Little Red Riding Hood's Map Path
The playground becomes the story's setting: Red's house, the forest, the river and Grandma's house are marked with cones and on a simple map. In groups, students follow the map in story order and do a movement challenge at each place. It builds map-based orienteering and expressive movement.
How to play
- Mark 6 story places with cones and a challenge card: Red's house, the flower field, the forest, the river, the woodcutter's cabin and Grandma's house.
- Give each group of 4 a playground map with the 6 places drawn and numbered in story order.
- Tell the beginning of the story (2 min) and explain that each group must visit the places in order by following the map.
- At each place, the group does the card's challenge: gather pretend flowers in a zigzag, cross the river hopping hoop to hoop, tiptoe through the forest without waking the wolf…
- Groups start at different story places 2 minutes apart so they do not bunch up. The full route takes about 12 minutes.
- Groups sit and wait at Grandma's house; once everyone arrives, the story ends with an easy whole-class jog away from the wolf to home base.
Rules
- Groups follow the map order and do not skip places.
- Finish each challenge before moving on.
- Always move as a group and walk near the cones.
Variations
Easier
Four places close together, and the teacher goes along with the youngest groups.
Standard
Six numbered places on the map with a challenge at each.
Harder
The map has no numbers, so groups must work out the order by remembering the story.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: each card has an adapted version (for example, crossing the river along a path of cones), and the route is flat.
- Hearing impairment: challenge cards include pictures, and the story is told with gestures.
- Shyness: the student can read the map and guide the group without having to act in front of others.
Learning goals
- Follow a route on a simple map in the given order.
- Connect the places in a story with real spaces on the playground.
- Use their bodies to express story characters and situations.
Equipment for a class of 25
- maps: 7
- cones: 12
- challenge cards: 6
Teacher tip
Have each group start at a different place and continue in circular order to avoid lines. Practice the trickiest challenge with the whole class first.
PatioLab has "Little Red Riding Hood's Map Path" and 3999 more activities ready to drag into your lesson and run from your phone in the gym.
More activities like this
More main activities for Elementary
1-on-1 Mini Volleyball Up and Down the River
One-on-one mini volleyball duels on 3 x 3 m courts under a rope 2 m high, using a receive, self-set and send rule.
1-on-1 Side-Step Square Duels
In pairs, inside 5 x 5 m squares, an attacker holding a football tries to get from the starting side to the far side without the defender pulling a flag.
1v1 Four-Gate Soccer Duels
In a square with a gate on each side, two players go head to head and score by dribbling through any of the four gates.
2-on-2 Mini Volleyball with a Neutral Setter
Two-on-two mini volleyball with a neutral setter under the rope who always plays for the team with the ball.
2v1 Attack Waves to Mini Goals
Two attackers take on one defender and try to score on a small goal in under 10 seconds.
2v2 Alley Mini-Volleyball
A 2v2 mini-volleyball game on a very long, narrow court, about 33×10 feet, where the only way to win a point is by playing for depth: short near the net or deep to the…