How to Draw a School Floor Plan

Drawing school floor plans can help students better understand maps.

Making a school floor plan or map can be an interesting project for students. The project can tie in geography, mathematics, mechanical drawing and group work. To make the lesson relevant, you may want to begin while reading "Treasure Island" or another novel that involves a map. Or you may ask students if Hansel and Gretel would have had an easier time finding their way home if they had a map.

Things You'll Need

• Graphing paper
• Markers
• Colored pencils
• Eraser
• Ruler
• Tape measure or laser tape measure

Instructions

Drawing a Floor Plan

1. Allow students to walk around the school and take notes about the important locations. They will probably include their own classroom, the resource room, the gym, the auditorium, the art room, etc. Back in the classroom, discuss what the students included and put a list up on the board. Students can then work in small groups and decide which locations they would like to incorporate in their floor plan.

2. Instruct each group to take a tape measure, paper and pencil and take notes about the location of each room to be included on the list. Is the front office opposite the resource room, or next to it? Is the gym to the left or the right of the auditorium? Is the classroom closer to the main entrance or the art room?

3. Have each group create a collection of icons that represent each location on the list. These icons should clearly indicate the location symbolized. The icons can be placed at the bottom corner of the floor plan with the name of the room indicated to create a legend. In the other bottom corner, plan a compass to indicate north, south, east and west.

4. Instruct the groups to assemble graphing paper, rulers, pencils, erasers, colored pencils and markers. Decide on a scale of the school floor plan. Young students will find a larger scale makes the project easier. For example, one square on the graphing paper can indicate 1 square foot.

5. Have students draw the floor plan of the school using a ruler and pencil first. When the students are satisfied with the result, they can go over the pencil lines with markers. Using the list of locations, add icons in suitable places with colored pencils. Create the legend of icons on the bottom of the floor plan, and add the compass. To complete the lesson, ask each group to present its floor plan and tack the plans up around the room to "publish" them.

Tips & Warnings

• Put a box around the legend to make the icons more prominent.

• Develop a scoring rubric and have students evaluate the floor plans from each group.

• For elementary school students, the scale of the floor plan will probably not be perfect. As long as each group meets the requirements of the assignment as presented in the rubric, the assignment can be considered completed.

References

• Mapmaker make me a map