Last updated: January 16, 2024
Lesson Plan
Compass Course - Using a Compass
Download Lesson Plan
210KB
- Grade Level:
- Middle School: Sixth Grade through Eighth Grade
- Subject:
- Science
- Lesson Duration:
- 30 Minutes
- State Standards:
- G.8.K.1, G.8.K.3, G.8.1.1, G.8.2.1
- Thinking Skills:
- Understanding: Understand the main idea of material heard, viewed, or read. Interpret or summarize the ideas in own words. Applying: Apply an abstract idea in a concrete situation to solve a problem or relate it to a prior experience.
Essential Question
How do tools help us better understand and navigate the world around us?
Why is it important to keep track of our surroundings in the wilderness?
Objective
Students will be able to understand and apply proper compass reading techniques.
Background
Global Positioning Systems (GPS) tell us how to get from Point A to Point B, but they are useless if they quit working for one reason or another. The batteries may go out, clouds or landforms may interfere with the satellites, or the gadget may not recognize your location. If this happens to you, how will you find your way?
Knowing how to navigate with a compass is a valuable skill. No matter where you are, on a mountaintop, on a boat in the ocean, in the middle of the woods or in a big city a compass will always point north. A compass makes it possible for you to find your way if you become lost.
Preparation
Ensure that each student has a small compass to use, a common map (ex. The Buffalo National River map), pencils and or yarn to serve as a measuring tool to better understand distances between landmarks.
Before performing the main activity, make sure that students understand how to read a legend, how to measure distance, and the importance of landmarks.
Lesson Hook/Preview
Ask the following:
- What sort of places have students visited whether local or around the US? (ex. one student might say they visited a local state park, another might mention visiting an outside state).
- Break down that question further - how did the student navigate to the area in question? Did a parent use GPS? Do they have a map whether physical or in their mind they follow?
- What happens when GPS fails or when we're not sure what direction we should go? Isn't it important then to know how to use tools such as a compass?
Procedure
Step 1: Explain the parts of a compass. This includes how the various directions translate as North, East, South, and West.
Step 2: Introduce the azimuth (bearing) and determine which direction the user would like to go. Give instruction on how to take an azimuth on a fixed object, then how to follow it as you navigate.
Step 3: Lay out a course or two utilizing landmarks based on Buffalo National River across an open area that students may use to navigate to and from. Students may be divided into groups or complete the activity alone if enough space is available.
Vocabulary
Azimuth, Direction of Travel Arrow, Compass Housing, Orienting Arrow, Compass Needle, GPS (Global Positioning System)