STEM · GRADES 6-8 · 35-45 MIN
Compass Course: Bearings, Angles & Navigation lesson plan
Teams follow a three-leg bearings course on the plan, name where they land, then write and test a course for another team.
At a glance
Time: 35-45 min
Grades: Grades 6-8
Subject: STEM: Bearings, Angles & Navigation
Grouping: Teams of 3 (bearing-setter, pacer, checker).
Space: A plan or open area at least 20 x 20 ft.
Teacher prep: 15 min printing + 25 min taping
Included: Teacher guide, student sheet, checks for understanding, exit ticket with answers
Open the printable lesson: teacher guide and student sheet →
Essential question
Can you get somewhere you can't see, using only an angle and a distance?
What students learn and show
Learn: A bearing is an angle measured clockwise from north; small angle errors grow into position errors over distance.
Show: Follow and author a three-leg course and explain how a bearing error changes the endpoint.
Objectives
Read and set a bearing in degrees (three-digit notation)
Follow a multi-leg bearing course at walk pace with a partner spotting
Measure leg distances and check them against the course card
Author a valid three-leg course for another team
Before this lesson students should: Measuring angles in degrees (4.MD.C.5-6); reading a tape.
Materials and prep
The 1:1 print
Compasses (or phone compass apps)
Course cards (teacher-made)
Tape measures
Pencils and blank course-card templates
Prep (about 15 min to print, 25 min to tape)
Tape a large 'plan north' arrow on the plan. Indoors, use plan bearings measured with a protractor or bearing card from this arrow; phone compasses can be thrown off by steel and wiring.
Write and walk 3-4 course cards yourself.
Copy course templates.
Space: A plan or open area at least 20 x 20 ft.
Grouping: Teams of 3 (bearing-setter, pacer, checker).
Ways to run it: Painter's tape on the floor; 1:1 printed floor plan
Lesson procedure
Teacher model: '090 means 90 degrees clockwise from north: east. From the front door, face 090, measure 10 ft, stop.'
Guided practice: All teams walk leg one together; the teacher checks the stop point.
Calibrate: everyone finds north from the same spot and practices rotating to a called bearing (no walking yet).
Leg by leg: teams run their course card — one student sets the bearing, one paces the distance at a calm pace, one spot-checks with the tape.
Name the destination: teams write down which room the course ends in, then verify against the teacher key.
Author round: teams write their own three-leg course, WALK IT THEMSELVES to verify it works, then trade with another team.
Debrief: what happens to your endpoint if one bearing is off by 10 degrees? Walk the error and see.
Checks for understanding
Ask: What bearing is due south? Look for: 180 degrees.
Ask: Your course says 040 for 12 ft but your partner walked 050. What happens? Look for: The endpoint drifts sideways; small angle errors grow with distance.
Ask: Why walk your own course before trading it? Look for: To verify it works.
Exit ticket
From start: 090 for 10 ft, then 180 for 8 ft, then 270 for 6 ft. Where are you relative to start? Answer: 4 ft east and 8 ft south.
Write the bearing that would return you straight back toward start from a point directly east of it. Answer: 270.
Scoring: Item 1: 2 points. Item 2: 1 point. Authored course that works: 2 points.
Common misconception
Students may think: Bearings are measured counterclockwise like math angles.
Address it: Bearings start at north and go clockwise: 090 is east, not north.
Supports and extensions
Learning support: Reduce to single-leg courses with cardinal directions only (N/S/E/W); pair with a peer navigator.
Multilingual learners: Bearings are numbers, not vocabulary — pre-teach only 'turn,' 'walk,' and 'stop'; the card carries the rest.
Mobility and access: Courses can be followed with a token on a tabletop map with a protractor; reading and authoring bearings stays the goal.
Extension: Run the same course in reverse (add 180° to every bearing) — the mental rotation is the whole workout.
Transfer task: Use bearings to describe the route from your classroom to the library on a school map.
Spaced review: A week later: convert three compass directions (NE, SW, W) to bearings.
Standards connections
CCSS 4.MD.C.5 (standard)
C3 D2.Geo.1.K-2 / .3-5 (standard)
Connections show which skills the activity practices. They are not a claim of full coverage; see the library for scope notes.
Why this approach
A National Academies consensus report arguing that spatial thinking is a teachable, underrecognized skill that belongs across the K-12 curriculum. Limit: A policy and synthesis report, not an experiment. It does not test this lesson.
Ready to teach it?
The printable version has the full teacher guide, a student recording sheet, prep steps and an exit ticket. Open the printable lesson →
Need the floor plan itself? Get a 1:1 print quote.
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