Direction and Location
Primary 6 · Social and Religious Studies
Direction and Location
Lesson 1 of 4
11 min
On a school trip to Akagera National Park, Mugisha wanders away to look at a giraffe. When he turns around, he cannot see the bus. He remembers what his teacher said: "The bus is parked to the west of the viewpoint." It is early morning, and the sun is low in the sky. How can the sun help him?
The four cardinal points are North (N), East (E), South (S) and West (W). Between them are the four intermediate points: North-East (NE), South-East (SE), South-West (SW) and North-West (NW).
Going clockwise from the top, the eight points are: N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW. Each point has an opposite: north is opposite south, east is opposite west, north-east is opposite south-west, and north-west is opposite south-east.
Every day, the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. This happens because the Earth spins from west to east.
In the morning, stand with your right arm pointing towards the rising sun (east). Then:
Because Rwanda is very close to the Equator, the sun at midday is almost straight overhead, so the morning and the evening are the best times to use the sun for direction.
The needle of a magnetic compass always points north. To use a map with a compass, turn the map until its north arrow points the same way as the needle.
Take Kigali as the starting point:
Tip
Never Eat Soggy Worms! Going clockwise from the top: North, East, South, West. For the in-between points, always say north or south first: north-east, never "east-north".
Answer: North, East, South and West.
Answer: South-west.
Answer: To his left, because his left arm points west.
Answer: South-west.
Answer: Because Rwanda is close to the Equator, so at midday the sun is almost straight overhead.
What you learned today
Sources and credits
The rest of the lesson is written by Ganzaa.
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Quick check
Put the four cardinal points in order, going clockwise from the top.
Tap the cards in the right order.
