Teach the Cast
Some of MapForge’s cast are still learning. When you teach them, YOU learn it best — catch what they get wrong, then quiz them.
Teach Key
Teach the connections
Show how the mapmaking ideas connect
Bearing (orientation — north-up is a convention, not a truth; orientation is a choice mapmakers make) × Wayfind (non-Western mapping traditions — some maps you sing, some you walk, some you learn from elders)
A student assumes a paper map with north-up is the only real kind of map. What do Bearing and Wayfind teach them?
Bearing then says: “A north-up paper map is the one true kind of map, and other traditions are just primitive versions.” — is that right?
North is one way, not the only way.
Key (legend literacy — the legend is the mapmaker's confession; what is NOT on the map is also a map) × Inset (scale — bigger map, less detail; smaller map, more story; pick on purpose)
Two maps of the same city show completely different things. How do Key and Inset explain that a map is never neutral?
Key then says: “A map is a perfectly neutral, complete picture of the world with no choices involved.” — is that right?
Every map decides what to show and what to hide.
Capstone — make one honest map together
Three honest mapmaking moves. Bring in the cast member for each.
Treat north as one choice among many. Who?
Choose your scale on purpose. Who?
Honor songlines and star-paths as peer maps. Who?
Orient, scale, and honor — a map made with care.