Orienteering In Your Schoolyard

Written by Webmaster

Thursday, 08 January 2009

By Dick Moss  Orienteering is a sport with strict rules, in which, as described by Barbara Johnson, Technical Director of the Alberta Orienteering Association, "Participants...with the use of a map and compass, complete a course consisting of a series of control points set in the terrain, in the shortest possible time." However, Johnson believes that orienteering can also be more simply defined as an exercise in which participants move themselves between points using a map and (possibly) a compass. She also believes that the latter definition might be more practical for schools and PE programs. Here's one way to introduce orienteering to your class. It's an outdoor activity that will give your students practice in using a map - a skill that often eludes many people into adulthood. And it's fun for your less-athletic students who can often make up for their lack of running ability by deducing the most efficient route to the control points. SETUP Establish a number of control points on your school grounds. They should be near reference points of some sort: for example, a big oak tree, the corner of a school building, a basketball standard, etc. Make a map that shows each of these control points. If you're satisfied with the map, you could laminate a number of copies so you will have them for future use. Take a photograph of a face and make a number photocopies - there should be at least as many copies as you have teams. Faces can often be copied from People Magazine, Sports Illustrated, fashion publications, or for more academic content, a history textbook. Cut the copies of the face into as many sections as you have control points. Leave one of the sections of "face" at each of the control points. For example, if you have seven teams, leave seven copies of the "chin" section at the same point. You can leave the sections in small containers, such as the metal or cardboard gift boxes you can purchase at dollar stores. HOW TO PLAY Divide your class into pairs or small teams and explain how to orient the map and what the symbols on the map represent. Then, standing in the center of the playing area, begin the contest. The players' job will be to use the map to find each of the control points. Once there, they take out the paper piece and then proceed to the next control point. Once every control point has been found, the players run back to the starting point and re-assemble the paper sections to make them into a face again. Once they have identified the photograph, they are finished. Dick Moss is the editor of Physical Education Update.com, the Fun Stuff for Physical Education Newsletter and the Physical Education Update Blog. Online Schools Share Your Opinion. (0 posts) Tag it:

Last Updated ( Thursday, 08 January 2009 )

 

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