Course-Setting Brief: One Course for Every Level

Groups of four get a brief: design three courses (easy, medium and hard) so every classmate can find their level. It builds planning, an understanding of what makes a good course, and thinking about other people's needs.

How to play

1. Good course criteria: clear start and finish, each control on a feature shown on the map, legs with route choice, nothing dangerous; what changes at each level (6 min).
2. Design on paper: green with controls by paths and big features, orange with route choice, red with controls behind features (12 min).
3. Place the markers and check each one is where the map says (10 min).
4. Another group runs the level of its choice and fills in the feedback sheet (12 min).
5. Collect markers and read the feedback (5 min).

Rules

• No controls on stairs, by doorways or in off-limits areas.
• Markers are visible from a meter away, not buried or placed up high.
• Each group walks its own course before handing it over.
• Feedback is about the course, never about people.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: help design and check the accessibility of the green course.
• Students who struggle with writing: draw the course while a teammate writes the description.
• Advanced students: design the red course with a double route-choice leg.

Learning goals

• Plan a course using set criteria.
• Adapt difficulty to different levels.
• Give and receive constructive feedback.

Equipment for a class of 25

• schoolyard maps: 20
• orienteering markers: 24
• red markers: 8
• feedback sheets: 8

Teacher tip

In orienteering, courses are drawn in magenta or red: a triangle for the start, circles for controls and a double circle for the finish. Check each group's design before they go out to set it.

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