One-Way Streets

The playground fills with chalk streets with painted arrows showing the only direction you can drive; as hoop cars, children find their way to places by following the arrows. It builds orientation, reading a sign on the ground and planning a route.

How to play

1. The teacher draws a simple maze of streets with big arrows and three marked places: a tree, a house and a sun (2 min).
2. We all follow the teacher, tracing the arrows with a finger (2 min).
3. Free driving, always following the arrows (2 min).
4. The teacher calls a place ("To the sun!") and each car finds the way while following the arrows (3 min).
5. Change the direction of some arrows by erasing and redrawing, then play again (3 min).

Rules

• Always drive the way the arrow points.
• If I go the wrong way, I don't turn around: I find another street.
• We drive without bumping.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: wider streets where a child using a wheelchair drives.
• Visual impairment: big, high-contrast arrows and a buddy who says "now turn right."
• Autism: a paper map of the maze they can look at before going in.

Learning goals

• Follow a direction shown by a sign.
• Find their way through space to a place.
• Choose a route while following a rule.

Equipment for a class of 25

• Sidewalk chalk: 10
• Hoops: 25

Teacher tip

Draw arrows at the start and middle of each street, not just the start. If kids get stuck, guide them at the first intersection and ask, "Which way does the arrow point?"

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