Topo of the Day: Sketch the Problem That Gave You the Most Trouble

Each student sits and sketches a topo of the problem that gave them the most trouble, with holds, feet and the crux marked, and walks a partner through it. It locks in what they learned while the body recovers.

How to play

1. Seated facing the wall, each student picks the problem and studies it quietly (2 min).
2. Draw the topo: rungs used, sequence numbers and a star on the crux (4 min).
3. Explain in pairs: what went wrong, what worked and what you'd try next time (3 min).
4. Pin the topos next to the wall as a bank of solutions for other groups (1 min).

Rules

• Draw while seated, no climbing.
• Critique the move, not the person.
• Topos must be readable: if someone can't follow it, fix it.
• Quiet during the observation.

Variations

Adaptations

• Students with visual impairments: describe the sequence out loud while a partner draws it.
• Students with fine-motor difficulties: use stickers or tokens instead of drawing.
• Students who didn't climb: sketch the most-tried problem and analyze why it was hard.

Learning goals

• Represent a movement sequence on paper.
• Reflect on mistakes and solutions.
• Share technical know-how with the group.

Equipment for a class of 25

• paper: 28
• pencils: 28

Teacher tip

A sheet of scrap paper and a pencil per student is all you need; with a whiteboard, you can build one shared topo. The usual mistake is drawing only the hands: have feet drawn in a different shape or color.

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