Wilderness Navigation Outline

Big Idea Topographic maps and observation of the landscape allow us to navigate in unknown areas with confidence. Essential Questions • By observing our surroundings, what tools can help us find our location on a map? • How does learning these skills increase our appreciation of new places and our ability to explore them?

Vocabulary • Compass Rose—shows the cardinal directions on a map • Conspicuous—standing out so as to be clearly visible • Contour lines—lines on a map joining points of equal height above or below sea level • Depression—a sunken physical landmark • Elevation—height above sea level • Knoll—a small hill or mound • Landmark—a feature on the landscape that is easily recognized from a distance • Legend/Key—the wording on a map or diagram explaining the symbols used • Orient—to align or position a map relative to the points of a compass or other speci- fied location • Scale—shows the size of things on a map relative to their size in real life • Topographic—a detailed representation or description of natural or artificial physical features on a map

Lesson Outline • Map Introduction • Map Making • Understanding Contour Lines • Fun Course • The Woods Course–Part I • Compass Introduction/The Woods Course–Part II

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Optional Activities • Topo Symbols Game • More Compass Work—Taking a Bearing • The Story of Jack and the Soap Rings • The Shadow

THE TEACHER’S ROLE The Wilderness Navigation class will be taught by a Tremont naturalist with support from teachers and chaperones. Often for schools participating in cooperative teaching, two lesson groups will be combined in this class, resulting in a group size of up to 30 students. The teacher’s role is mainly of supervision and making sure all students remain on task. When the Tremont teacher/naturalist hands out the maps and begins asking students to point out different locations, teachers can speed up the process by helping check that each student is pointing to the right place on his or her map. Depending on the size of the class, the teacher may be asked to take a small group on the Fun Course, a short exploration of the physical features of Tremont’s campus as depicted on a topographic map. See below for more details and instructions. The main activity in Wilderness Navigation is the Woods Course, a scavenger hunt which has two parts. The first half (Stations One through Five) is done around the buildings: the activity center, Friendship Circle, office, etc. All of these buildings are within a fourth of a mile of the office. The second half (Stations Six through Ten) is in the Bull Branch area or around West Prong Trail (your group will be using one or the other, not both). The Bull Branch area is bounded on one side by a river and on two other sdies by intermittent streams and the fourth by the falls trail, and is approximately 100 meters by 300 meters. The West Prong area is comparable in size and is bounded by a road and a trail junction. Just before the Woods Course begins, the students will either be put in teams or asked to form their own teams. Because teachers know their students much better than the Tremont teacher/naturalists do, it is extremely helpful for teachers to monitor the formation of teams and to separate students who will not work well together. During the first half of the Woods Course, teachers and chaperones should roam through- out the course area as a safety measure and a resource for students. The Tremont teacher/ naturalist will remain at the meeting spot waiting for groups to finish the course. Two rules will be spelled out to the students: they should stay with their team at all times and they should not run. Teachers can help enforce those rules and can also give advice to any teams that may be having trouble finding stations. Finally, during the second half of the Woods Course, the teacher’s role does not change very much. One teacher or chaperone may be asked to stay in a certain spot, such as a trail junction, to make sure students stay within bounds. That teacher should listen for the Trem- ont teacher/naturalist to blow a whistle when time is up and return to the prearranged meeting spot along with any students encountered on the way.

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MAP INTRODUCTION 15 Minutes

Lead In Explain to the students that today’s lesson deals with the use of maps. They will be using the maps for a variety of activities, including the main event: the Woods Course, an adventure in the charted wilderness! Stress that they need to pay close attention so that they will understand maps and be adequately equipped for the Woods Course.

Procedures With the group seated in a circle, ask the students what kinds of people use maps. (vacationers, sailors, pilots, hikers, everyday people) Have they used maps? What types of maps have they used? These could be maps from school, like political or physical maps, or they could be maps the students have used to find their way around a place such as a mall or amusement park. Ask the students what important things need to be on every map. The key or legend tells us what every symbol on the map represents, the scale tells us the size of the area represented, and the compass rose tells us how the area is oriented. Do people still use landmarks to find their way around? Name some landmarks that people use. (hills, trees, rivers, valleys, buildings, signs, road junctions, etc.) How do people keep track of these important features that help them find their way? (memory, maps)

Wrap Up Tell the students that now that they understand that there are different types of maps for difference purposes, they are going to make a map of the Tremont campus which will include several of the features just discussed. MAP MAKING 20 Minutes

Lead In Take the students on a quick walk around Tremont’s campus to look for landmarks. Tell them to use their powers of observation to keep track of the size and placement of each landmark in relation to all the others. Help them with these observations by pausing to ask questions such as, “Which is bigger, the Activity Center or the Dorm?” or “From here, point in the direction of the Council House.” Make sure to let the students identify some landmarks, and pause at some things that would not be good landmarks, such as cars.

