Several weeks ago, my family took a road trip to visit my parents in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Before that, my kids were asking where it is and how long it would take to get there. The kids had never seen Ontario on a paper map before. They kept asking me about the towns, parks and other places there.
The experience made me realize that it is necessary to teach kids to read paper maps. Nowadays, online maps and GPS are easy to get. Most of us adults learned to read them out of necessity (必要), but it's up to us to pass on the skill to our children. When kids learn how to use paper maps, they are doing more than just learning how to get around.
But what's more important is that paper maps show kids there's a much bigger world out there. They have the magic power to put ideas into kids' head. I remember as a child, I had many maps on my bedroom walls and I spent a lot of time looking at foreign countries, studying their shapes and city names. This made me become interested in those places. Now I've traveled to many of the countries I studied on the maps as a child.
It's always good to be prepared with skills that can get us out of a strange place without using a phone. A paper map may help a lot in that situation.
A. I wanted to know more about them. B. I then took out an old map from a box. C. But paper maps still have a role to play in our lives. D. Also, paper maps are good for emergencies(突发事件). E. Paper maps can help kids have a better understanding of distance(距离) and road signs. |
