The Ordnance Survey, being a non-ministerial governmental department and self financing to the tune of £120 million annually, is the mapping agent for Great Britain. The USGS is the agent for the USA; Geoscience Australia is the Australian Agency Maps produced by the Ordnance Survey and MapRef is the French agent to name a few. The Ordnance Survey was originally established in 1747 after Lieutenant-Colonel David Watson proposed a map of the Scottish Highlands following a rising by the Jacobites in 1745. A further invasion threat to the south coast of England in 1791 prompted a survey by the Board of Ordnance.
In 1935, the Davidson Committee put forward the case for the re-triangulation of Great Britain and led to the construction of 6,575 triangulation or "trig" points. This led to the formation of the National Grid Reference System. In 1995, the last of the maps were digitised and in 2010, a selection of maps was made available to encourage innovation in the mapping world.
The 2007 National Curriculum Guide Key Concept 2.3 - Programme of study for key stage 3 and attainment targets - Pupils should be able to: use atlases, globes, maps at a range of scales, photographs, satellite images and other geographical data (Maps at a range of scales - This includes Ordnance Survey maps to a scale of 1:25,000 and 1:50,000, which should be used by pupils throughout key stage 3 to interpret physical and human landscapes).
To introduce your students to these maps and you have access to the Internet, why not use this series of short videos with Simon King:
Choosing a Map
Map Symbols
Grid Lines Explained
Reading Contours and Relief
Orienting Your Map - Compass Skills
Using Your Compass
and finally
Before Setting Off
As these videos are about two minutes in length, they are ideal for creating a break in the lesson and questions can be asked to ensure that the information was taken in. A list of questions and answers will be added to the video descriptors, above, in the updated version.