Procedures Once you return to the original meeting place, review the tour you

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have just taken and ask the students to take out pencil and paper to draw a map of the Tremont campus. Each map should contain a key, a scale, a compass rose, and the landmarks from the tour. The landmarks should be in the right places, but the students should not draw each one in detail. Instead, they should come up with a simple symbol for each one. For example, a square could be a building. Where could they explain what the symbols mean? (in the key) For the scale, because you didn’t measure as you walked, just stress that landmarks should be the right size in relation to each other. To make a compass rose, what do they need to know? (which way is north) In general on the Tremont campus, the office area is north. Does north have to be at the top of the page? (No, not at all. The Earth is a sphere, so north could be anywhere on the map. The important thing is to have all the landmarks lined up in the right order.) Once the students have had about 10 minutes to work on their maps, you can either check each one for accuracy or gather the group to make a map together. Using a white board, draw a few major landmarks, like the road and the meeting place where your group is, and then take one volunteer at a time from the group to add landmarks to the map. The rest of the group should be modifying their maps if necessary.

Alternative Procedures If time is an issue, just make a map as a group, without having each student make an individual map. In this case, it is imperative that everyone participates. If a student is unsure or wrong about the placement or size of a landmark, the group can help.

Wrap Up Tell the students that now that they have all explored Tremont and made maps, you are going to give them another map to look at and use. Explain to the students that they are going to use topographic maps to get to specific locations around the Tremont area. Emphasize that it is easier to use topographic maps to keep from getting lost than to try to use them after you are lost. They are tools to prevent people from getting lost when exploring or hiking, and help them to observe and appre- ciate the environment or surroundings. UNDERSTANDING CONTOUR LINES 20 Minutes

Lead In Hand out one topographic map per student or group of two or three students. Briefly discuss the legend and scale and have the students find examples on the map of things shown in the legend.

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Procedures Ask the students what the squiggly lines all over the map represent. (contour lines) What does that mean? (Contour has to do with shape, so contour lines represent the shape of the land.) What kinds of shapes can land take? (mountains, valleys, canyons, plateaus, flat areas, etc.) Why is it important to show this on a map? (Some land features can act as landmarks, also it’s good to know what to expect when you’re navigating in the wilderness. If a map shows where the mountains are, it will help you plan your route.) Do one or more of the following activities to help the students understand contour lines:

Option 1 Foam Mountains. Divide the students in small groups and give each group a foam mountain kit. Tell them to use the pieces to construct a mountain, making sure that all the shapes line up. When they have created their mountain, ask how they would draw a map of that mountain. The best way would be to trace each piece concentrically, which would produce a topographic map with a contour interval the thickness of the foam. Once they’ve drawn this map, have them reconstruct the mountain to see how it compares with the map. What might the pointed indentations represent? (a stream) Where are the lines closest together? (in the steepest areas) Where are they farthest apart? (in the flatter areas) Alternatively, construct the mountain as a demonstration and trace the pieces on the white board.

Option 2 Sand Mountains. Place a tub of sand in a spot where everyone can see well, and add a little water to make it easier to shape. Pile the sand up in a simple cone-shaped mountain and encircle it with loops of bright-colored yarn at regular intervals, explaining to the students that the height difference between each loop is the contour interval. Tell the students to look straight down at the mountain and yarn and describe what they see. Draw it on the board or have a volunteer draw—it should look like a bulls-eye. Explain that most landscapes are not that simple, so most topographic maps are more complex as well. Have volunteers come forward to make and map new landscapes. Make sure everyone gets a chance to compare the map to the sand. Where are the lines closest together? (in the steepest areas) Where are they farthest apart? (in the flatter areas)

Option 3 Knuckle Mountain. Tell the students to stand in a circle and explain that you need a hand (a volunteer who does not mind you writing with

