This came in to play later on when I introduced a maze I made over Christmas break. The children were very excited to see it. Immediately the children wanted to put some sort of creature inside. I compromised and decided upon a small puppet. We put the turtle in the maze with a treat at the end and I asked for directions.
"This way"
"Turn!"
"Over here!"
"Back up!"
"Stop!!!"
It was a "disaster" because the children were frustrated with the turtle's lack of understanding. He didn't know which way to turn. He didn't know which way to go. The words the children were using weren't working. What if we say which way to turn? The turtle needed to use his right and left directions. We had to label the turtle's hands. Deciding on which hand was right and which hand was left took some time as each person's perspective was different. The children across from the turtle were saying different things from the children next to the turtle. Perspective is an interesting thing.
Once decided on the correct right and left "flipper" we tried again."Turn left"
"Go forward"
"Back up"
"Stop!"
The turtle understood the directions a lot more clearly. We even tested it again with the teacher's eyes closed. The directions had to be better because I wasn't even watching!
We then separated into small groups and tried again. This time I wasn't even participating. Each child took a turn holding the turtle while the others gave verbal directions. It was an important part of being the "turtle" to listen to the words the children were saying. If they said to turn left, the turtle had to turn left- even if it was the wrong way. This is the start of further discussions of directions, maps, and locations. It can be hard to imagine something larger like maps, neighborhoods, states and countries, but it is something we will hopefully be forming a stronger understanding of in the next few weeks.
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