Today's Classroom Activities :

Teaching Directionality

Santa Says
Directionality Cut a large Christmas tree shape from green poster board. Cut out a number of different ornaments and invite the children to decorate them. On the back of each ornament, write "Santa says" directions that tell where to put the ornament on the tree, such as, Santa says put me up high, Santa says put me east of a red ornament, etc. Have the children follow the directions to decorate the tree.

North, South, East, or West
This game can be used to teach or reinforce cardinal (North, East, South, and West) directionality. Teachers of older students might adapt the game to reinforce cardinal and intermediate (Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, Northwest) directions.

Getting Lost
In this lesson, students practice their knowledge of the cardinal directions by having them describe the directions in their classroom. Students will practice figuring out the relative directions of other places (such as another classroom or the office) in relation to their classroom. They will conclude by taping signs with place names around the room to show the directions they would travel to get to those places.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (Once I Caught a Fish Alive): Counting and directional words
Students will learn how to recognize written numbers and use one-to-one correspondence. Students will also learn about directional words.

Get the Turtle to the Pond
Students will learn how to use directional words, such as right, left, forward, and back, to create and explore paths. Students will also learn how to create a path using an applet and how to compare their paths with other students and determine the shortest path to a destination.

Introduction to Latitude and Longitude
This lesson introduces students to latitude and longitude. They will look at lines of latitude and longitude on a United States map and discuss the reasons why these lines are helpful. Students will also discuss the ways that temperatures vary with latitude and will explain the clothes they might wear at specific latitudes.