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ink on his or her hand). Ask your volunteer to cup one hand. The group may have to scrunch in to see. Explain that his or her palm has become a model of a depression. Ask the group to imagine that you are pouring water in the student’s hand until the water overflows. Now draw a line with hatch marks on the student’s hand where the edge of the water is. This represents the highest contour line. Tell him or her to pour out enough water to have the water line go down one third in the depression model. Draw another line with hatches all the way around the imaginary surface. Repeat once more and then have the student show the other students the cupped hand. Tell them that this is a realistic view, but now they will look at a topographic view. Ask the volunteer to slowly spread out his or her hand until it is flat; there is the topographic view. Have that volunteer cup then flip his or her hand over, and ask the students what this might be a model of. (a mountain with four knolls) Starting with the tallest knuckle (knoll), draw a contour line to encircle it. Continue to draw several contour lines around “Knuckle Mountain.” Give each contour line an elevation. Your highest contour might be 6000’, the second, 5000’, the third, 4000’, and the fourth, 3000’ above sea level. Show them how each contour line connects to itself and every part of the line is the same elevation.

Wrap Up After you have drawn three or four contour lines, explain to the group that their model of Knuckle Mountain can be made into a topo- graphical map like the one you have with you. Ask the volunteer to open his or her hand slowly until it is flat. Watch the 3-D contour of Knuckle Mountain transform into the flat contour lines of a topographic map. Point out the small circles on top of the mountains and how the circles get larger and more squiggly the further down they are. Wrap up by asking them how a topographic map represents a knoll. (as a small circle) FUN COURSE 30 Minutes

Lead In Explain to the students that this course is to prepare them for the Woods Course, where they will be “on their own,” following the topographic map to find their way. After becoming familiar with a map and its key, but before using the map to go anywhere, there are several questions students should ask themselves. Write these questions on the board and discuss:

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1. Where am I? Ask the students to point to the group’s location on the map.

2. How should I hold the map? To follow a map, you have to orient it, or turn it so that the landmarks represented on the map line up with their counterparts in real life. Sometimes this means holding it so that the letters are upside down or sideways, and that’s fine. Following a map that has not been oriented can lead you in the exact opposite direction from where you want to go. Using the buildings and other landmarks around them, have the students orient their maps. Check to make sure everyone understands before moving on.

3. Where am I going? Tell the students that today they will have specific things to look for in the woods, which you will explain later.

4. How do I get there? There are many ways to start at one point and end up at another, and the map can help them find the easiest way. There are trails and roads in many places, and in places without trails, topographic maps show routes that are safe and not as steep. In today’s course, students should follow trails whenever possible so that plants and animals are not trampled.

Procedures In the Fun Course, the students will learn about topographic features and other map symbols using the Tremont side of their topographic maps. Divide the students into two groups. One group will do the Fun Course with a Tremont staff member and the other group with the teacher. One group should start with the Steep Hillside station and the other with the Valley and Stream station. Each group should proceed through the four stations with a different team of two to four students leading the way to each station. Be sure to divide each small group of students into four teams before you start the Fun Course. Remind the groups to observe landmarks and the map legend.

Teacher’s Note: Lengthy explanations at each station are not necessary. Keep the visit at each station to about two minutes.

Steep Hillside Fun Course Station Once the students have arrived at the Steep Hillside station (an old fallen tree with upturned roots along the side of the Falls Trail), ask them to look eastward up the slope and westward down the slope. Now have them look at their Tremont Topographic Map. Ask the students how a slope is represented on the map. (contour

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lines are close together.) Point out to the students an approximate two- foot change in elevation on the downhill side of the trail. Have them look down at where the contour lines would be if they were drawn on the earth and how close together they would be. Explain to them that now we do not see a bunch of squiggly lines on a map, but actually see slopes, hilltops, etc. that the lines represent. If the students have not been to the Depression and Knoll station yet, tell them to orient their Tremont maps, and check to see that everyone has them oriented properly. Choose a group of two to four students to lead your group to the Depression and Knoll station. If your group has already been to this station and you are done with the Fun Course, ask the students to lead you back to the meeting place.

Depression and Knoll Fun Course Station Once all of the students have arrived at the station (near the south side of the paved drive which runs between the Friendship Circle and the Activity Center), have them notice how the ground here is like a bowl. Then ask them to look at this station on their maps. Ask the students how a depression or bowl-like feature like this one is represented on the map. (circle with hatch marks) If a contour line has hatch marks on it, what does that tell us about elevation? (the land is going down in elevation.) Ask the group what a contour line means if it is a circle without hatch marks. (a knoll or top of a mountain; the opposite of a depression or bowl) If the students have not been to the Flat Area station, ask them to orient their maps. Check them, then choose a group of two to four students to lead the rest of the group to the next location, either the Flat Area station or the Steep Hillside station.

