The Big Die Tells Us Where to Look

Each face of the big die shows a picture of a spot on the playground, and every spot hides one beanbag of each color. A child rolls the die and the four groups travel to that spot in the way the teacher calls out to find the beanbag in their color.

How to play

1. Before class, the teacher hides one beanbag of each color at each of the six spots (1 min).
2. Sitting down, show the faces of the die (tree, bench, goal, sandbox, door and water fountain) and point to where each spot is (2 min).
3. Form four color groups, each with a basket in the middle, and one child rolls the die (1 min).
4. Everyone goes to the spot shown in the way the teacher says (jogging, hopping, giant steps), finds the beanbag in their color, and one group member carries it to the basket (3 min).
5. A different child rolls each time until every spot has come up (6 min).
6. Count the beanbags in each basket: if everyone has six, the playground has no secrets left! (1 min).

Rules

• I go to the spot the die shows, not another one.
• I take only the beanbag in my color.
• Someone different in the group carries the beanbag each time.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: the child goes with a buddy and is the group's die roller and basket keeper; all spots have flat access.
• Visual impairment: a buddy names the spot and goes along, and the group's beanbags have bells on them.
• Autism: give the child a board with six photos of the spots to cover as each one comes up.

Learning goals

• Recognize playground spots from a picture.
• Travel in different ways toward a specific place.
• Organize as a group to search and carry.

Equipment for a class of 25

• Large foam die: 1
• Beanbags in four colors: 24
• Baskets: 4

Teacher tip

Make the die faces from laminated photos of the actual spots. If a face comes up twice, quickly re-hide beanbags while the groups do a challenge at their baskets. Kids tend to sprint off all at once, so keep changing the way they travel.

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