School Applications

1
School Applications

• Orienteering is an excellent lifetime
  sport/activity that all students should have the
  opportunity to try.
• Competitive orienteering is all individual, but
  when starting with young children it is a good
  idea to use partners.
• Grades 4-8 great age to begin to introduce the
  sport/activity. Students at this age learn the
  concepts very quickly and are able to read the
  map.

• Senior at this age the students are quite
  capable of finishing lengthy courses (5-10KM.) in
  forest terrain. They can also organize their own
  courses.
• Orienteering allows the students to apply their
  learning/abilities in a real-life situation.
• Orienteering allows our students to develop their
  self-confidence, problem-solving and
  decision-making skills, spatial awareness, an
  appreciation of the natural environment, and
  overall persistence and ability to focus.
• I have taught orienteering in my current school
  to my 5-S4 students with many positive results.
  An excellent year starter/ender activity as well.

2
Curricular Outcomes

• Indirect Outcomes
• K.3.8.A.5aInvestigate potential safety risks
  inherent in selected alternative pursuits (e.g.,
  climbing walls, in-line skating, downhill skiing,
  activities on ice...).
• K.3.S2.A.5aDetermine the safety considerations
  in selected alternative pursuits (e.g., wear
  protective equipment, use reflective tape for
  nighttime visibility, have first-aid kit
  available, watch for extreme weather
  conditions...).
• Orienteering has obvious close connections to
  math, geography, and science.
• Depending on how you design your units/plans you
  can reach many (10) outcomes by teaching
  orienteering.

• Direct Outcomes
• S.1.7(8).C.1Apply functional use of selected
  activity-specific skills (e.g., care and carrying
  of equipment, compass and map reading, star turn,
  snowplough...) in alternative pursuits (e.g.,
  orienteering, hiking, skiing...).
• S.1.S2.B.1 Apply and refine selected
  activity-specific movement skills and variations
  (e.g., running for long distance, dynamic
  balancing, double-poling, lunging, chipping,
  putting...) in physical activities, including
  individual/dual type activities (e.g.,
  cross-country skiing, golf, cycling...).

3
Equipment What is needed

• Clothing you need to wear something that will
  keep you feeling comfortable throughout the
  activity. A lightweight, stretchy suit that
  allows for maximum movement even when wet is
  ideal.
• Shoes light strong shoes with a non-slip
  gripping are ideal. Cross-training type.
• Map a detailed topographical map is ideal, but
  for school use a basic black and white map can be
  used and will work quite well.

• Compasses there is a wide variety to choose
  from. Orienteers use either a thumb, or
  base-plate compass. For school programs,
  compasses are not needed all the time.
• Control card to prove you have been to each
  point, you will use the punch on the flag
• to leave an
• Impression.

4
Orienteering Controls/Flags

• The orange/white controls are located in the
  middle of the circles on your map.
• Each control has a number or letter code that
  distinguishes them from one another. This will
  tell you whether or not you have found the right
  one!!
• They are usually hanging between 2-5 feet off the
  ground from a tree or on a pole.

• On the
• flag you will
• notice a punch
• that you will
• use to show
• you have
• been to the correct location.
• Smaller versions for school events can be made
  very easily using construction paper.

5
How does this all work?

• One of the challenges of organizing an
  orienteering activity in your schools is the
  time/leg-work the teacher needs to put in.
• Before you start an introductory course you need
  to do the following
• Find a suitable area to Orienteer (inside of
  school, school grounds, local park, wilderness
  area, W.M.A.s)

• Find/Make an accurate map of the area you would
  like to use.
• Do some field work to ensure the map is to scale,
  and is accurate.
• Set out the controls/markers in the area, and
  mark them on your master map.
• Draw/Copy the appropriate number of maps for your
  students.

6

• Once you have everything in place you need to
  make sure that all of the controls are still in
  the correct places.
• Start!!! The student should go in partners the
  first time, and should be staggered about 1-3
  min. between each group.
• Make sure you time your students so they can
  compare results with each other.

• At the end of the event you need to retrieve all
  the controls, and ensure that the area you are
  using is looking the same as when you got there.

7
Strategy/Technique

• The object of the orienteering is to find each
  control in the correct order in the shortest
  possible time.
• To do this you need to make smart route choices.
• The path you should take is not marked on your
  map. You need to decide where to go!!
• Remember the shortest route is not always the
  fastest.

• Map contact is key. You should always have a
  rough idea of where you are on the map.
• Look out for key features. Keep your eye out for
  certain landmarks such as fences, trails, large
  hills, boulders that will assist you in finding
  the control.
• Dont give up.frustration is inevitable!!