Children's Relief Maps of Model Landscapes

Abstract

There is widespread recognition that children (and adults) find the conventions of relief mapping difficult to interpret. In this study, 111 primary age children were asked to map four model landscapes of increasing complexity. The results show an age‐related progression from representing hills in elevation only, through simple outline plans and various attempts to differentiate slope, to their early experiments with the use of contours. It is suggested that teachers can support children's understanding of relief mapping by acknowledging children's own prior cartographic thinking and making strategic use of maps employing hill signs other than contours.