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Poison-O — Activity

Visit only the checkpoints shown on your map

Time	30-45 minutes
Space	Schoolyard or local park
Materials	Checkpoints (orienteering flags, streamers, or cones), Poison Score-O maps (1 per pair), All-checkpoints map (for setup and answer key), Punch cards or index cards, Pencils
Vocabulary	Poison checkpoint, Spatial relationship vocabulary

"Orienteering requires careful map reading"

Poison-O is a variant of Score-O in which participants are given a map with checkpoint locations circled. The goal is to visit as many of those checkpoints as possible in the allotted time. Do not punch any checkpoint that is not on the map. It is poison. You will lose points! The map shows only a portion of the checkpoints scattered throughout the space. Using the map, participants determine which checkpoints are safe and which are poison. There is no visible difference between safe and poison checkpoints in the field. Only the map indicates which is which. The more attention participants pay to the map and their surroundings, the more successful they will be.

Learning Goals

Learning Goals

Students completing this activity will be able to:

• Identify and understand map symbols
• Read the map carefully to distinguish safe checkpoints from poison ones
• Use spatial relationship vocabulary
• Work cooperatively with and accept feedback from others

How to Run It

How to Run It

Setup

1. Print Poison Score-O maps, all-checkpoints maps, and an answer key
2. When creating maps, place correct checkpoints and poison checkpoints on similar features near each other (e.g., if the correct checkpoint is on a park bench, set a poison checkpoint at another bench nearby)
3. Set all checkpoints in their corresponding locations according to the all-checkpoints map

Steps

1. Hand out maps. Give each pair a Poison Score-O map. It is okay for them to look at the map ahead of time.

2. Review the boundary. Describe the boundary verbally so participants know the area.

3. Practice relating the map to the terrain. Describe a checkpoint location out loud. Have students orient their maps and point to the feature. Ask them to raise their hand if it is circled on their map. Repeat with a few more locations.

4. Explain the rules. The challenge is to visit all of the safe checkpoints marked on the map while avoiding the unmarked poison checkpoints. When participants reach a checkpoint they believe is safe, they record the checkpoint code on their punch card. Poison checkpoints cost points.

5. Hand out punch cards and pencils. Pairs start when ready.

6. Visit checkpoints. Pairs visit each checkpoint on their map, recording codes for the ones they believe are safe.

7. Score the results. When finished, participants turn in their punch cards. Check their answers against the answer key. If they had any errors, tell them where the poison checkpoint was located and how they can tell the difference between the poison checkpoint and the safe one they were looking for. If there is time, challenge participants to correct any errors they made.

Tips

• Place poison checkpoints on similar features near the correct ones. This is what makes the activity challenging: participants must read the map precisely, not just head to the general area.
• If you start everyone at the same time, different pairs will have different maps. This forces independence: following another pair is not helpful because they are probably visiting different checkpoints. This is one of Poison-O's strengths as an activity. It reveals who has genuinely grasped the navigation concepts versus who has been following others.
• This activity works well as a culminating activity or assessment to observe how well participants are developing their map-reading skills.

Script

Script

"The challenge in this activity is to find all the checkpoints marked on the map. You do not have to go in order. However, there are more checkpoints in the area than are marked on your map. The map shows you which checkpoints are safe and worth points. Checkpoints not marked on the map are poison, and will cause you to lose points!"

"Make sure to keep your map oriented and use landmarks to help find the correct checkpoints. Some of these are designed to trick you, but as long as you pay attention you will do just fine. Try to finish with a positive score!"

Vocabulary

Vocabulary

Poison checkpoint: A checkpoint that is placed in the field but is not marked on the participant's map. Visiting a poison checkpoint costs points.

Spatial relationship vocabulary: Words that describe where things are relative to each other (near, between, past, next to, on the other side of).

See the Glossary for all curriculum terms.

Videos

▶Poison-Ohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctfJ6O-hkJI