Map & CompassTaking a bearing and following it, in the order the steps actually happen.Practical skillsThe one skill that works with no battery and no signal.1Orient the mapTurn it until its north lines match the compass needle. The mapnow matches the ground.2Take a bearingEdge of the compass from where you are to where you are going,direction-of-travel arrow forward.3Set the housingRotate until the housing's north lines sit parallel with the map's gridnorth.4Adjust for declinationGrid north and magnetic north differ; the map margin gives thelocal value and the year.5Walk itHold the compass level, turn your body until the needle sits in thearrow, walk toward a landmark on that line.TWO RULES THAT PREVENT MOST ERRORSRed in the shed — the red needle inside the orienting arrowAim for a visible landmark, walk to it, re-take the bearingMetal and phones deflect the needle. Take the reading away from both.Map & Compasslearnposters.com
Map & Compass — printable life skills wall chart from LearnPosters. Free vector PDF, US Letter and A4.

Map & Compass, step by step

The one skill that works with no battery and no signal.

  1. Orient the mapTurn it until its north lines match the compass needle. The map now matches the ground.
  2. Take a bearingEdge of the compass from where you are to where you are going, direction-of-travel arrow forward.
  3. Set the housingRotate until the housing's north lines sit parallel with the map's grid north.
  4. Adjust for declinationGrid north and magnetic north differ; the map margin gives the local value and the year.
  5. Walk itHold the compass level, turn your body until the needle sits in the arrow, walk toward a landmark on that line.

Two rules that prevent most errors

  • Red in the shed — the red needle inside the orienting arrow
  • Aim for a visible landmark, walk to it, re-take the bearing

Metal and phones deflect the needle. Take the reading away from both.

Questions about the Map & Compass poster

What’s on the Map & Compass poster?
5 numbered steps, with a full worked run-through. The one skill that works with no battery and no signal. Orient the map — Turn it until its north lines match the compass needle. The map now…; Take a bearing — Edge of the compass from where you are to where you are going, direc…; Set the housing — Rotate until the housing's north lines sit parallel with the map's…; Adjust for declination — Grid north and magnetic north differ; the map margin gives t…; Walk it — Hold the compass level, turn your body until the needle sits in the arrow,…. Metal and phones deflect the needle. Take the reading away from both.
Who is the Map & Compass poster for?
Map & Compass belongs to the Practical skills section rather than to a school year, because life skills is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning outdoors can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
When should you use the Map & Compass poster?
Practise somewhere familiar first. Learning this when you are already lost is too late. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Map & Compass belongs on the wall where that life skills work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
What other posters go with Map & Compass?
Building a Fire, Six Knots and Foraging Safety sit alongside Map & Compass in the Practical skills section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.Building a FireSix KnotsForaging Safety
Is the Map & Compass poster free to download and print?
Yes. Map & Compass downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Practical skills section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
What size does the Map & Compass poster print at?
Map & Compass is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Map & Compass loses nothing.Printing guide

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