The Mini Classroom

We build a model of the classroom out of little boxes and move a doll around it; children get in the same position as the doll in the real room. They practice going from small to big and using position words.

How to play

1. On a large tray, we build the classroom in miniature together: small boxes become tables, shelf, and cupboard, and a scrap of fabric is the rug (4 min).
2. The teacher puts the rag doll in the model (under a little table), and a volunteer gets in the same spot in the real room (4 min).
3. Now everyone at once: the doll moves to a new spot in the model, and all the children go to that real place and copy its position (4 min).
4. The other way around: the teacher hides the stuffed animal in the real room, and a child puts the doll in the model where it is (3 min).
5. We put the model away, naming each piece of furniture, and store it in a box for another day (1 min).

Rules

• We touch the model gently so it doesn't break.
• I look at where the doll is and how it's placed.
• I walk to my spot.
• There's room for everyone: if there's no space, I go right next to it.

Variations

Adaptations

• Visual impairment: let the child explore the model by touch before each round and describe where the doll is.
• Autism: always use the same box for each piece of furniture and stick a photo of the real piece on it.
• Limited mobility: set the model on a table at the child's height and let them be the one to move the doll.

Learning goals

• Connect a model to the real classroom space.
• Copy a doll's position with one's own body.
• Use basic spatial vocabulary.

Equipment for a class of 25

• Small cardboard boxes: 8
• Large tray: 1
• Rag doll: 1
• Stuffed animal: 1

Teacher tip

Use boxes the size of cookie or small shoe boxes; no tiny pieces. Line the tray up the same way as the room before you start; a common mix-up is turning it so the door ends up on the wrong side.

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