Flat Area Fun Course Station After all the students have arrived, ask them to stand in a circle, facing outward. Ask each person to describe the place they see without using the word ‘flat.’ After they have finished, have them face the inside of the circle. Ask them to look at the Tremont maps and have a student tell the group how the map represents a flat area. (contour lines far apart) Ask them what the contour interval is for this map. (two feet) How did the students who led the group know where on the field to stop? (There is a wooden pole on the map that serves as a landmark.) Stress to them the importance of observing landmarks and small details. Have the students orient their maps. Choose a group of two to four students to lead the rest of the group to the next station, either the Valley

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and Stream station or the Depression and Knoll station.

Valley and Stream Fun Course Station Once the students have arrived at the station (a small flat area where a small white plastic pipe comes out of the ground), have them stand on the trail to form a “human contour line.” Ask them what land formation they are in (valley) and how the map represents it. (The contour lines appear to be a series of Vs.) The trail and the line of students should also form a V. Ask them whether the Vs point uphill or downhill. (uphill) Which way is the water running? (downhill, against the points of the Vs of the contour lines) Share with the students that one way they can remember that the contour lines point upstream is to imagine putting a finger in a stream; the ripples made would point upstream just like contour lines do. Ask the students to look on their Fodderstack maps and pick out some streams or rivers (Bull Branch, Loan Branch). If this is the end of the Fun Course for your group, ask them to lead you back to the meeting place. If the students have not been to the Flat Area station yet, have them orient their map. Select a group of two to four students to lead you to the Flat Area Station.

Wrap Up Explain to the students that they have reviewed the four basic land features that they will have to recognize when they are on their own looking for stations in the Woods Course. Ask the students the following questions: “On your topographic map you will see that the dorm is about 1393 feet above sea level. What is one word to replace the phrase ‘above sea level?’ (elevation) At what elevation do you eat your meals here at Tremont? (approximately 1389 feet) If the contour lines are close together on the map, what feature would that represent on the land? (steep hillside or cliff) What if those close contour lines cross a stream on the map? (A waterfall will be there.) THE WOODS COURSE–PART I 40 Minutes

Lead In Explain to the students that this is the first part of the Woods Course, for which they have been preparing. Divide them into teams of no more than five. Collect the Tremont/Fodderstack maps, and hand out one Tremont Site Orienteering Map per small group. Briefly go over the new map, reviewing a few legend symbols and the meaning of the word conspicuous. Explain that the students will be using this map to do a scavenger hunt, in which they will search for small cards attached to

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trees, buildings, etc. The locations of the cards are marked on the map by bright red numbers. Students should not remove the cards; instead, they will copy some information from each card. Make sure there is someone from each group ready to write, and assign each group a letter. The recorder should then write the group’s letter at the top of the page and then number one through ten down the side of the page. Show the students the example station card with the two columns of letters. When they find a station, each group should write down the letter in the second column, which is directly across from their group letter in the first column (i.e., B group should write down the letter next to the B at each station). When they complete the first half of this course they will have five of ten letters. The ten letters form a scrambled word or words that they can unscramble after finish- ing the Woods Course–Part II. Students may find the words “space” or “dash” at a station. If so, they either have two separate words or a hyphenated word. Tell the students that you have some reminders to help them succeed and keep them safe on the Woods Course. To succeed, they should take time at each station to be comfortable with where they are and where they are going. They should trust their own judgement and let other teams do their own work as well. Before they take off for each marker or station they should choose a landmark which will tell them if they have gone too far (i.e., “Hey, Cathy, if we go past the marker then we will hit the side of this steep hill.”). Also, the distance to be traveled should be estimated roughly by looking at the scale before leaving. Remind students to look at the legend to know what the station cards are attached to. To stay safe, they must stay with their partners at all times; if they disagree about where they should go, they must work together to solve the disagreement rather than separate from each other. They should stay within boundaries—choose boundaries such as the office building, the river, end of the road, etc. The boundaries should be found on the map and known by each student. If anyone does think he or she may be lost, he or she should stay in one place and call out once in awhile. Remind the students that the course must be completed at a walking pace; no- body is allowed to run. Finally, tell the students where you will be for the whole course, so if they have a question they can return to that spot. The other teachers will roam about checking on groups to make sure they are finding stations and being safe. Have a signal (whistle) that students can hear and recognize which will call everyone back together at the end (or when they are finished) or in case of an emergency. Ask the students to orient their maps. Help the students find their location on the map and remind them of the importance of observing

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landmarks, both on the map and in the area. Assign each group a different station or pair of stations to find first, and tell them that afterward they may look for the remaining four stations in any order. (This helps spread the students out through the course.)

