O uso da alfabetização cartográfica nos anos iniciais do ensino fundamental.

Abstract

This work aimed to presente, to the Geography teacher, the importance of working on cartographic literacy in the classroom. Therefore, our main objective was to explore the practice of cartography in early Elementary School years, specifically in a 4th-grade class, with the intention of demystifying the difficulties often mentioned in scientific papers and reported by students. The methodology used is characterized by qualitative research, initially through a bibliographic study that theoretically substantiated the main axes that guide cartographic teaching and its importance for the formation of critical individuals. To this end, we incorporated into this investigation, among others, the theoretical constructs of authors such as Almeida (2006), Barci (2021), Neto (2018), and Passini (2007). Subsequently, we conducted field research, which involved 4 teachers and 20 students from a public municipal school in the state of Ceará. The data collection was based, at first, on the observation of classes, didactic sequences, and semi-structured interviews with the teachers. Next, the researcher taught a class and conducted an activity in the classroom for the students. Afterwards, we analyzed the collected data and organized them into a summary table. From this analysis, it was possible to verify that the majority of teachers did not receive adequate training during their undergraduate studies, which ended up reflecting in traditional classes based solely on the use of textbooks, with the absence of active methodologies. This approach, therefore, may contribute to the learning deficit of some students and their lack of interest in the content being taught. Thus, the importance of training and events that address these gaps in professionals is emphasized, as cartographic literacy is responsible for establishing an understanding of the relationships between space and time, allowing students to study the environment in which they live.