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Maps make us smarter

Updated: Nov 30, 2021

๐€๐ซ๐ž ๐ฉ๐š๐ฉ๐ž๐ซ ๐ฆ๐š๐ฉ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ค๐ž๐ฒ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ž๐๐ฎ๐œ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐งโ“

๐„๐๐ฎ๐œ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ข๐ฌ ๐š ๐ก๐จ๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ๐ฉ๐ข๐œ with many opinions on ๐ฐ๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐œ๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐›๐ž ๐ญ๐š๐ฎ๐ ๐ก๐ญ, ๐ก๐จ๐ฐ ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐›๐ž ๐ญ๐š๐ฎ๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ฐ๐ก๐จ ๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐ญ๐ž๐š๐œ๐ก ๐ข๐ญ. Opinions range from The 3 basics reading, writing, arithmetic; to the 4 basics English, math, science & social studies; to the emphasis on life skills over formal education. No matter where you fall on the education spectrum ๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ซ๐ž ๐ข๐ฌ ๐จ๐ง๐ž ๐ข๐ญ๐ž๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐œ๐š๐ง ๐ก๐ž๐ฅ๐ฉ ๐ž๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฒ ๐š๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ž๐œ๐ญ ๐จ๐Ÿ๐ž๐๐ฎ๐œ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง.๐๐š๐ฉ๐ž๐ซ ๐ฆ๐š๐ฉ๐ฌ! Letโ€™s explore how paper maps open new cognitive pathways and facilitate skill development.

๐Ÿ—บ ๐’๐ฉ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐š๐ฅ ๐“๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ 

Paper map require visualization of where things are located and where you are in respect to them. This causes you to subconsciously gather information about your surroundings. Then your brain makes connections between the two. Spatial thinking has been linked to greater success in math, science, geography and navigation.

โž๐‘บ๐’‘๐’‚๐’•๐’Š๐’‚๐’ ๐’•๐’‰๐’Š๐’๐’Œ๐’Š๐’๐’ˆ ๐’Š๐’” ๐’‚๐’“๐’ˆ๐’–๐’‚๐’ƒ๐’๐’š ๐’๐’๐’† ๐’•๐’‰๐’† ๐’Ž๐’๐’”๐’• ๐’Š๐’Ž๐’‘๐’๐’“๐’•๐’‚๐’๐’• ๐’˜๐’‚๐’š๐’” ๐’๐’‡ ๐’•๐’‰๐’Š๐’๐’Œ๐’Š๐’๐’ˆ๐’‡๐’๐’“ ๐’‚ ๐’„๐’‰๐’Š๐’๐’… ๐’•๐’ ๐’…๐’†๐’—๐’†๐’๐’๐’‘ ๐’‚๐’” ๐’‰๐’† ๐’๐’“ ๐’”๐’‰๐’† ๐’ˆ๐’“๐’๐’˜๐’”โž ~ National Geographic.

๐Ÿ—บ ๐’๐ฒ๐ฆ๐›๐จ๐ฅ๐ข๐œ ๐“๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ 

Maps are filled with symbols like roads, rivers, trails, direction etc. This requires the brain to recognize symbols in relation to the bigger picture. Symbolic thinking promotes reading and understanding which is a critical skill needed in many facets of education such as comprehension, math and navigation skills.

๐Ÿ—บ ๐†๐ซ๐จ๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐Œ๐จ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ ๐’๐ค๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฌ:

Reading a paper map requires you to navigate and follow a path. When you draw your route or trace it with your finger hand eye coordination is being developed. Then you need to actually physically navigate your route. By showing children how to do both they can grow their gross motor skills which have been shown to help in all areas of academic improvement.

๐Ÿ—บ ๐ƒ๐ž๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ฆ๐š๐ค๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ฌ๐ค๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฌ

Decision making and consequences are crucial skills needed in all aspects of our lives. We all succeed or fail based on our decisions. Maps encourage these skills by making you look at all your options then choosing a route. You are then required to act on that decision. It is through this you get hands on knowledge of mistakes and consequence. Did you end up at your intended location? If not what happened? Then you learn from your mistake and how to correct it.

๐Ÿ—บ ๐Œ๐ข๐ง๐๐Ÿ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ง๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ค๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฌ

Paper maps provides opportunity to unplug and be present. Digital devices can cause time mismanagement and distraction. By unplugging and using a paper map you promote a distraction-less environment. One where you can really focus on the task at hand. By not relying on digital means you have the opportunity to focus and connect with the world around you.

๐Ÿ—บ ๐„๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ž๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ง๐œ๐ž:

โž๐‘ป๐’‰๐’† ๐’๐’๐’๐’š ๐’”๐’๐’–๐’“๐’„๐’† ๐’๐’‡ ๐’Œ๐’๐’๐’˜๐’๐’†๐’…๐’ˆ๐’† ๐’Š๐’” ๐’†๐’™๐’‘๐’†๐’“๐’Š๐’†๐’๐’„๐’†โž - Albert Einstein.

Paper Maps are real. They are tangible you can hold them. They show you real places that can be visited. By locating an area on a map then using the map to physically find it you create the opportunity to form a deeper connection. You get to not only see but to experience the communities, streets, landscapes etc. This all works to inform and develop a connection to a location.

So what are you waiting for? Go grab a paper map and work on those navigation skills.

~map on everyone.

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