Wrap Up When the students are finished with the first half (Stations One through Five), check to see that they are doing all right and have col- lected the right letters. Ask the students what map skills they used in finding the first five stations. Tell them that these skills are going to be tested more in the Woods Course–Part II. COMPASS INTRODUCTION/WOODS COURSE–PART II One Hour

Lead In Lead the students (or have them lead you) to the second half of the course, the Bull Branch or West Prong area. Explain to the students that this is what they have been preparing for so diligently: The Woods Course–Part II. Ask the students how finding these stations will be different than finding the stations in Part I. (There are fewer landmarks to help them orient the map.) What tool could they use that would help them orient their maps? (A compass. There are other ways popularly thought to work in finding north; some of these are accurate and some are not. For example, moss doesn’t necessarily grow only on the north side of a tree. It grows wherever it can find moisture, which in the Smokies means that many tree trunks are completely surrounded by moss. Following the stars is a more accurate way to find north if the sky is clear: drawing an imaginary line through the bowl of the Big Dipper will lead you to the North Star.) Ask the students to tell you what a compass can and cannot do. (A compass can only point north. Without a map, a compass doesn’t point where you need to go, doesn’t point the way home, doesn’t do anything but point north.) How does it find north? (It is magnetized and attracted to the magnetic north pole of the Earth.) To use a compass to orient your map, hold the map flat and put the compass on top of the map’s compass rose. Turn the map, not the compass, until north on the map lines up with north in real life, as shown by the compass. Hand a compass to each student or each small group and have them practice orienting their maps.

Procedures Give the students boundaries for the course: the river, steep rises, trail junctions or roads. There are two sets of Stations Six through Ten at each area; one set is marked by circles and the other by triangles. As- sign half of the teams to circles and half to triangles, or let them choose,

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number by number, which they’d rather find. The cards are identical for both sets, so the students will get the same letters no matter which card they find. Tell students to return to the starting spot when they are finished or hear the whistle. Remind students not to run and to stay with their partners at all times. Give first station assignments and send them off as in Part I. Again, have one adult remain stationary and the others checking on students. When everyone is finished, help teams figure out their scrambled words.

Wrap Up Ask the students which station was the hardest to find. Which was the easiest? Why? Discuss briefly that even topographic maps do not show everything. Ask which landmarks a topographic map may not show. (a big boulder; a large, odd-looking tree; recent man-made trails and buildings; animal trails; old homestead chimneys) Ask them how this can be improved. (Add details to a topographic map by drawing these discovered landmarks on it.) Tell them that they have success- fully completed the Woods Course and are now on their way to becoming orienteering experts. Encourage them to continue to develop their orienteering skills; there is a wealth of information in topographic maps which can lead to exciting explorations of any area. Take up and count maps and have the students lead you back to the campus area by memory. OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES TOPO SYMBOLS GAME 10 Minutes

Lead In Explain to the students that they will play a game to review the land features so that they are ready for the Woods Course.

Procedures Place the topographic symbol cards one foot apart in a line on the ground. Have the students line up parallel to the cards about 100 feet away (the width of the blacktop is approximately 100 feet). Hand out one of the land feature cards to each student. Tell the students that they need to run to the topographic symbol cards, choose one that matches their land feature, and then return to the starting point. The most important thing is choosing the right match, not who gets back first.

Wrap Up After they return ask them to form a circle and hold on to their cards.

