I frequently conduct small geography workshops with activities for kids in my neighborhood. We all enjoy it immensely. In fact, the kids demand that I have a workshop every Sunday! This map-reading activity was on 09 December 2012. Details are in the slide show. Dr Chandra Shekhar Balachandran The Indian Institute of Geographical Studies http://tiigs.org geo 'at' tiigs 'dot' org (replace 'at' with @ and 'dot' with . )

1. ATLAS DID NOT SHRUG!
Atlas games with
9th Cross Ninjas
Ashoknagara
Bangalore 560050
09 December 2012

2. What we did
• Every Ninja got an atlas (same publication)
• There were small strips of paper, folded and
placed in a small bowl. Each had:
– Place(s) to find and
– Question(s) to answer
• Each person had to pick a strip and find the
place(s) listed and answer the question(s) on it

3. What we did
• I suggested merely playing, but they wanted
to form teams and compete. I acquiesced.
– Boys’ team and girls’ team
• Little Sameera started out doling out the strips
but decided this wasn’t Action enough for
him. So, he started pretend-playing … on his
own.
– This pleased him no end!

4. Madhu, Nithin, Mahesha, ready for action

5. They started shouting, “UNCLE, UNCLE, LET US START!”
I had to plead with them to give me time enough to take a picture or two!

6. Sameera with the cup for the slips which had the places the kids had to find.

7. The Ninjas at work

8. Shreya, the undisputed leader of the Ninjas

9. Shreya, Manasa, Tejasvini

10. Young Sameera finding a place in the atlas.
Well, he was poking it a lot, anyway.
But had a great deal of fun doing it!

11. Nithin found BOTH Washingtons on a map of America in next to no time

12. Sameera came up and showed me he had found Rio de Janeiro

13. On demand, I had to show Sameera where Dhaka is.
He heard the others saying Dhaka and demanded that I show him where it is!

14. Mahesha, 2nd grade, can’t read much English, but was able to locate Tokyo with a little help.
He was thrilled!

15. Once he got a copy of the atlas for himself, Sameera was happy.
On his left is the slip with the place he was ‘looking for.’ 

16. She found Cairo!

17. As did she!

18. Ninja Major found one of the seas around India

19. The very pictures of concentration.
By the roadside 

20. Really into it!

21. The questions

22. The questions

23. The questions

24. The questions

25. Need help, ideas … to do something like this in your
neighborhood?
Contact:
The Indian Institute of Geographical Studies
geo@tiigs.org
http://tiigs.org