THE GAME IN CARTOGRAPHIC LITERACY IN ELEMENTARY EDUCATION – EARLY YEARS: possibilities for interactive learning in School Geography.
Elementary Education – Early Years. School Geography . Cartographic Literacy. Place. Game.
In contemporary times, there is a need for School Geography to be addressed through methodological strategies and the use of teaching resources that can contribute to the development of cartographic skills, important for the construction of geographic reasoning during the educational process. In this sense, the present research aimed to develop and validate an analog educational game that stimulates the understanding of the objects of knowledge related to school cartography in Elementary Education – Early Years. The specific objectives were: (a) to characterize School Geography in the context of Elementary Education – Early Years; (b) to analyze the concept of place in Basic Education; and (c) to relate cartographic literacy to the educational game “Trilhas de um Vaqueiro no Sertão de Caicó,” aimed at students of the 5th grade of Elementary Education. Methodologically, the investigation consisted of bibliographic research based on authors such as Cavalcanti (2019), Passini (2012), Callai (2004), Castrogiovanni (2000), Oliveira (2023), Santos (2006), Tuan (2015), Kishimoto (1999), among others, who discuss the teaching of cartography at the beginning of Basic Education, cartographic literacy, the category of place, and the use of games as a didactic resource. In addition, a documentary analysis was also carried out of the curriculum guiding documents in Brazil, based on the Base Nacional Comum Curricular (BNCC), and in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, on the Documento Curricular do Estado do Rio Grande do Norte (DCERN). The research was conducted through a qualitative, exploratory approach, and for the development of the cartographic game five stages were followed: research, conception, planification, implementation, and evaluation. The validation of the research was carried out with 5th grade students of the Escola Estadual Senador Dinarte Mariz, located in the western zone of the urban area of the municipality of Caicó/RN. Among the results, the educational game entitled “Trilhas de um Vaqueiro no Sertão de Caicó” and the didactic sequence that guides teaching practices and supported the students during their learning process stand out, enriching the pedagogical practice of the teachers. It was found that the didactic resource developed enhances the learning of skills necessary for cartographic literacy and awakens interest, motivating the students through the interactivity and the playfulness provided