8 Which Way Next

Which Way Next? written by John Lockyer

Wherever you are in the world, a compass will show you which way you are going. Whichever way you turn, you will face one direction. It will be somewhere between north, south, east and west. North is the direction that faces the North Pole. South, which is the opposite of north, is the direction to the South Pole. The direction to the right is called east and the direction to the left is called west.

When you don't have a map, you can use a compass to help you find your way. A compass has a magnetic needle that always points north. It points north because it is pulled by strong magnetic forces at the North Pole. When the needle points to N for north, it is easy to see which way is south and east and west.

The four main directions are often used to name the parts of a country. The four parts of Africa are North Africa, South Africa, East Africa and West Africa. compass can help you to find cities in a country. In Australia, Darwin is north, Melbourne is south, Sydney is east, and Perth is west.

You can carry a compass and a map to help you find your way in a city. The map shows that this park is on the south side of the city, so which direction would you follow to reach the skyscrapers? What can you see on the east side of the city?

school In this school, the sports track is on the east side. The soccer field is north, the classrooms are south, but what is west? Where is the road? Which way are the cars facing? Which way would you go to play on the tennis courts?