By
Mr. Deal
BJC Social Studies Team
Map Skills Session
 OBJECTIVES
1. To present an outline of Map Skills that are tested
on the BJC examination.
2. To critique the best strategies to use to foster
mastery of BJC examination map skills.
BJC Social Studies
Team
Map Skills Session
The Bahamas Junior Certificate of
Secondary Education (BJC) has
TWO types of Maps that are used
to test Map Skills.
1. A World Map
2. A Bahamas Map
Students need familiarity and
routine when teaching Map
Skills on the two above
mention maps.
Suggestion One:
Use the World Map and The
Bahamas Map that is tested in
the BJC Social Studies
Examination. This will
increase students familiarity
with the material that they
will be tested on.
BJC Social Studies
Team
Map Skills Session
The BJC World Map Skills.
The BJC World Map Skills does not
test students on small minute
landforms, and bodies of water.
1. Group your topics according to the
same categories, for example, All
landforms in one category and All
bodies of water in the other
2. Start teaching your category from
the largest physical feature first then
move to the smallest.
Landforms:
Continents
Mountain Ranges/Mountains
Deserts
Islands
Peninsulas/Capes
3. In teaching about countries use the
above mention physical features for
students to identify the larger
countries of the world.
This will count as Suggestion Two
which is routine.
Social Studies Team
Map Skills Session
BJC World Map Skills.
Landforms:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Continents-Asia
Mountain Range-Himalayas
Mountain-Mt. Everest
Deserts-Gobi, Thar, Arabian
Islands-Sri Lanka, Sumatra,
Borneo
Peninsulas-Korean,
Kamchatka, Malay
Capes-Comorin
BJC Social Studies
Team
Map Skills Session
The World Map Skills.
2. Bodies of Water:
Oceans
Seas
Bays
Gulfs
Straits
Lakes
Rivers
3. In teaching about countries
use the above mention
physical features for students
to identify the larger countries
of the world.
BJC Social Studies
Team
Map Skills Session
BJC World Map Skills.
1
Bodies of Water:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Oceans-Indian-Pacific-Arctic
Seas-Arabian, Philippine,
Japan
Bays-Bengal
Gulfs-Aden, Persian,
Straits-Bering, Korean,
Lakes-Balkhash, Baikal, Aral,
Caspian
Rivers-Ganges, Indus, Mekong
5
6
6
6
6
2
7
4
2
7
3
4
1
1
5
7
2
BJC Social Studies
Team
Map Skills Session
The BJC Bahamas Map Skills.
The BJC Bahamas Map Skills test
students mastery of several skills:
Direction
Students understanding of the
16point compass
Location/Grid Reference
Students understanding of
latitude, and longitude usage.
Distance
Students understanding of the use
of the scale
General Knowlege
Students knowledge of the islands,
settlements, and bodies of water
that makes up The Bahamas.
BJC Social Studies
Team
Map Skills Session
The BJC Bahamas Map Skills.
Routine.
1. Have the students label all the
major islands in The Bahamas.
2. Have the students to identify
the location of all major
settlements on each island.
3. Have students label all the
bodies of water that surrounds
the islands.
4. Teach the Direction skill in
relation to the major
settlements/islands identified.
5. Teach the Grid Reference skill
in relation to the
settlements/islands.
6. Teach the Distance skill in
relation to the
settlements/islands.
25.1°N, 77.4°W
125miles
BJC Social Studies
Team
Map Skills Session
The BJC Bahamas Map Skills
1.
What is the direction of
Bullocks Harbour, Berry
Islands from Nassau, New
Providence?
2.
Name One island located at
25° latitude.
3.
Which settlement is located at
23.1 ° N, 74.9° W?
4.
Which island is located in
square H3?
5.
Find the distance between
Freeport, Grand Bahama and
Nassau, New Providence?
Social Studies Team
Map Skills Session
In Closing I will leave you with a
few quotes from some great
education reformist.
1.
2.
3.
Horace Mann
Education, then, beyond all
other devices of human origin,
is the great equalizer of the
conditions of men, the
balance-wheel of the social
machinery
Nelson Mandela
Education is the most
powerful weapon which you
can use to change the world.
Winston Churchill
I am always willing to learn,
however I do not always like to
be taught.