ABSTRACT

Maps can exert a significant influence on children’s thinking about the world as a whole. They offer a powerful picture of spatial relationships between countries and land masses. The properties of some map projections (i.e. systems for transforming the spherical surface of the Earth into a flat map) may suggest misleading distortions so that children come to believe, for example, that Greenland is the same size as Africa or that ‘we’ are in the middle of the world whilst others are on the periphery. This chapter examines some common misconceptions about the Earth, how children’s world knowledge typically develops and how maps, globes and atlases (both conventional and digital) may shape their understanding of how parts of the world beyond their immediate experience ‘fit together’.