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Going around the circle one at a time, have them hold the two cards in front of them while you, the leader, say if it is the correct match. (Re- fer to the sheet.) If they have the wrong match, wait until everyone has presented their match and then the incorrect matches can have a “swap meet.” Repeat the relay if necessary and if time allows. MORE COMPASS WORK—TAKING A BEARING 15-20 Minutes

Lead In Explain to the students that there are many reasons why people use compasses: to navigate ships, to determine direction, or to find latitude- longitude coordinates. Remind the students that the compass is a tool to help them read and follow a map. Ask them to repeat the four steps of map reading: Where am I? Am I holding the map right? Where am I going? How do I get there? A compass will answer two of those questions. Explain to them that because they have already done an exceptional job using the compass to answer question #2 and have found all the Woods Course stations, you are going to show them how to use a compass to answer question #4 by taking a bearing and following it. Following a bearing is useful for traveling from one place to another when there are few landmarks.

Procedures 1. Beginning Be sure all the students are facing the same direction, not sitting in a circle. Tell the students that now they are doing advanced compass work, the first thing they need to know is the correct way to hold a compass. Ask them to lay the compass flat in one of their hands, at belly-button height.

2. Meet the Arrows Explain to them that there are three arrows on the compass: Red, Shed, and Fred. Ask the students if they can pick out each arrow. (Red is the magnetic red needle they have already used to orient their maps; Shed, which looks like a tall narrow building, is located on the dial and moves when it is turned; and Fred is located on the flat baseplate where it says “read bearing here.”) Tell them the basics of each arrow:

Red: If the compass is held flat and there is no large piece of metal near it, the red arrow will always point north. Ask the students to point north. Tell them to turn the compass around a couple of times. Ask them to point north now.

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Red is the only arrow that can turn by itself.

Shed: The Shed arrow is movable and will point wherever the compass-user puts it. It will only turn if someone turns it.

Fred: Fred will point wherever the compass is pointing. Fred’s other name is the “Direction of Travel Arrow,” because no matter which way you are walking, you should hold the compass so that Fred points forward. Fred is the only arrow that does not turn at all.

3. Meet the Dial Tell the students that one important part of the compass they have not used yet is the numbered dial. They can think of the dial as a kind of super compass rose that doesn’t just indicate north, south, east and west (the cardinal directions) or even the cardinal directions and the ordinal directions (northeast, northwest, southeast, and southwest), but every possible direction they could turn. The numbers represent degrees in a circle, because if you were to turn in every possible direction, you would turn in a complete circle. Ask them what it means if someone on a snowboard “does a 360.” (The person has turned all the way around.) How about a 180? (The snowboarder has turned halfway around.) On the compass, which numbers indicate the cardinal directions? (North is both 0 and 360, east is 90, south is 180, and west is 270.)

Ask the students if north on the dial always coincides with north in real life. Have them turn around and face the opposite direction to see if the dial changed at all, and ask them why it didn’t. (The only part of the compass that always points north is the magnetized needle, “Red.”) Next, have the students turn the dial to find out which arrow moves with it. (It’s “Shed.”) Where on the dial does Shed point? (To the dial’s north.) Again, is this always north in real life? (No, because you can turn it. The only part of the compass that turns by itself to find north is Red.)

4. Reading a Bearing: Compass By Itself What can you do with the compass to make north on the dial line up with north in real life? (Just like when you oriented the map by lining up its north arrow with Red, turn the dial so that Red lines up with the dial’s north.) What arrow is Red inside now? (Shed.)

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Check that each student has now put Red in the Shed. Ask them to look at the final arrow, Fred. What number on the dial is lined up with the base of Fred? If all students are facing the same direction, they should all have the same number. This number tells you which way you are facing. It is called the bearing. So, if your bearing was 90°, which way would you be facing? (east) Ask the students to turn to their right and take another bearing.

Now that you know how to read a bearing from the compass, how would you use the compass to help you go in a certain direction? For example, if you wanted to walk northeast, how could the compass help you to do that? First, you would turn the dial so that northeast, or 45°, lined up with Fred. Next, you would turn yourself until Red is in the Shed. Once Red is in the Shed, the dial is telling the truth, so you are facing in the direction of the bearing at Fred’s base. Have the students practice: Call out directions for them to face. Help any students who may be having trouble and continue calling directions until everyone gets it.

5. Taking a Bearing: Compass With the Map After learning to read a bearing from a compass, the students are ready to combine the compass and the map. Ask them why just a compass by itself isn’t enough. (A compass can tell you which direction you’re going, but a map shows what you will find in that direction.) Tell them that they’ve already had practice with the first step of using a map with a compass: orienting the map. Ask each student to take out his or her map, put it flat on the ground, and orient it using the compass. Check to make sure everyone’s is correct before continuing.

