The Cardboard Stop Sign
Children drive hoop cars around and the teacher, or a child, holds up cardboard signs: STOP to come to a full stop, DO NOT ENTER to stay out of an area, and a green GO to keep driving. It builds recognition of simple signs and stopping in time.
How to play
- Show the three cardboard signs: the red octagon STOP, the round red DO NOT ENTER and a green GO; act out each one with our bodies (2 min).
- Each child takes a hoop and drives around; when the teacher holds up STOP, everyone brakes and counts to three before going again (3 min).
- The teacher draws a closed-off street in chalk and plants the DO NOT ENTER sign there: cars drive around without going in (2 min).
- Mixed game: the teacher keeps changing the sign and where it is (3 min).
- Taking turns, several children become the officer holding up the signs (2 min).
Rules
- At STOP, the car stops completely.
- We don't drive into the closed street.
- At GO, we keep driving without bumping.
Variations
Easier
For 3-year-olds, use only STOP and GO, saying the word out loud with each sign.
Standard
For 4-year-olds, use all three signs, silently, just showing them.
Harder
For 5-year-olds, three officers in different areas show different signs, and each car watches the one in its area.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: a child using a wheelchair can be a fixed officer at an intersection and then drive.
- Visual impairment: each sign also has a sound (drum, clapping, soft whistle), and STOP always uses the same one.
- Autism: keep all three signs on a fixed board, and the adult plays the officer at first.
Learning goals
- Recognize the STOP and DO NOT ENTER signs.
- Stop moving with control.
- Decide where to drive based on the signs.
Equipment for a class of 25
- Cardboard signs: 3
- Hoops: 25
- Sidewalk chalk: 4
Teacher tip
Make big signs from cardboard taped to a stick or a paper towel tube, in the real shapes (octagon, circle). The usual mistake is a half stop: ask for "statue feet" on STOP.
PatioLab has "The Cardboard Stop Sign" and 8714 more activities ready to drag into your lesson and run from your phone in the gym.
More main activities for Elementary
"Al Pasar la Barca" Parachute Rowing
Sitting around the parachute, children row by pulling the fabric toward them and letting it go toward the middle to the rhythm of the traditional Spanish song "Al pasar…
"Corro de la Patata" Parachute Circle
Children circle with the parachute while singing the traditional Spanish song "Al corro de la patata" (Potato Circle), and on "achupé, achupé" everyone sits down…
"El Patio de Mi Casa" Parachute Song
Children sing the traditional Spanish ring song "El patio de mi casa" while circling with the parachute and lowering it to the ground on "agáchate" (squat down).
"Que Llueva" Parachute Rain
Using the traditional Spanish children's song "Que llueva, que llueva" (Let It Rain), children make rain, clouds and sun with the parachute, and some hide underneath as…
«A la Zapatilla por Detrás»: The Slipper Behind Your Back
Sitting in a circle with eyes covered, one child walks around the outside with a slipper singing the traditional Spanish rhyme «A la zapatilla por detrás» («the…
«A Tapar la Calle»: The Chain That Blocks the Street
Half the class forms a hand-in-hand chain that walks forward singing the traditional Spanish song «A tapar la calle» («Block the street so nobody passes»), while the…