Kicking Compass - Outcome A (7-9)-7

Task Card for Orienteering Activity

Have the students team up into groups of four in the schoolyard. Ask them to use a compass to establish where north, south, east and west are. The students then position themselves at the four points of the compass: one student at north, one at south, one at east, and one at west. They stand approximately two or three metres apart.

How to Play

• One student takes a hacky sack, calls out a position on the compass and kicks the sack upwards towards that position.
  
• The student closest to the position catches the hacky sack or traps it with one foot.
  
• The second student calls out a position on the compass and kicks the hacky sack towards the student at that position.
  
• As the students become more proficient, they call out more directions, such as north-northeast or south-southwest. The closest student retrieves the hacky sack.
  

Once students become proficient at identifying north, south, east and west in the schoolyard, introduce an orienteering activity.

• Give directions on a task card, using compass points and points of reference in the schoolyard only.
  
• The same group of four students will search for and retrieve a marker from the designated spot on the task card.
  
• This can be a timed event. It is important to ensure that all students work together to find the markers.

If students find a hacky sack too difficult, they can use a vinyl-covered foam ball, a Sepak Takraw (very light woven wicker or rattan ball), or a balloon. This will depend on their level of comfort with the equipment.

These are clues that you have reached the outcomes ...

Students can identify north, south, east, and west in relation to themselves in the park or schoolyard, or in the gymnasium.

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