Explain that because the maps are oriented, if they wanted to get somewhere they could just look at the map and follow the landmarks, but in an area with few or confusing landmarks a compass will help them get from place to place. Finding the direction they should walk to get from one spot to another is called taking a bearing. To take a bearing from an oriented map, have the students set the compass on the map with the side of the base plate making a line from your group’s present location to your destination. If the distance is longer than the length of the compass, they can use a ruler or other straight edge to extend their reach. Check to make sure everyone’s compass is in the right place and that Fred is pointing toward the destination. Next, have the students turn the dial so that Red is in the Shed.

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The number that ends up at the base of Fred (where it says “Read bearing Here”) is the bearing they will follow. Have the students practice taking bearings. Let them try using other maps as well, such as the Fodderstack Topographic Map from the Fun Course.

6. Following Bearings: Compass, Map, and Wilderness Tell the students now that they know how to take and read bearings, it’s time to practice following them. Once they’ve taken a bearing from the map and want to follow it, they must use the compass to turn themselves in the direction of that bearing. Remind them that Red must stay in the Shed and they should follow Fred. Ask them if they should walk through the woods with their eyes glued to the compass, making sure they follow Fred every step of the way. (Of course not. They’ll run into trees.)

The way to use the bearing they have taken from the map is to turn in the direction of the bearing and point Fred forward. Looking in the direction Fred is pointing, they should pick out a target such as a tree or rock in that line and walk to it, repeating as many times as necessary before arriving at their destination. If all the trees look the same or they are in the middle of a field, they can use the buddy system: One partner holds the compass and faces in the direction of the bearing while the other walks forward, staying within earshot. The partner with the compass watches the target partner to be sure he or she is staying in line with the bearing and calls out directions when necessary. Before it starts getting hard to see or hear the target partner, the directing partner will call “Stop!” and catch up. The partners can take turns at each job until they reach their destination.

Wrap Up Ask the students how they might use their newfound skills once they leave Tremont. Tell them that many outdoor jobs, such as field science, involve following topographic maps. Also, there are places in the U.S. where there are no trails, but people who know how to use a map and compass can navigate confidently through the wilderness. Ask the students what safety precautions they should take before heading into the woods with a map and compass. (Pack plenty of water, food, and extra clothing, take some other people who also know what they are doing, and tell someone where they’re going and when they expect to return.)

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THE STORY OF JACK AND THE SOAP RINGS 15-20 Minutes

This story can be read to students to help explain contour lines.

Lead In the Story of Jack and the Soap Rings Once upon a time there was a boy named Jack. Jack lived here in Tremont, only then it was called Walker Fields (have students look on the Fodderstack map). One day Jack was givin’ his pet catfish a bath. He had the magic water pump, which pumped itself, open full blast out in the front yard and was just a scrubbin’ that dirty ol’ catfish when he heard his mother calling. “Jack, I want you to go over to Cades Cove and get some lye soap from Uncle Jobe.” So off Jack went with soap on his mind and forgot that he’d left the magic water pump a-runnin’ full blast. Well, it come about dinner time (twelve noon) and the water had run so much it filled up the whole valley. Come supper- time (evening meal) the water had gotten up so high that the top of Fodderstack Mountain was under water (Look! It’s on the map!). Jack swam home with a bar of soap in one hand, which made all the water soapy and sudsy, and dove down to the pump and turned it off. It took a whole week for the water to drain out of the valley. While it drained out of the valley, that soapy water got stopped up every 40 feet and left soap rings on the mountains (just like it would in your bathtub at home). And that’s what all these squiggly lines are on the topographic maps.

Teacher’s Note: Students often need further explanation in order to understand how contour lines on a map represent three-dimensional landforms and elevation changes, and modeling can be very effective. You may do the following activity while telling the story of Jack and the Soap Rings, or afterward as a way to further elaborate.

