Our wonderful group of second-graders-to-be got together again; this time for a lesson in cardinal directions.
We talked about magnets and how they are pulled by the Earth’s magnetism. We then made our own compass by putting a magnet with the North and South ends labeled, into a tiny bowl, to float freely in a bigger bowl of water. We watched as the tiny bowl turned so the “N” pointed toward the north of our Earth. The compass looks like this:
I drew a compass rose on the ground, to get them familiar with how that symbol directly corresponds with geographical North, South, East, and West.
Next, we did a worksheet activity that used a visual map to help the kids learn how to use cardinal directions. I used this one.
Next, I told them I had already hidden an object on the south side of the playground. They got crazy excited to go find it. They hid it a few more times, then I corralled them for another activity.
We used our cardinal directions and spatial-relational skills to do a fun floor plan activity. They enjoyed it more than I expected! I used this one.
We had a blast with this lesson! As we walked out of the park, I looked down and saw a compass rose was embedded in the cement at the entrance. Fun tie-up as we left!