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Lesson 3: Say Where

Time	30-45 minutes
Space	Gym, schoolyard, or local park
Materials	Small hidden objects (clothespins, colored cards, or small toys), Cones (optional, for marking boundaries), Clothespins (numbered, lettered, or with colored streamers), Small whiteboards and markers (optional, for map variations)
Setup	Hide objects around the space before students arrive; some easy to spot, some harder
Vocabulary	Boundary, Gathering signal, Clue

Activities

warm-up

Boundary Run

Quick review of the boundary.

core

Clothespin-O

Find hidden objects and describe their locations.

Goals

Orienteering Goals

• Find hidden objects within the boundary
• Give and follow spatial language clues to find objects

PE Standards (SHAPE America)

Standard 1: Motor Skills

• Demonstrates a variety of locomotor skills with the concepts of space, effort, and relationship awareness (1.2.1). Students walk, jog, and run through the space searching for hidden objects.

Standard 2: Movement & Fitness Concepts

• Recognizes personal space and where to move in general space (2.2.1). Students navigate the shared space while searching, avoiding collisions with other searchers.
• Identifies movement concepts related to locomotor, non-locomotor, and manipulative skills (2.2.3). Students change speed and direction in response to clues, moving purposefully toward described locations.

Standard 3: Social Skills

• Uses communication skills to share space and equipment (3.2.3). Students describe treasure locations to the group using spatial language during report-back.
• Discusses problems and solutions with teacher support in a physical activity setting (3.2.8). Students discuss what makes a clue helpful or confusing and refine their descriptions.

See PE Standards alignment for the full framework.

Delivery

1. Boundary Run: quick review of the boundary.
2. Clothespin-O: "I've hidden treasures around the space. Your job is to find them, but don't touch them! When you find one, remember where it is."
3. Students explore to find hidden objects. Return on the gathering signal.
4. Report back: where did you find treasures? Practice spatial language: "It was behind the cone." "It was next to the door." "It was between the two trees." Which treasures were easy to spot? Which were tricky?
5. Teacher models a clue: "There is a treasure near something red." Students go find it.
6. Send out again with a new clue each round. After each round: "What made that clue helpful? Could you make it even better?"
7. Hide and Describe. Students hide objects for a partner, then give spatial clues to help them find the treasures. No pointing!
8. Collect the treasures and bring them back.

Reflection

• What words helped you describe where the treasures were?
• Was it easier to find a treasure with a clue or without one?
• Did you get better at giving clues? What changed?

Extensions

• Use "hotter/colder" clues instead of spatial words
• Teacher describes a location; everyone runs there ("Go stand next to the tallest tree inside the boundary!")
• Draw a simple map and mark where you found the treasures