Leg-by-Leg Memory Orienteering
Students run this course without carrying a map: at each control, a piece of the map is clipped on with a clothespin showing only the next leg, and they have to memorize it before leaving. They work on visual memory, quick map reading, and decision-making on the move.
How to play
- Set up an 8-control course around the playground; at each control, clip on a map cut-out showing that spot and the next control circled.
- Put a cut-out with the first control at the start, and explain that the map cannot be unclipped or carried.
- Students start one at a time every 20 seconds; at each control they look at the cut-out, memorize the route, and run to the next control.
- At each control, students write the letter printed on the cut-out on their hand or a card as proof they were there.
- When they finish, they head back to the start and run the course in reverse with a second set of cut-outs already in place, until the 16-minute mark.
- In the final 4 minutes, each student draws the full course from memory on a blank map and compares it with the original.
Rules
- You may look at the cut-out only at the control; there is no map while running.
- You can return to a control to look at the cut-out again as many times as needed.
- Safety: pass only in open areas and call it out, and slow down at corners.
Variations
Easier
Cut-outs show two controls at once, and legs are short.
Standard
One leg per cut-out and starts every 20 seconds.
Harder
Clip the cut-outs 10 yards away from the control, so students must also remember the final stretch to it.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: run a course in the accessible area with cut-outs at seated eye level.
- Autism or shyness: the student can do the course with a partner, taking turns memorizing each leg.
- Fitness level: walking is allowed; the challenge is not having to go back and look again.
Learning goals
- Memorize the key information in one leg of the map.
- Carry out a memorized route without checking the map.
- Draw a complete course from memory.
Equipment for a class of 25
- maps: 16
- control markers: 8
- clothespins: 16
Teacher tip
Prep two sets of cut-outs in numbered envelopes; cutting them in class takes too long. Explain that the trick is memorizing two or three key features of the leg, not the whole picture.
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