OS map skills practice

Help students build essential OS map skills with this comprehensive set of practice worksheets - perfect for building confidence and competency in map reading.

What's included

• Carefully crafted questions covering all key OS map skills
• Clear progression from basic symbol recognition to complex distance measurements
• Uses real OS map examples to develop practical map reading abilities

Available as a free PDF download, or access the editable version with a geography subscription.

Practising OS map skills

This set worksheets helps students develop essential OS map skills through five focused activities:

1. OS map symbols

Map symbols recognition practice with detailed symbol comparison exercises.

2. Six-figure grid references

Six-figure grid reference exercises using OS Explorer Map 207, which include locating positions, writing precise grid references and measuring straight-line distances.

3. Compass directions

Compass direction exercise with an OS map sample and comprehensive key.

4. Scale and measuring distance

Scale and distance measurement practice featuring step-by-step guidance and a sample OS map.

5. Measuring curved-line distances

Helping step-by-step method plus curved-line distance measurement tasks using a real OS map example.

How to use this resource

Perfect for both classroom teaching and independent learning, this versatile resource can be used as a complete lesson sequence or broken down into individual skill-building sessions. Students can work through the exercises at their own pace, making it ideal for differentiated learning and homework tasks.

Note: This resource includes content that has been sampled from the Geographical applications and skills pack, which is available to purchase for £15 or is included with a Premium geography subscription.

Looking for more like this?

Enhance your map skills teaching with these complementary resources:

• Make learning fun with Map symbols dominoes
• Challenge students with our OS map symbols Geodoku 1 and Geodoku 2
• Practice with Map symbols and four-figure grid references

Browse our complete map skills collection for more teaching resources.