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TerraLens

Realm

Skills

Read the map, then the hill

Contours, graticule, projections, and grid references. The classroom skill behind the map paper.

Contours on a sheet: a map skill, not a Blue Marble.
Read the map, then the hill.USGS, public domain
A topographic map: contours as a language.
Skills

Contours ↔ 3D terrain

A GCSE map question is a hill wearing a disguise. The spur and the valley are the same lines, bending opposite ways.

KS3GCSENGSS MS
Parallels and meridians on a globe.
Skills

Graticule and coordinates

Latitude is how far from the equator. Longitude is how far from Greenwich. Together they are an address, not a decoration.

KS3GCSENGSS MS
A projection as a peeled sphere.
Skills

Map projections

Peel an orange and the skin tears. Every world map is a compromise. Greenland is the giveaway.

KS3GCSENGSS MS
A national grid on a topographic sheet.
Skills

Grid references

An OS six-figure reference is a 100 m square, not a pin. Eastings then northings. Along the corridor, up the stairs.

KS3GCSE