Playground World Map: Compass Voyages
Using chalk and cones, the class lays out a giant world map on the playground lined up with true north, and students travel between continents and oceans following compass-direction commands. They practice compass directions, orientation and geography.
How to play
- Before class, find north with a compass and mark 6 continents and 3 oceans in their relative positions with chalk and colored cones, each with a cardstock name sign.
- Take 3 minutes to introduce the map: where true north is and how the continents are arranged. Everyone starts in Europe.
- First game (5 minutes): the teacher calls commands ('Sail southwest!') and everyone runs to the area in that direction. Wrong guesses just reposition; nobody is out.
- Second game (8 minutes): each pair gets a travel card with three legs ('from Africa, go east; then north...'), solves it and checks the destination on the back. Then pairs swap cards.
- Pairs who finish early invent a new route for another pair.
- Wrap up for 4 minutes: In which direction are the school entrance and the cafeteria, really?
Rules
- Run looking forward without cutting between other students.
- Swim through oceans with arm strokes; jog across continents.
- Do not erase the chalk lines.
- Wait at each destination for the next command.
Variations
Easier
Use only the four main directions and post N, S, E and W signs on the map's edges.
Standard
Main and in-between directions, plus three-leg travel cards in pairs.
Harder
Give cards with real journeys, like Magellan's voyage around the world, to rebuild without direct directions.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: place continents closer together and route travel over smooth ground with a partner.
- Hearing impairment: also show commands on a whiteboard with an arrow.
- Fitness level: add jumps or side shuffles for more intensity, or walk for less.
Learning goals
- Use main and in-between compass directions to move.
- Connect the position of continents and oceans to real-world directions.
- Solve routes independently with a partner.
Equipment for a class of 25
- pieces of chalk: 10
- colored cones: 30
- cardstock signs: 9
- compass: 1
- travel cards: 26
Teacher tip
Teaming up with the Social Studies teacher makes this activity really click. Many kids think north is always 'up'; have them point to true north on the playground before you start.
PatioLab has "Playground World Map: Compass Voyages" and 3999 more activities ready to drag into your lesson and run from your phone in the gym.
More activities like this
More main activities for Elementary
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 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-2 Mini Volleyball with a Neutral Setter
Two-on-two mini volleyball with a neutral setter under the rope who always plays for the team with the ball.
2v1 Attack Waves to Mini Goals
Two attackers take on one defender and try to score on a small goal in under 10 seconds.
2v2 Alley Mini-Volleyball
A 2v2 mini-volleyball game on a very long, narrow court, about 33×10 feet, where the only way to win a point is by playing for depth: short near the net or deep to the…