Have the students look at the Fodderstack Topographic Map and ask them if the highlighted line on Fodderstack Mountain connects to itself. (yes) Explain that this line is called a contour line. Contour lines show the elevation (height) above sea level and the shape (contour) of the land. Ask the students if the contour line is level like the surface of the ocean. (yes) Ask the students whether Sara (use a student’s name), if she were

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to walk all the way around the soap ring, would at any time go up or down in elevation. (No; the contour line connects points of the same elevation, so Sara would be at the same elevation no matter where she is on the line.) Explain that there is a certain vertical distance between neighboring contour line that is called the contour interval. The contour interval for each map is written near the map legend; for the Fodderstack Topo- graphic Maps the interval is 40 feet. Be sure the students understand that the contour intervals are 40 vertical feet apart, but that they would have to travel more than 40 feet if they were to walk from one line to another. Ask the students if they can figure out at what elevation or feet above sea level the highlighted line is. (2200 feet) Now ask students to look at the Tremont Topographic Map. Ask if anyone knows where they are on the map. How did they figure out their position? Remind them that it is important to always keep track of their location on the map as they move from place to place. This will help prevent them from getting lost. Can anyone tell the group which way to travel to go to the Friendship Circle? (They may answer out loud or simply point.) Tell the students that once they have located both their present position and the place they want to travel to on the map, they have to some- how know where those places are on the actual ground. Lining up the places on the ground with the places on the map is called orienting the map. There are two ways to orient the map so that north, south, east, and west on the map are aligned with north, south, east, and west on the earth. One way is to know two points on the earth and align your map with them (i.e., if they know where the dormitory and activity center are on the map and on the earth, they can align the two). A second way, which works even when two known points cannot be found, is to orient the map using a compass, the north star, or the sun. Compass use will not be taught in this lesson, but it is a useful skill to learn. Have students orient their maps using landmarks. Now, looking at their maps, can they determine in what direction the river is found and point to it? The dormitory? By having their map correctly oriented and knowing their present location on the map, they should be able to point directly at any feature at Tremont, whether or not they can actually see it. Tell them to keep this in mind when they are doing the Woods Course!

Wrap Up Wrap up by asking what Jack’s soap rings are really called on a topographic map. (contour lines) Ask them what the important things are that they just learned about contour lines. (each one connects to itself; the whole contour line is at one specific elevation; contour lines show

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the shape of the land; each map has a specific contour interval)

THE SHADOW 10 Minutes

Teacher’s Note: If you wish to do The Shadow activity, you should set up for it by doing the following: Ask for a volunteer and trace his or her shadow, including feet, on the blacktop with a piece of chalk. Mark the top of the shadow’s head with an X. Tell the students that this is for a later activity and then proceed with the lesson.

Lead In When the students arrive at the blacktop area, ask for methods other than the compass people might use to find north. (Moss on the north side of trees is not very good indicator. North-facing slopes having certain plants is not good indicator. The position of the sun is a fairly good indicator)

Procedures Lead them back to the chalk outline of the shadow (from the introduction) and have the same person stand in the same spot (feet in feet outline). Trace his or her shadow with the chalk and mark the top of the shadow’s head with an X. Connect the two with a straight chalk line. This line is an east-west line. Ask the students why.

Wrap Up Ask who now would feel comfortable using a topographic map to go exploring in wilderness. Share with them the following: orienteering is not only a tool for exploration but also is played as a sport. Around the country there are many orienteering clubs that hold orienteering meets. These meets are a chance to test map reading skills and endurance. The meets are just like the Woods Course except there is a card-punch at each station and people travel as fast as possible to find all stations and return to the beginning. They can set up their own orienteering course at home by getting or drawing a map and having other people find certain items.

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Tremont Topographic Map--Fun Course

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Fodderstack Topographic Map

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Tremont Topographic Map

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Wilderness Navigation Example Station Card

Station #

A. R Great B. W Smoky C. S Mountains D. V Institute at E. T Tremont F. U Orienteering G. O Course H. A I. E PLEASE DO NOT J. D REMOVE

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TOPO SYMBOLS GAME

Topo Symbols Cards

and

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TOPO SYMBOLS GAME

Topo Symbols Cards

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TOPO SYMBOLS GAME

Land Feature Cards

Spring and Cemetery

1600 Feet Elevation

House and Barn

Flat Area

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TOPO SYMBOLS GAME

Land Feature Cards

Steep Hillside

Depression (Sinkhole)

Valley and Stream

Knoll and Ridge

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TOPO SYMBOLS GAME

Answer Sheet

and

Answer: Spring and Cemetery Answer: 1600 Feet Elevation

Answer: House and Barn Answer: Flat Area

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TOPO SYMBOLS GAME

Answer Sheet

Answer: Steep Hillside Answer: Depression (Sinkhole)

Answer: Valley and Stream Answer: Knoll and Ridge

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