North, South, East, West

Here's a simple game you can play inside on a rainy day.

Start by having students point toward north.

Teacher:
Think about the direction north. Imagine that I asked you to point north. Think about the direction in which you would point. Well, get ready. When I say "north," point your finger north. Ready.......North.

Very entertaining.

After they've demonstrated their level of spatial relations, indicate which way north actually is. If you're playing in your classroom, you should try to indentify a wall or corner of your room. Then point out and identify the other three directions.

HOW TO PLAY:

  1. One student is chosen as navigator. He sits in the center of the game area and is blindfolded.
  2. The teacher then begins to slowly count to 10.
  3. As the teacher is counting, the students walk toward one of the four direction areas. When they've reached their area, they stand and wait.
  4. After the teacher has reached 10, the navigator calls out a direction. All students standing in that area are out and must sit down until the next game.
  5. The teacher then begins to count to 10 again as the remaining students walk to another direction. (They may stay in the same spot if they wish.)
  6. After counting to 10, the navigator calls out another direction. As before, students standing in the chosen direction are out.
  7. The teacher keeps counting (usually with the assistance of the students who are sitting in their seats) and the navigator keeps calling out directions until just one student is left standing.
  8. The last student becomes the new navigator.

Suggestion: As the game progresses and fewer and fewer students are "hiding," you will come upon a situation wherein the navigator calls out a direction and no one is standing there. When this happens we usually allow the navigator to keep calling a direction until he "finds" someone.

Bonus: You can also play this same game using a 4-color overhead spinner.

Little Known Fact: I used to play this game with the kids in my Sunday School class. Instead of the directions, though, we identified the four different areas as Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

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