ISOM in the Schoolyard: Map Your Zone with Official Symbols
In groups of three, students complete a base plan of the school using the colors and symbols from the orienteering map standards (ISOM for natural terrain, ISSprOM for sprint). Joining the zones produces a class map that another group puts to the test.
How to play
- Color key: black for man-made features and rock, brown for landforms, blue for water, yellow for open areas, green by how hard the vegetation is to get through, and olive green for out of bounds (5 min).
- Hand-out: each trio gets a base plan of its zone (an enlarged piece of the evacuation plan) and a list of features that must appear (3 min).
- Fieldwork: the trio walks its zone and draws walls, fences, benches, single trees, grass, and paved areas with the official symbols (18 min).
- Assembly: tape the plans on the wall and fix the edges between zones so they line up (6 min).
- Field test: another trio marks three points on the new map and the authors must find them; any confusing symbol gets corrected (8 min).
Rules
- Each trio stays inside its assigned zone.
- Draw only what you can see and what helps navigation: no decorative details.
- No standing on benches or walls to get a better view.
- Corrections are made respectfully by pointing to the real feature.
Variations
Easier
Just five basic colors and a small zone per trio.
Standard
Main ISOM/ISSprOM colors and symbols in medium zones.
Harder
Add contours or banks, and the map must be good enough for a real race.
Adaptations
- Visual impairment: works with an enlarged plan and thick markers, or takes the role of pacing distances and calling them out.
- Limited mobility: gets an accessible zone and leads the final wall assembly.
- Trouble with drawing: can use pre-cut colored stickers for the most common symbols.
Learning goals
- Understand the color and symbol logic of orienteering maps.
- Represent a real space to scale in a way others can use.
- Cooperate on a group project with quality control.
Equipment for a class of 25
- base plans of the school: 10
- colored pencils: 10
- clipboards: 10
- masking tape: 1
Teacher tip
Ask the front office for a digital copy of the evacuation plan and enlarge it zone by zone to letter size. The typical mistake is coloring all the grass green: in orienteering, green means vegetation that is hard to get through, and open lawn is yellow.
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