My Village and My Country
Primary 2 · Social and Religious Studies
My Village and My Country
Lesson 2 of 3
13 min
Let's begin
Uwase's cousin came to visit. He asked, "Where is the water tap?"
Uwase pointed and said, "Over there!" He walked the wrong way and got lost.
"Over there" does not help anybody. Today you will learn the words that do help: left, right, near and far. Then you will read a map.
Do this now. Hold both hands up in front of you. Turn them so you can see your own palms. Stick both thumbs out sideways.
Look carefully. One hand is making the shape of the letter L. The other hand makes a backwards, wrong-looking L.
The hand that makes a good L is your Left hand. Every single time. The other one is your right hand.
So here is the rule: L is for Left. If you ever forget which is which, make the L again. Your hands will tell you.
Now try it. Uwase stands at the school gate. She is facing the classrooms. The garden is on the side of her L hand. Which side is the garden on?
It is on her left.
Gatete counted his steps from his gate.
To the shop: 40 steps. He was there before he was tired.
To the market: 800 steps. He had to walk down the whole hill.
The shop is near. The market is far.
The rule: near means only a few steps away. Far means many, many steps away.
Careful! Near and far are always about two things. The market is far from Gatete's gate. But the market is near the church, because they are side by side. So always ask: near what?
Imagine you are a bird. You fly up high over your school. You look straight down.
You do not see the walls. You see the shapes of the buildings, and the spaces between them.
A map is a drawing of what that bird sees. Here is a picture map of Keza's school. The gate is at the bottom.
| Kitchen | Garden | Water tap |
| P2 classroom | Playground | P1 classroom |
| Office | GATE | Toilets |
On a map, left means the left side of the paper, and right means the right side of the paper.
Let us read it together.
What is on the left of the playground?
Find the playground. It is in the middle row, in the middle. Slide your finger to the left side of the paper. You land on the P2 classroom.
Is the water tap near the garden, or far from it?
Find them both. They are both in the top row, sitting side by side. Nothing is between them. So the water tap is near the garden.
You walk in through the gate. Is the kitchen near or far?
The gate is at the bottom of the map. The kitchen is in the top corner. To reach it you must cross the whole school. So it is far.
Tip
Make the L. Look at your palms, thumbs out. The hand that makes a good letter L is your Left. The other is your right.
Nobody can take this trick from you. Your hands come with you everywhere.
Here is a picture map of Keza's village. Keza's home is at the bottom left.
| Health post | Small path | Church |
| Market | Main road | School |
| Keza's home | Water tap | Football pitch |
Point with your finger. Answer out loud, then tap Show answer to check.
What is on the right of the market?
Answer: The main road. Find the market in the middle row, then slide right.
Which place is in the top left corner?
Answer: The health post.
Keza stands at her home. Is the water tap near or far?
Answer: Near. It is right next to her home.
Is the church near Keza's home, or far from it?
Answer: Far. The church is in the top corner, all the way across the map.
Keza walks out of her home and goes to school. Name one place she passes on the way.
Answer: The water tap, or the market, or the main road. Any of these is correct.
What you learned today
Quick check
The hand that makes a good L is your right hand.
