Classroom Activities

Elementary Map Guides

Map guides, written and tested by local educators, help you make the most of limited computer time. A map guide is available for every story and accompanies the Interactive History Maps, a rich multimedia feature that allows students to explore the visual context for each narrative. The Interactive History Maps were developed to: 1) help students understand where in the city these historic events occurred, 2) provide students the opportunity to examine primary source materials as evidence of the past through the use of question prompts and zoom tools, and 3) allow students to compare and contrast change over time through close looking at “then” and “now” photographs of all of the story locations.

Map Guides

The map guide is a tool that can help students focus on the most important information, especially if they have limited time or access to computers. The Interactive History Maps and guides can be used in several ways at your discretion. They function well as an introduction to the narrative and topic, helping to establish prior knowledge before reading. They also work well as part of a unit of instruction around a narrative, and recommendations as to when they best fit in a longer instructional unit are included in the online unit plans.


Teacher Tips

To help you maximize student understanding, comprehension, and enjoyment of the map guide activity, teachers who participated in the development of Great Chicago Stories offer some suggestions on the Teacher Tips sheet that you can download and review prior to using the feature with your students.


Student Navigation Instructions

The student navigation instructions can also be downloaded for distribution. It is helpful to review the information on this sheet prior to using the site, and it is also a useful reference while students are completing the map guides.


Sample Assessment Rubric

Finally, a sample assessment rubric is available for you to download and adapt for your classroom needs.

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