Reading a Map: Cardinal Directions - Free Printable

Let’s solve this step by step.

First, we need to understand the map and the compass rose. The compass rose has four directions: North (N), South (S), East (E), West (W). On most maps, North is up, South is down, East is right, and West is left — unless told otherwise. In this map, the compass rose shows an arrow pointing up — that’s North. So:

- Up = North
- Down = South
- Right = East
- Left = West

Now let’s answer each question using those directions.

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Question 3: The rowboats are ________ of the campfire.

Look at the map:
- Campfire is near the bottom center.
- Rowboats are on the water, to the right side of the map.

So from the campfire, if you go right → that’s East.

✔ Answer: east

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Question 4: The camping trailers are ________ of the tents.

Camping trailers are at the top left.
Tents are in the middle-left area.

From the tents, going up and a little left → but mostly UP → that’s North.

Wait — let’s be precise. If you stand at the tents and look toward the trailers, you’re looking upward and slightly left. But since the main direction is up, and “north” is up, it’s safe to say north.

Actually, looking again: trailers are directly above the tents? Not exactly — they’re more to the upper left. But in basic map reading for kids, we usually pick the dominant direction. Since they’re clearly above (not beside or below), it’s north.

But wait — let’s check positions carefully.

Tents are clustered around the center-left.
Trailers are at the very top-left corner.

So from tents to trailers: you move up (north) and left (west). That would be northwest — but the question only asks for north, south, east, or west — no diagonals.

In elementary maps like this, if something is mostly above, we say “north”. If mostly to the right, “east”, etc.

Since the trailers are significantly higher than the tents, even though also to the left, the primary direction is north.

But let’s double-check with other questions to see how strict we should be.

Alternatively — maybe the intended answer is “northwest”? But the instructions say to use only north, south, east, or west — so we must choose one.

Looking at relative position: vertical distance > horizontal distance? Let’s imagine coordinates.

Assume tents are at (x=3, y=5)
Trailers at (x=2, y=8) — so Δy = +3 (north), Δx = -1 (west). So mostly north.

✔ Answer: north

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Question 5: The cabins are ________ of the tents.

Cabins are on the far left, two houses stacked vertically.
Tents are to the right of them.

So from tents, cabins are to the left → that’s West.

✔ Answer: west

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Question 6: The campfire is ________ of the camping trailers.

Campfire is near bottom center.
Trailers are at top left.

From trailers to campfire: you go down and right → so south and east.

Again, which is stronger? Vertical drop is big, horizontal shift is medium.

But again, we can only pick one direction.

If you go from trailers to campfire: mostly DOWN → that’s South.

Yes — because campfire is much lower on the map than trailers.

✔ Answer: south

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Question 7: The island is ________ of the cabins.

Island is in the lake, toward the top right.
Cabins are on the far left, middle height.

From cabins to island: you go right (east) and up (north).

Again, which dominates? Horizontally, it’s a long way right. Vertically, not as far up.

But let’s see: cabins are mid-left, island is top-right → so both east and north.

But again, only one direction allowed.

Looking at the map: the island is clearly to the RIGHT of the cabins — even though also above, the horizontal distance seems greater.

Actually, let’s think: if you draw a line from cabins to island, it goes northeast — but since we have to pick one, and the island is definitely to the east (right) of the cabins, and “east” is one of the options...

Wait — compare to previous answers. For Q4, we picked north even though there was some west component. Here, the island is both east and north of cabins.

But notice: the cabins are on the left edge. The island is near the right side of the lake. So horizontally, it’s far east. Vertically, it’s somewhat north, but not extremely.

I think the intended answer is east, because the main movement is sideways.

But let’s check the actual layout.

Cabins: left side, about halfway up.
Island: in the lake, which is on the right half of the map, and near the top.

So from cabins, to get to island: you go right (east) and up (north). The eastward distance is larger than the northward distance? Maybe.

Actually, in many such worksheets, they expect you to go by the primary axis. Since the island is in the eastern part of the map and cabins are in the western part, east is correct.

Alternatively, perhaps “northeast” — but again, not allowed.

I recall that in similar problems, when something is to the right and up, and you must choose one, they often go with the horizontal if it's more pronounced.

But let’s look back at Question 4: trailers are north of tents — even though also west. So they prioritized vertical.

Here, for island vs cabins: vertical difference might be less than horizontal.

Actually, let’s estimate:

Assume map grid:

Cabins at x=1, y=5
Island at x=7, y=8

Δx = +6 (east), Δy = +3 (north) → so east is twice as much → so east is better.

✔ Answer: east

Wait — but in Question 4, we had Δy=+3, Δx=-1 → so north was chosen. Consistent.

Here, Δx=+6, Δy=+3 → so east should be chosen.

Yes.

Final decision: east

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Now, let’s compile all answers:

3. east
4. north
5. west
6. south
7. east

Also, remember Questions 1 and 2 are actions (label compass, color map) — we don’t write answers for those, just do them. But since we’re providing text answers, we’ll skip them as per instruction — the user wants the fill-in-the-blank answers.

The task says: “Write north, south, east, or west to complete each sentence.” for questions 3–7.

So our final answers are for 3 to 7.

Let me verify once more:

Q3: rowboats relative to campfire → rowboats are to the right → east ✔️

Q4: trailers relative to tents → trailers are above → north ✔️

Q5: cabins relative to tents → cabins are to the left → west ✔️

Q6: campfire relative to trailers → campfire is below → south ✔️

Q7: island relative to cabins → island is to the right → east ✔️

All consistent.

Final Answer:
3. east
4. north
5. west
6. south
7. east