Contour Lines: Build the Terrain with Mats
In the gym, groups build hills, depressions, and spurs out of mats following a contour map, then run an orienteering course over the terrain they created. Students get a hands-on understanding of how a map shows elevation.
How to play
- Spend 3 minutes sketching on the whiteboard to explain that each contour line connects points at the same height and that lines close together mean a steep slope.
- Make 5 groups of 5 and give each a mini-map with the contours of one feature: hill, depression, spur, saddle, or gentle slope.
- For 7 minutes, each group builds its feature out of mats stacked no more than two high and marks it with a numbered cone.
- Groups rotate through the other features: at each one, using a mini-map that shows all five mixed up, they identify which it is and check by walking over it; 2 minutes per station.
- Final challenge, 5 minutes: the teacher shows a map with all five features and some controls; groups run to the right mat feature and stand on the top, bottom, or side the teacher calls.
- In the last 2 minutes, everyone takes down the mats and puts them away.
Rules
- Stack mats no more than two high, and always stable.
- Walk on the terrain; never jump or run on it.
- Safety: leave a 2-yard aisle between features, and nobody climbs on while another group is building.
Variations
Easier
Use only three features: hill, depression, and gentle slope.
Standard
Five features built and identified by every group.
Harder
Groups draw the contour map of another group's feature without seeing their mini-map.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: the student directs the build using the mini-map and checks the terrain by hand from the floor.
- Visual impairment: the student explores the terrain by touch and uses a mini-map with raised contour lines.
- Fitness level: in the final challenge, students who need to can walk while their group waits.
Learning goals
- Read contour lines on a map.
- Build a terrain model as a team.
- Recognize landforms on the map and in real space.
Equipment for a class of 25
- mats: 30
- maps: 10
- cones: 5
Teacher tip
Keep the mini-maps very simple and show ahead of time what five lines close together look like. Supervise the mat building closely and do not allow wobbly stacks.
PatioLab has "Contour Lines: Build the Terrain with Mats" and 3999 more activities ready to drag into your lesson and run from your phone in the gym.
More main activities for Middle School
1-2-3 Touch Cooperative Rally
Two groups of three, one on each side of the net, work together to keep the longest rally possible in three phases: one touch, two touches, and three touches per side.
1-on-1 Mini Volleyball Up and Down the River
One-on-one mini volleyball duels on 3 x 3 m courts under a rope 2 m high, using a receive, self-set and send rule.
1-on-1 Self-Pass Volleyball
One-on-one games on narrow 10 x 20 foot courts where each player must self-pass before sending the ball over.
1-on-1 Side-Step Square Duels
In pairs, inside 5 x 5 m squares, an attacker holding a football tries to get from the starting side to the far side without the defender pulling a flag.
1v1 Four-Gate Soccer Duels
In a square with a gate on each side, two players go head to head and score by dribbling through any of the four gates.
2-on-1 Fast Break with a Chasing Defender
Two attackers push a fast break against a defender waiting at the basket while a second defender chases from behind with a few yards' head start against them.