penny decide to make a map of all of the exotic places they would like to visit one day.
Author’s Life: Loreen Leedy was born in Wilmington, Delaware in 1959. When she went to college she majored in art. She began to make polymer clay jewelry and other things and sold them at craft shows. When she was twenty-five she began turning her clay jewelry into book characters. Her first book was, A Number of Dragons, which was a counting book written in verse. In her career, she has written over thirty picture books and is working on another book in her studio located in central Florida.
List of Materials:
The Book (Mapping Penny's World)
Printed Questions, Worksheet, and Rubric
Blank Map
Printed Directions from Mapquest
Road Map
Poster Board and Markers
Paper for Letter
Pre-Reading Activities:
Activity 1: Look at the different types of maps that they are use to seeing:
Activity 2: Compare/Contrast Map Worksheet.
Activity 3: KWL Chart (Also Fill Out For Post Reading)
Reading Activities:
Activity 1: The students will use a blank map of the bedroom in the book and label all the things according to the map.
Get Blank Map Print out in landscape (may need teacher assistance)
Activity 2: Answer the following questions by using Penny’s Treasure Map. Print Worksheet.
Post-Reading Activities:
Activity 1: Do Not Forget the KWL Chart!!
Activity 2: The students will go to MapQuest and choose a destination within the United States that they would like to visit (Directions part of the page). They will need to print off the directions and with a given road map, highlight the route to their location.
Activity 3: The students will make a map of their room on a poster board. Make sure they include all of the key elements needed in a map.
Activity 4: The students will write a letter to Loreen Leedy telling her they enjoyed her book and how it helped them to understand how to make an accurate map. The students will be graded on letter format, letter content, punctuation, and grammar. Rubric
