Hide It and Map It: Control Placement Swap
In pairs, students hide control markers around the playground and mark their exact spots on the map; then another pair uses that map to find them. They practice connecting the ground with the map, mapping accurately, and taking care with other people's work.
How to play
- Pair students up, give each pair an area of the playground and three numbered control markers, plus a clean map and a marker.
- For 6 minutes, the pair places its three controls in its area and draws a circle on the map at each spot with the control number.
- Pairs come back to the center and swap maps with another pair the teacher assigns.
- In 6 minutes, each pair looks for the three controls on the map it received; if one is not where the map says, they mark it "misplaced."
- Take a 3-minute debrief: searching pairs tell the setters which controls were placed accurately and what was missing on the map.
- Round two takes 4 minutes: each pair fixes its map and collects its controls, and in the last minute everything goes back in the box.
Rules
- Controls must be visible from 2 yards away: no burying them or putting them in trash cans.
- Hide controls only in your assigned area, never in other areas or off the playground.
- Safety: no climbing on walls, benches, or goals to place or find controls.
Variations
Easier
Place controls next to big features shown on the map, such as a goal or a drinking fountain.
Standard
Three controls per pair anywhere in their area.
Harder
Pairs must add a control description to the map, such as "north corner of the bench," and the other pair checks it.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: the student places and finds controls at hand height in accessible areas.
- Visual impairment: use brightly colored controls and an enlarged map of the student's area.
- Fitness level: give the far areas to pairs who want to run more.
Learning goals
- Mark the exact position of an object on the map.
- Read another pair's map to find a spot.
- Give and receive useful feedback to improve accuracy.
Equipment for a class of 25
- maps: 26
- control markers: 39
- markers: 13
Teacher tip
Give out areas that do not overlap and number controls by area so you can make sure they all come back. The common slip is circling the wrong side of a feature: have students check which way is north.
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