Discussion: 2 hours to introduce 100 12-14 year olds to orienteering

Next Wednesday I have 2 hours with 100 kids - the question: what do I do with them? This will be the introductory session to a 4-week orienteering program in their school. It will culminate with an all-day field trip to the woods.

Here is the grounds I have to work with: the baseball fields and the grounds of the school. I'm looking for games to engage small to large groups, get them to use a map, have fun, get to know each other, work in teams, and start to pick up some orienteering skills.

For background: Here is a description of what I've done in the past. Previously I started out with a lecture about their "mission" and about orienteering. This time I want to jump in with fun & games instead. This is the presentation I used to give to the 5th grade classes I worked with on a shorter program.

100 is a large group. In our school program we would have split them into 3 groups and either had 3 instructors, or one instructor with 3 x 40 minute (or preferably 60 minute) sessions. Set a Star Relay course with 12-14 controls. Brief explanation of orienteering. Get them to form pairs, hand out one map per pair. Brief explanation of map - legend, scale, North, control circles/numbers/descriptions/codes. Quick demo of orienting map, folding and thumbing, and control marker/punching. Give each pair a different control number to start at, then they have to complete the rest in numerical order - each member of the pair alternating the controls.

If they were younger, I'd set a simple line course where they can almost see the next control, but 12-14 is old enough that they can figure out what they have to do. During the activity, wander around helping the stragglers (anyone standing still looking at their map for too long, or anyone just blindly following someone else to the wrong control) by getting them to orient the map and point to where they should be going.

Looked thru the presentation. The "feature reader " slides go into a bit more contour depth than I usually do for a first experience.

But overall it is a very nice plan. I like the puzzle / problem solving and team aspects of it.

The teams of six members is interesting. I usually have fifth through eight graders working just in pairs or threes, which I think gives everybody more chance to use the map and contribute. In larger groups you tend to get non contributing sliders just following along. I like how you've divided the roles so that everyone has a job.

For first exposures I usually don't introduce the compass at all but focus entirely on the map. But of course to tie in with some classes / curriculum, the compass has to be included. How do you do the separate preps for each of the six roles? It seems like you'd have to have six instructors simultaneously, or do you have some sort of rotation through other activities?

Feature reader worked well for many years. I'm definitely a fan of teamwork and specialization. It's amazing what a relatively "novice" team can accomplish with some expertise and structure.

So I've decided on the overarching format. It is reminiscent of the complicated "Bus Stop O" that Samantha Saeger and others so graciously participated in years ago at Pawtuckaway. Core teams have a home base and a distinctive color/icon. Each person has personalized instruction for getting to home the first time. Then the group has instructions. Smaller groups are sent out with epunch to some checkpoint, where there might be an activity for "confirmatory" epunch.
The whole thing is focused around a big maze, laid out (if weather good) on playing fields center. 6 entrances, 6 controls. Each team has to get each control, one at a time, entering and exiting at the designated (guarded) gates.

Students encouraged to get checkpoints at places where they can learn about the things they least understand.

Make sure you wear your O pants from the 1970s. That'll get them interested in the sport.

or get them to read attackpoint threads on technical aspects of orienteering for 2 hours...

@Mike: there were various ways to deal with teaching the separate skills. In the 5th grade class, the teachers pitched in so that we could run the workshops in parallel.

I'll use some of simmo's suggestions; we'll do star orienteering from home base.

Hi Barb,

I think the switch from lecture first to activity first is definitely the way to go.

I have a little program that I've used a number of times quite succesfully which is a series of three 15 minute exercises.

It begins with an air photo with five of six controls marked with a circle. Most kids are familiar with the air photo, so the point of this exercise is to get the kids used to going to specifically marked points, and what they'll find there. Control descriptions are given and the kids have 10 minutes to visit as many points as possible. They can see one or two or three or four from the instruction point.

The second session has a small course on the air photo. This gets them used to having to visit controls in a specific order.

The third session finally replaces the air photo with an orienteering map. By this point the kids are familiar with what they need to do and the transition from air photo to map takes almost no explanation. I often try to point out some benefits of a map (eg: if there is a building that can't be seen from the air photo because of trees, then I will use it as a control point).

By the third session I find the light goes on for a lot of the kids - they'll naturally be running by self-motivation, and at some point they will realize themselves that it is a race.

I think once this fun learning activity is complete then the kids will be primed for instruction on map reading and route finding

Great advice from AZ. Best piece of teaching equipment - large piece of duct tape, apply over instructor's mouth.

the teachers pitched in so that we could run the workshops in parallel.

Parallel gullies?

AZ, this is great! Thanks

After teaching a few kids how orienteering works what I found works the best is to give them a brief into to the map, do a sample control that is insight but gives them an idea how the map works as you move from place to place. Then send them out in groups of 4 or 5 with someone who knows how to O to help them when they need it, switch who is in the lead at each control. Also keep azimuths out of it. I was doing this with younger kids but there were about 10 each time I did it.