Life Maps

Due to a recent classroom assignment I found myself spending the weekend letting my creative juices flow. My cohort class has asked us to create life maps! The purpose of these life maps is to… well map out our lives….  🙂 More specifically, it was meant to show an ongoing journey of significant events in our lives and how they have influenced who we are today.

My life map had a traveling theme (who would have guessed!)

This activity was a great reflective activity. Going through different memorable moments in my life I realized how much, even the little things, influenced who I am/will be as a teacher. Teachers often teach what they are comfortable with, so being aware of where my comfort levels are and what has influenced them is important. Increased awareness of such will allow me to adapt my lessons to incorporate other elements, such as different learning styles.

Life maps are a great way to get to know your students! It gives them the independence to tell you about themselves in a way that they are comfortable. Examples of different ways people made up their life maps included: power points, posters, scrapbooks, game boards and so much more! This activity provides a lot of room for creative feedback.

BUT, the life map activity does not have to be used to depict a life journey either! Here are some examples our class thought you could use the idea of a life map for:

• Class Year Map (post significant events within the class all year)
• Character Maps (students create life maps for characters within books)
• Life Cycle maps (plant and animal life cycles)
• Life Maps/Daily Life Map of children living in different countries
• Life Maps of an individual in history

There are so many different ways you could incorporate Life Maps into your classroom, I would love to hear other ideas!