Objective:
The students will identify destinations using cardinal directions in relationship to their home city/state.

Materials

• Valentines or heart shapes with the names of states or cities written on them.  One state/city per heart. (Place these in a container from which the students can draw - one per student.)

• A map which includes the hometown/state of the students as well as the other locations which have been written on the hearts.  For example, if you live in the United States, you will want a map of the United States. 

Procedure

1. Have a discussion on cardinal directions.  Use the map to point out the directions of North, South, East and West.

2. Locate the home city/state of the students. 

3. Have each student draw a heart shape or valentine from the container.  Explain that this valentine will need to travel through the mail from its home location to the destination written on the heart.  

4. Each student may then locate the state they have drawn and name it's direction in relationship to their home state.  For example, if the student draws "Michigan" and he/she is from Ohio, he/she will state "Michigan is North of Ohio."  Older students may use more complex directions such as Northwest, Southeast, etc.

5. Have the students write an appropriate sentence on their heart, such as "Michigan is north of Ohio", etc.

Other Lesson Ideas

1. To expand on the above lesson, have a mail carrier come in and talk about his/her job.

2. Have a lesson on the history of Valentine's Day.  The following links may be helpful: The History Channel or KidsDomain. 

3. Have the students research how to say "I love you" in different languages.  Use the following link for help - WorldPath.  Have the students locate countries which speak the different languages.