More compass practice! This activity has your scholars practicing getting their bearings. They will participate in a schoolyard compass game where they will have a specific starting point and then navigate through the course according to...

Here's a basic lesson on reading a compass. Learn the names of the parts of a compass. Learn how to read a bearing in degrees. Then go outside and follow a course of cones set up on the grass or in a clear area. Starting at one cone,...

Travel using a compass. Get your bearings! What does that mean? Choose a starting point, set your bearings, move to a location, and then use your bearings to return to the original starting point. It is of utmost importance to understand...

Out in the middle of nowhere and not sure which way to turn? Learn how to use a compass so you don't ever have to be lost in the wilderness. Learn how to pick a landmark and get a bearing. This lesson is one part of a 10 lesson unit on...

Put your students' orienteering skills together. Reading a compass and reading a map. In this assignment the class will use their compass and the map scale to determine the distance of a given route.  If they finish their...

Everything you wanted to know about orienteering, and more! Take your class on an adventure with this creative activity. You will need to gather some supplies and materials and maps for your specific location, but the unit sounds like it...

Gain knowledge of directions and degrees while learning how to read a compass. NEWS - north, east, west, south, and everything in between. It's crucial to be accurate in reading a compass and understanding degrees and direction when...

What's the difference between true north and magnetic north? Lesson 9 has your class practicing mapping using a compass and taking the correct declination into account. This lesson is one part of a 10 lesson unit on orienteering....

Learn how to read a topographical map and understand what the contour lines mean. Explore longitude and latitude. Find a cliff, a valley, a mountain peak, and more. This is just one of the ten lessons in this unit on oreinteering....

This activity is a follow-on activity to inscribing a square in a circle. The overall problem is more complex. It deals with geometric constructions, properties of triangles, and regular hexagons. The final part of the activity...

Inscribing a square in a circle brings up a number of interesting geometry topics including triangle congruence and how to prove a quadrilateral is a square. This activity is followed up by finding the area of the square and determining...

Fill-out a story map to help your scholars with pre-writing. They will use a story map template to pre-write. They also organize their ideas into steps which become the foundation for their first draft. Concrete objects are brought in to...

Lesson 1 of 10 lessons in this orienteering unit is about maps and map scales. After all, orienteering is all about maps, compasses, and finding ones' way around. It is imperative to be able to read maps and understand the relevance of...

Here is a lesson plan that starts with having geometers translate points using compass directions into an accurate picture of the problem. Then they must use their knowledge of the Pythagorean theorem or similar triangles to solve. This...

Young mathematicians practice measuring acurately with a protractor. They convert measurements using a scale factor, then translate the new information into diagrams. This lesson should be a hit in that it's mostly hands-on work with the...

Pretend that you've been dropped onto a mountain, in the middle of nowhere,  and all you have to find your way is a topographical map and a compass. Could you find your way to the nearest town? Orienteering teaches the skills of map...

More than 80 percent of the earth's surface originated from volcanoes. The 16th lesson in a 20-part series introduces the shape and development of volcanoes. It begins with a demonstration using a balloon and flour to illustrate the...

Middle schoolers model Earth's revolution round the sun by walking a mini-globe around a lamp. You will assess whether or not they tilt and rotate the planet properly and that the revolution is counterclockwise. Discussion beforehand...

Learners map their playground as if it were an archeological site. They locate objects on the playground and determine their location using coordinate points. A related lesson is Coordinate Grid: Mapping an Archeological Site.

Using a relief map of New York State, learners answer questions about the distance between different cities, identify bodies of water, and more. First, they discuss vocabulary related to the Hudson River area. Then, they complete a...