Gym Floor Plan Setup Challenge

Each group gets a floor plan of the gym with equipment symbols and must set up the real equipment exactly where the plan shows; then another group checks whether it matches. It builds plan reading indoors, spatial organization, and cooperation.

How to play

1. Before class, prepare 5 cards with a gym floor plan split into five zones and a key: triangle for cone, circle for hoop, line for pole, rectangle for mat.
2. Form 5 groups of 5 and give each a zone of the gym plus its card showing where 6 to 8 items go (2 min).
3. Each group collects only the equipment on its plan from the storage room and sets it up in its zone, matching position and direction (6 min).
4. Groups rotate to the next zone with their card, compare plan and setup, and give each item a thumbs-up or thumbs-down (4 min).
5. Everyone moves through the finished course once, walking or jumping depending on the equipment, to make sure it works (5 min).
6. Each group takes down its zone and returns the equipment to its spot in storage within 3 minutes.

Rules

• Carry heavy or long items, like mats and poles, with two people.
• Carry poles upright and never run with them.
• Take only the equipment shown on your plan.
• When checking another zone, point out mistakes but do not move another group's equipment.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: the student directs the setup from the plan and carries light items like hoops or cones.
• Hearing impairment: explain the key with a large poster visible from every zone.
• Fitness level: during the final run-through, groups can repeat the course as many times as they need.

Learning goals

• Read a simple plan with a symbol key.
• Organize the play space based on a plan.
• Work together to set up and put away equipment safely.

Equipment for a class of 25

• plan cards: 10
• cones: 10
• hoops: 10
• poles: 8
• mats: 5

Teacher tip

This activity also teaches students to set up stations on their own in future lessons. Make sure mats lie flat and do not overlap.

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