Orienteering

Adapted From: http://www.compassdude.com/compass-reading.shtml
and http://www.atlasquest.com/tutorials/compass/bearings.html

The Orienteering lesson is designed to introduce learners to how archaeologists (and others) use a compass to navigate the world. This lesson can be used in conjunction with the landscape lesson.

Grade Level: 6-8

Objective: The goal of this lesson is to have learners explore how a compass works and how to navigate with a compass.

Learning Outcomes: Learners will be able to explain how a compass works, describe the parts of a compass, and show how to take a compass bearing and to follow it.

STEM: Geography, Mathematics, Geometry

Materials: compass (one for each student or each group), long metric tape measures, rulers, pencils, recording sheets

Time: 30-60 minutes preparation time before students arrive, then 60 minutes with students

Overview: Archaeologists use a compass to make maps of a project or site and to navigate the landscape to find geographic features or sites when doing fieldwork. A compass indicates direction and helps one navigate. A magnetic compasses has a magnetized needle that rotates to line up with the Earth’s magnetic field. The ends point to magnetic north and magnetic south (https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/compass). By the 15th century, it was known that “north” on a compass was not the same as Earth’s true geographic north (called variation or magnetic declination). The four cardinal points on a compass are North, South, East, and West, these points are constant. A compass face is split into 360 marks called degrees.

Procedure:

Learners will begin by determining their pace. Sometimes it is not possible to use a tape measure to measure how far you are walking. But if you were asked to walk 500 steps, you may not walk as far as someone who is a lot taller than you! Instead, knowing your pace (or how many of YOUR steps you take to walk a set distance) can help you measure how far you walked without using a tape measure every time.

Pace attempt 1: __________ paces per 50 meters

Pace attempt 2: __________ paces per 50 meters

Pace attempt 3: __________ paces per 50 meters

What is the average?

Add all 3 pace attempts together: ___________.

Then divide that by 3 =___________ paces per 50 meters

How many paces would you walk for 5 meters? ___________.

How many for 10 meters? ___________.

Learners will next begin to use a compass. Go over the parts of a compass:

Finding a bearing

Finding North

One end of the needle always points North; it is almost always the RED end.

Hold the compass flat in the palm of your hand, and hold your hand in front of your stomach.

The compass should always be pointing right in front of you. Don’t move your compass, move your body.

Turn the dial until orienteering needle (the shed), the “N,” and the index pointer all line up.The floating magnetic needle will likely not line up.

Keep your compass still, and move your whole body so the red side of the floating magnetic needle lines up with the orienteering needle. (“Put the red in the shed”). Once you are facing north, it should look (roughly) like the image below.

To walk in a set direction, you have to find its orientation. For example, to find 225 degrees, turn the dial on the compass until 225 matches up with the index pointer. Then hold the compass flat in your hand so the direction-of-travel arrow points away from you. Finally, turn your body until the north end of the needle rests in the orienting arrow. You now will be facing 225 degrees.

Orienteering

Orienteering is when you navigate your way to various checkpoints across rough with the aid of a compass, a map, and measurements.

*Some students may be familiar with this type of an exercise, since it is used in Geocaching to locate something in the landscape.

Set Up: Before students arrive, you will need to decide on and locate starting points and targets, and then collect bearings and distances to provide for students.

Once you have visually located your target from your starting point, use your compass to determine its direction in degrees from your starting point. That is your bearing, or the degrees that you will provide for students.

Then, pace out (or measure with a tape measure) how far your starting point is from the target location.

Create a master list for instructors that includes your starting point, target location, and distance. Provide students with a list of starting points, their bearings, and the distance at which they will find their targets. DO NOT give any clues to what they are looking for, or make hints about the direction. They should be using their compasses to point them in specific directions.

Other general tips:

Do not hold a compass near anything metal, such as watch battery, pocket knife, clip board, belt buckles, etc. You will want to select starting points that are not metallic (such as a utility hole covers or metal signs).

Hold the compass level – if the compass is tilted, the needle will touch the clear lid and not move correctly

The compass needle is pointing towards East so I must be pointing East. This is incorrect. To find my direction, I must turn the compass dial until the North mark and the “Orienting Arrow” are lined up with the North end of the needle. Then I can read the heading that is at the Index Pointer spot (the butt of the direction-of-travel arrow).

Alternative activity: In groups, have learners lay out a straight line using a set bearing. They can put down pin flags every so often (e.g., every 5 m, or 10 m, or 15 m, etc.?). Have them lay out another line 10 m away heading in the same direction and placing pin flags at the same interval as they did for the first line. Learners will then measure between pin flags to see if the flags are all 10 m apart. If they are, then they have laid out two parallel lines and did a good job staying on their bearings.

Assessment activities: Determine if each group was successful in taking a compass bearing and following it.

Wrap up: Learners will discuss what a compass is and why and how it is used.

Example of a Filled Out Orienteering Data Recording Sheet

Name________________________________________________________

Orienteering Data Recording Sheet

Name________________________________________________________