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TR · ENTry Orienteering

School activity cards

Three activity cards, one A4 page each. Press print or use your browser’s print menu (paper size: A4).

Map of My Classroom

Ages 6–10 · 40 minutes

Aim: Understand bird’s-eye view and how a map relates to space.

Materials

  • Squared paper, pencils, coloured pencils
  • 5 small objects (eraser, bottle cap, etc.)

Steps

  1. Draw a desk from above: what can you see only from the top?
  2. Together, draw a bird’s-eye map of the classroom: door, windows, desks, teacher’s desk.
  3. The teacher hides 5 objects and marks them on the map with circles.
  4. In pairs, pupils use the map to find the objects.
  5. Swap roles: pupils hide, classmates find.

Discussion question: Was it easier when you turned the map to face the same way as the room?

Kanyon Orienteering – Ankara · oryantiring.com.tr · My School Map programme

What Do the Colours Mean?

Ages 8–14 · 40 minutes

Aim: Learn the colours and symbols of an orienteering map.

Materials

  • Map colour cards (white, yellow, green, brown, blue, black, purple)
  • Photos of the school grounds or a park

Steps

  1. Discuss each colour: white runnable forest, yellow open land, green thick vegetation, brown landforms, blue water, black paths and buildings, purple the course.
  2. Match places in the photos with the right colour card.
  3. Walk around the grounds; say which colour you would use for everything you see.
  4. At oryantiring.com.tr/en/map-lab switch the layers together and take the symbol quiz.

Discussion question: Why does green mean “slow” and white mean “fast”?

Kanyon Orienteering – Ankara · oryantiring.com.tr · My School Map programme

Control Hunt on the Grounds

Ages 8–18 · one lesson

Aim: Find controls in order while keeping the map oriented.

Materials

  • School grounds map (from our club or hand-drawn)
  • 6–10 paper controls (each with a letter or code)
  • Answer card and pencil

Steps

  1. Place the controls and mark them on the map with numbered circles.
  2. Short briefing: start triangle, control circle, finish double circle; keep the map facing the same way as the ground.
  3. Pupils start one by one or in pairs, a minute apart, writing each control’s letter on their card.
  4. The letters make a word; check it at the finish.
  5. Finish with a “which way did you go?” chat.

Discussion question: Which control was hardest, and why?