This activity is primarily aimed at Year 7 students. However, Year 6 teachers could also collect examples of campus maps from secondary schools in the area and conduct a ‘virtual’ new school mapping scavenger hunt. If you can gain maps from schools some of your students might attend, this is ideal (your transition coordinator might be able to help). Some schools will have a map of the school available indicating classrooms and locations across the school grounds on their school website. If no campus maps are available, it is still possible to do the activity using a generic campus map from an image search. Year 7 teachers will be able to use their actual school map.

1. Reflect on the similarities and differences between the secondary school campus maps collected and what students are used to at their (former) primary school. How can this be used as a point of discussion in class?
2. Review the classroom activity – new school mapping scavenger hunt.

In primary school, students generally had their lessons in one room or a shared open space area. They may have had other rooms or locations for LOTE, PE, ART, and the Resource Centre/Library. In secondary school, however, Year 7s will need to become familiar with their new surroundings, including managing new classrooms and buildings that may change on a lesson-to-lesson basis. The new school mapping scavenger hunt challenge is designed to help Year 7s acclimatise to their new environment.

The new school mapping scavenger hunt challenge can be done with ‘buddy’ or ‘mentor’ students, if available. You can use the item list in the classroom activity, or modify it to better suit your school. Answers are provided in this list.