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Grade 3Map Keys and Legends

Map Keys and Legends Worksheet

Grade 3 worksheet on map keys and legends: match symbols, complete sentences, and answer questions using a map key. Builds core map-reading skills.

12 questions · Matching · Fill in the blank · Multiple choice · Application

Map keys and legends are one of the first tools a young map reader learns to use. Every map relies on symbols — small pictures, shapes, and colors — in place of words, and the key is the guide that tells you exactly what each symbol means. This worksheet gives Grade 3 students practice with the most common map symbols, including rivers, capital cities, hospitals, and campgrounds. Students match symbols to their meanings, fill in sentences about how a key works, and answer multiple-choice questions that ask them to apply what a key says. No separate map is needed — every question describes the map information the student needs. Work through the three sections in order, moving from recall and matching toward reasoning and application.

Map Keys and Legends Worksheet — Grade 3

Use what you know about map keys and legends to complete each section. Read each part carefully before you answer.

Word bank

  • city
  • key
  • legend
  • symbol

Remember

  • A map key, also called a legend, explains what each symbol on the map means.
  • Common map symbols include dots for towns, stars for capitals, and wavy lines for rivers.
  • Always check the map key first when you see a symbol you do not recognize.

Part A — Match each map symbol to its meaning

Draw a line from each symbol description on the left to its correct meaning on the right.

Choose from

  • A. a river or stream
  • B. a hospital
  • C. a capital city
  • D. a town or city
  • E. a mountain or park
  1. 1.

    A blue wavy line on a map key

  2. 2.

    A yellow star on a map key

  3. 3.

    A red cross on a map key

  4. 4.

    A green triangle on a map key

  5. 5.

    A small black dot on a map key

Part B — Fill in the blank using the word bank

Choose one word from the word bank above to complete each sentence. Use each word once.

  1. 6.

    A map ____ tells you what each picture or shape on the map means.

  2. 7.

    Each picture or shape in a map key is called a ____.

  3. 8.

    The map ____ on a school map uses a red cross for the nurse's office.

  4. 9.

    A small yellow star on a map key often stands for a capital ____.

Part C — Choose the best answer for each question

Read each question carefully and circle the best answer.

  1. 10.

    A map shows a green triangle near a lake. The key says a green triangle means a campground. What does the green triangle stand for?

    1. A.a lake
    2. B.a campground
    3. C.a forest
    4. D.a mountain
  2. 11.

    On a map, you see a symbol you do not know. What should you do first to find out what it means?

    1. A.Guess what the symbol looks like
    2. B.Look at the map key or legend
    3. C.Ask a friend who has not seen the map
    4. D.Draw a new symbol on the map
  3. 12.

    A map key shows a small airplane stands for an airport. You see that symbol near a city labeled Denver. What can you tell?

    1. A.Denver has a hospital
    2. B.Denver has a campground
    3. C.Denver has an airport
    4. D.Denver is a capital city
Answer key

Part A — Match each map symbol to its meaning

  1. 1.a river or stream
  2. 2.a capital city
  3. 3.a hospital
  4. 4.a mountain or park
  5. 5.a town or city

Part B — Fill in the blank using the word bank

  1. 6.key
  2. 7.symbol
  3. 8.legend
  4. 9.city

Part C — Choose the best answer for each question

  1. 10.a campground
  2. 11.Look at the map key or legend
  3. 12.Denver has an airport

What this sheet teaches

  • Identify common map symbols and explain what each one stands for on a legend.
  • Use a map key to match symbols to their correct meanings on a printed map.
  • Apply map key knowledge to answer questions about what a map is showing.

Notes for the adult

  • Students often confuse the map title with the map key — remind them the key is the box of symbols and meanings.
  • If a student picks the wrong match, ask them to point to the symbol in the key and read the label aloud.
  • A student is ready to move on when they can explain why a map without a key is hard to read.

What is on the page

Map Keys and Legends Worksheet is in three parts and comes to twelve exercises in total. Matching, fill-in-the-blank and multiple-choice work, in that order, so a student who has understood the material has to show it in more than one form before the page is finished.

Part A Match each map symbol to its meaning sets five items against five lettered options, one lettered option per item, which means the last pair can be reached by elimination. Part B Fill in the blank using the word bank is fill-in-the-blank work off a printed word bank — four words for four blanks, an exact fit. Part C Choose the best answer for each question asks three multiple-choice questions with four printed options each.

What it asks of the student

Map Keys and Legends Worksheet puts about 325 words of reading in front of the student — the fact box, the directions, every question, and every printed option. That is the number worth checking against a class before it goes out, because a sheet that is pitched right on the history and wrong on the reading fails for the same child either way. The longest single prompt on it runs to 25 words.

Nothing on Map Keys and Legends Worksheet is answered on ruled lines — every response goes in a blank, against a printed option, or on the rule beside the question — so the whole of it fits on one side of paper and the full answer key runs to 34 words.

Where this one sits

Map Keys and Legends Worksheet is one of nine Map Skills sheets on this site and one of five written for grade 3. two of them share its topic, map keys and legends, which is worth knowing before printing two that overlap.

The closest things to it are Grid Coordinates on a Map (grade 5) and Map Keys and Legends Worksheet (grade 2). If Map Keys and Legends Worksheet lands well, those are the ones to reach for next; if it lands badly, the application sheets a grade either side are usually the adjustment rather than a different topic altogether.

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Map Keys and Legends at other grades

This sheet: Grade 3, 12 questions — matching, fill in the blank, multiple choice. The same topic is also written for:

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