Course Setters: Design a Route for Another Team

Each team places five lettered cones around the school and marks them precisely on a map so another team can find them. Students connect the map to the terrain, plan as a group and take responsibility for designing a fair course.

How to play

1. Take 4 minutes to explain and form 6 teams of 4 or 5. Each team gets a map showing its assigned zone, a marker and 5 cones with letter signs.
2. Setting phase (8 minutes): the team places its cones in its zone and draws a numbered circle on the map at each exact spot.
3. Teams return to the start area and swap maps in pairs of teams (1 with 2, 3 with 4, 5 with 6).
4. Search phase (10 minutes): each team finds the cones on the map it received and writes each letter beside its circle.
5. Debrief (5 minutes): each team rates the other map's accuracy from 1 to 3 stars, and the course setters fix their mistakes.
6. In the last 3 minutes, each team collects its own cones.

Rules

• Cones stay in plain sight, never in trash cans, bushes or off-limits areas.
• Each team sets cones only in its own zone.
• No asking the course setters for help during the search.
• Run in open areas; walk in hallways and near doors.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: the student draws on the map and coordinates, and the team gets an accessible zone.
• Autism or shyness: give set roles on cards (placer, mapper, checker).
• Fitness level: give the far zones to students who want to run more; tired students serve as checkers.

Learning goals

• Mark the exact position of an object on a map.
• Plan a fair, well-matched course for others as a group.
• Respectfully evaluate another team's work and accept feedback.

Equipment for a class of 25

• maps: 12
• cones: 30
• letter signs: 30
• markers: 6

Teacher tip

Draw the zones on a master map ahead of time so cones don't pile up in one spot. The most common mistake is drawing circles roughly; have teams use a nearby map feature as a reference.

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