‘O in a Box’ is a neat-and-tidy programme that teaches the fundamental elements of orienteering through a bunch of games and activities. Currently we have two levels, #1 and #2.
O in a Box Level 1
O in a Box Level 1 is very important because it is a solid foundation. The best part is that the teacher needs no prior knowledge of orienteering. In level 1 we teach:
- map orientation
- that symbols on a map represent objects in reality
- the relationship between objects in reality and the map/plan
- distance/scale through pacing.
‘O in a Box # 1” is aimed at teaching learners from a young age so not all lessons are suitable for older learners. The various grid games and pacing exercise are suitable and recommended for all ages. Make the grid games more fun by having head to head races.
‘O in a Box #1’ Activities
- Tennis Court Grids; 4×5 Cone Grids; Moving Objects
- 7×7 Cone Grid Basic; Attackpoints & Line Features
- 7×7 Cone Grid Obstacles; Pacing Activity
- Moving Objects; Maps & Shapes
- Treasure Island Game
- Map Your Classroom
The ‘O in a Box #1” Folder contains:
‘O in a Box #1’ Manual
The ‘O in a Box #1’ manual contains six weeks of orienteering games for the younger learners. It will be less for older learners but can be more for the younger learners depending on the age of the children, size of the group and duration of the lesson.
Each lesson has either 1, 2 or 3 games associated with it and are numbered in order. The first number will correspond to the lesson number, the second number to the game number and the third digit will be letters a,b,c, etc to show different activity sheets.
Click here to download the ‘O in a Box #1’ Manual
‘O in a Box #1’ Activity sheets to go with the Manual
The activities are in numerical order with the numbers corresponding to the lesson and game number. e.g. 1.1 means lesson 1, game 1. The letters are different example sheets for each of the games. For some lessons there are many examples for you to choose from – you don’t need to use all of them, they are there for variety.
Print these sheets and use them for activities described in the ‘O in a Box # 1’ manual. If you laminate the cards on the activity sheets you can reuse them. These pages have been sized for A4 printing in black and white.
Click here to download the ‘O in a Box #1’ Activity sheets Folder
O in a Box Level 2
O in a Box Level 2 starts to introduce map symbols and colours, it teaches thumbing and folding and aims to improve map familiarity through a variety of fun games and activities. All activities for ‘O in a Box #2’ can be found at the following link: ‘O in a Box #2’
Are you a teacher?
If you’re a teacher and you’re interested in doing orienteering activities at your school, please contact: development@orienteering.co.za
We would appreciate any feedback you have on the ‘O in a Box’ activities provided. What grades are you teaching, how far did you get during the time available in the term, numbers of boys and girls that participated, what worked and what didn’t etc. We can use the feedback to adjust the activities.