Topic: Compasses

Concept: Orienteering with the compass

Skill: Practice using the compass to set degree bearings for travel.

Objective: Students will improve their skill with using the compass.  They will be comfortable setting bearings and following them with precision.

Lesson Activity: (Before class, set up the "schoolyard compass game" and the "compass competition" course.)

     Again, the entire lesson will take place outside.  After a brief review of the concepts we have covered, the students will spend the rest of the class period practicing their skills.  The first activity is a circle with various lettered stakes around the perimeter (Schoolyard compass game, Kjellstrom, 1976, p. 83; also available from Orienteering Services).  Each student will have a card denoting the letter at which to start and the directions to follow.  They will also have a compass and a pencil.  On their direction sheet they will note the order of the stakes they reached.  These will be turned in after the activity.  The second activity (Compass competion, Kjellstrom, 1976, p. 88) requires the use of compass bearings in conjunction with distances.  It is similar to the last activity, but the starting points are along a straight magnetic east-west line.  Again, the students will each have a compass, a pencil and a direction sheet.  They will turn in their direction sheet with the locations they reached after the event.

Diagnostic Assessment: Review and discussion of skills learned.  Encourage questions.

Formative Assessment: Monitor the activities to assess how students are applying the skills.  Are there concepts that need clarification?

Summative Assessment: Score the direction cards for each student.

Grading:  Each answer card with "answers" will be worth 25 points.  They will be graded according to the accuracy of the destination.  Participation grade.

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