Traffic Sign Orienteering: Find It and Decide

An orienteering race in pairs where each control point has a traffic sign and a real-life situation as a pedestrian, cyclist, skater or scooter rider. Pairs run to find the controls and must decide what to do in each case, combining high intensity with knowledge of the rules.

How to play

1. Hand out a field map with 15 controls marked; each control is a cone with a sign card, a situation and a code (3 min).
2. In pairs with staggered starts, find the controls in any order and record the code and your answer, for example: "You're on a bike and see this sign before a crosswalk: what do you do?" (12 min).
3. Group scoring with the answer key: one point per control found and one per correct answer (5 min).
4. Discussion of the three most-missed situations and why they are confusing (5 min).

Rules

• Partners stay together at all times.
• No one moves or hides a control.
• Run looking ahead and slow down before each cone to avoid running into other pairs.
• At the long whistle, every pair returns to the start.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: visits the most accessible controls in the wheelchair or judges at the start with the answer key.
• Visual impairment: goes with a partner who reads the situation aloud while they decide the answer.
• Reading difficulties: situations use pictures and short sentences.

Learning goals

• Recognize traffic signs and apply them to different situations.
• Make quick decisions under physical effort.
• Navigate a large space with a map.

Equipment for a class of 25

• cones: 15
• worksheets: 30
• stopwatch: 1

Teacher tip

Include situations for all four users (pedestrian, bike, skates and scooter) and some right-of-way cases without a sign, like a pedestrian at an unsignaled crosswalk.

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