# Teaching Orienteering

Part of the Orienteering Merit Badge Digital Resource Guide: [Introduction & Overview](https://merit-badge.university/merit-badges/orienteering/guide/index.md)

*Officiating & Teaching*

> **10.** Teach orienteering techniques to your patrol, troop or crew.

Teaching is the ultimate test of understanding. If you can explain magnetic declination to a Scout who has never held a compass, you truly know it. This final requirement asks you to pass your orienteering knowledge forward — and in the process, solidify your own mastery.

## Planning Your Teaching Session

A good orienteering lesson has both classroom and field components. One without the other falls flat: pure lecture bores everyone, and jumping straight into the field without foundations leads to confusion.

### Suggested Lesson Plan (60–90 minutes)

**Part 1: Indoor or Shelter (20–30 minutes)**

- **What is orienteering?** Give a quick overview using what you learned in [Req 2](https://merit-badge.university/merit-badges/orienteering/guide/req2/). Show a sample orienteering map and a control description sheet.
- **Compass basics.** Pass out compasses and teach the parts (baseplate, bezel, needle, direction-of-travel arrow). Let everyone hold one and watch the needle settle. Reference your knowledge from [Req 3a](https://merit-badge.university/merit-badges/orienteering/guide/req3a/).
- **Taking a bearing.** Demonstrate how to set a bearing and follow it. Keep it simple — "set the number, red in the shed, walk." This builds on [Req 3b](https://merit-badge.university/merit-badges/orienteering/guide/req3b/).
- **Map reading.** Show a topo map and explain contour lines using the five terrain features from [Req 4a](https://merit-badge.university/merit-badges/orienteering/guide/req4a/). Point out the common symbols from [Req 4b](https://merit-badge.university/merit-badges/orienteering/guide/req4b/).

**Part 2: Outdoor Practice (40–60 minutes)**

- **Bearing exercise.** Set up 3–4 stations in a field. Give each group a bearing and a distance (e.g., "Walk bearing 270° for 80 meters"). If they arrive at the correct station, they get the next bearing. This creates a simple course they can complete using only compass and pace count.
- **Map orientation.** Give everyone a map of the area and have them orient it using their compass. Then ask: "Point to the [building/parking lot/stream]." If they oriented correctly, they will point the right direction.
- **Mini-course.** If you have time and space, set up a short 3–5 control course using ribbons or cones as markers. Let them navigate it in pairs.

> **Tip**
>
> Teach one skill at a time and let people practice it before moving on. Do not cover compass, map, and pace counting all at once — each concept needs its own "try it" moment. If your audience is younger Scouts, keep each explanation under 3 minutes before switching to hands-on practice.

## Teaching Techniques That Work

### Show, then do

Demonstrate each technique yourself first, then have everyone try it. Walk through taking a bearing step-by-step, then pair up Scouts and let them practice on each other.

### Use their language

When explaining declination, you might say: "Imagine the map says 'north is this way,' but your compass needle says 'no, north is a little bit that way.' Declination is the gap between those two directions." Analogies beat technical definitions every time.

### Celebrate mistakes

When someone follows a bearing and ends up 50 meters off target, celebrate it — that is exactly how they learn why pace counting and technique matter. Say: "You did the compass part right, but without pace counting, you did not know when to stop. Let's add that."

### Adapt to your audience

For younger Scouts (11–12), keep it to compass basics and a short course. For older Scouts (15–17), you can cover declination, attack points, and the techniques from [Req 6c](https://merit-badge.university/merit-badges/orienteering/guide/req6c/).

## What to Prepare

**Teaching Session Prep** — Gather these before your session

- [ ] Enough compasses for at least one per pair: Borrow from the troop if needed.
- [ ] A topographic map of the practice area: Or print one from USGS topoView.
- [ ] A sample orienteering map and control description sheet: Show what a real event looks like.
- [ ] Bearing exercise cards: Pre-written bearings and distances for the outdoor stations.
- [ ] Station markers: Cones, flags, or ribbons for marking controls.
- [ ] A whiteboard or poster: For drawing compass diagrams (optional but helpful).

![A Scout teaching a group of four younger Scouts in a park clearing, holding up a compass and pointing to its features while the younger Scouts each hold their own compasses, a topographic map spread on a picnic table nearby](https://ik.imagekit.io/doulacoop/tr:w-800/mbu-assets/merit-badges/orienteering/guide/teaching-orienteering?v=d90aa201)

> **Be Prepared! Your Students Get Lost on the Practice Course**
>
> You set up a mini-course and a pair of Scouts cannot find the second control. They have been out for 15 minutes and look frustrated. How do you handle it?
>
> - **Go to them** (or send them a buddy with a walkie-talkie). Do not let frustration turn into giving up.
> - **Ask what they tried.** "What bearing did you set? Where did you start from?" Often the mistake is obvious once they explain their process.
> - **Walk them through it.** Stand at their current location, help them take a new bearing, and walk with them to the control. Teach in the moment.
> - **Reframe the failure.** "Getting lost and recovering is a skill. You just practiced relocation. That's Req 6c material."

[Orienteering USA — Teaching Resources](https://orienteeringusa.org/resources/): Lesson plans, beginner course templates, and instructional materials from the national governing body.

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- Previous: [Acting as an Official](https://merit-badge.university/merit-badges/orienteering/guide/req9/index.md)
- Next: [Extended Learning](https://merit-badge.university/merit-badges/orienteering/guide/extended-learning/index.md)