Being conscious about things around and having a gripping knowledge of the directions and proportions may be crucial to execute tasks faster. Some adults may identify a need to work on these abilities, to swift up their daily routine and working style. Maybe getting indulged in some appropriate activities may succor.
In easy terms, following directions may imply that a person may be attentive enough to comprehend and retrace the sides as instructed. For this, abstract and spatial knowledge of various sides like left, right, north, and south is necessary.
In this post, we will talk about the same, and list out a few activities which can help adults with directions even more!
Ensuring right choices- How did we choose right direction activities?
There can be a large number of options to opt for as activities to practice directions, ensuring a few eminent attributes may make them appropriate for adults. Accordingly, we warranted the following features in the selections that we have crafted.
- The campaign must ensure the engagement of the person; this amplifies the speed and motivation to learn.
- Most of these options are outdoor activities that stimulate physical activity. A few options are indoor as well, which can be employed in bad weather situations effortlessly.
- The choices stated here are all guided by a leader/ mentor. Having an attendant may warrant the righteous application of the strategy.
- All the activities depicted here can be employed with routine entities—this way, no additional preparations, and expenses need to be incurred.
Direction campaigns- Are they eminent?
Campaigns that invoice directions often work towards amplifying awareness of the body to objects around them. In adults or any other learners, Directional campaigns may have the following edges:
- With a gripping sense of direction, the individual can relate their body movements and thereby improve their spatial awareness.
- As these activities often involve the individual to mobilize better, motor skills may also be ameliorated.
- The individuals can spatially learn about various directions by listening to the commands of the mentor or the partner.
Direction activities for adults- Mapped out for you
It may be a fair option for the leader to design a fitting activity to ameliorate direction in adult learners. The picks elucidated here are carefully crafted to assist the same. Consider traversing through these campaigns to employ:
1. Blinded-Maze
The teacher draws an imaginary line on the floor before the inception; this line is a path for the person to travel on. To start with, aspirants are divided into pairs- one horse and another chariot. The horse is blindfolded; now, the chariot behind the horse gives directions to them through the line to the end. The horse needs to memorize the path, especially the direction, during this journey.
Later, when the moderator or host asks, they need to explain the path with appropriate directions. For instance, the horse may say, ”after one left, I had turned to the right a couple of times and moved forward to turn left again.”
As it is often outdoors, the activity often acts as a recreation campaign for learning adults along with enhancing the directional abilities.
2. Array those Crayons
Arranging a set object needs the person to have a gripping sense of direction. This activity lets the practice of the same. To start with, the moderator procures a set or 36 crayons set and shuffles their arrangement in the box itself.
Now the individual is called upon and is asked to arrange them in VIBGYOR style from right to left by moving only one crayon at a time. The host can direct the player to the right placement of these crayons.
This way, the sense of direction is stipulated and ensures practice of the same. To add to the complexity, the moderator can also set a time limit to finish the task.
3. Dancing Moves
Shaking hands and legs in a specific way often accommodates the knowledge of directions. Fascinatingly, it is proven too. Research by Temple BA[1] shows that dance and movement can enhance spatial awareness in the person. Consequently, this strategy may be turned into an enticing campaign.
To start with, the leader needs to procure a music system with retro music. Now, the instructor shows a few simple moves involving shaking hands and legs in a particular order and gives a brief explanation about the same to the learners. Now, the individual needs to appropriately mimic the movement by ensuring proper sequencing of hands and leg displacement with the directions of the moderator.
This activity often stipulates discipline and a sense of direction. Further, they can also comprehend how hands are often retained. Moreover, this activity assists in learning to grasp directions with time.
4. Google Maps
Google maps is well known to guide drivers with appropriate directions to the destination; the same strategy may be employed to create an exhilarating activity.
To start with, the leader divides the learners into pairs-one Driver and the other Assistant. Now, they are taken outdoors to start the campaign. The moderator clearly shows the destination to the Assistant. Now, the assistant guides the driver to reach the destination by giving timely directional suggestions. For instance, the assistant can help by saying, “turn left after 3 steps!”.
This way, the driver can get an admirable chance to infer and practice directions as a part of the activity. This outdoor activity supports the driver to ensure gripping directional knowledge. Further, the complication of the activity can be altered by the instructor at any time.
5. 360 Degrees
To start this activity, the moderator needs to procure a set of four trays and around 10 daily-use objects like pens, pencils, scissors, and a few others. The individual is made to sit, and the four trays are kept on the four sides in such a way that they are accessible to them easily, then these ten entities are given.
Now, the host starts instructing what needs to be done, and the player needs to follow the same as soon as possible. For example, the leader may instruct- ‘Put the pen to the right’, then the individual places the pen on the right-side tray or ‘Put the pencil in the tray behind the left tray’. This activity may continue for any time frame.
The edge is that the players get reasonable accommodation to their directions as the activity goes on.
6. Directional Screener
Distinguishing some entities in pairs may be essential to employ them in the right direction. For instance, in a pair of socks, it is often necessary to separate the right and left one to wear it appropriately. With this activity, the individuals can clearly make out more about the directions better.
To start with, the leader procures 10 entities that are available in pairs. These include Socks, shoes, gloves, ear pods, earrings, Badges, and some more. The instructor shuffles these items up and then calls upon the individual. Now the individual needs to segregate these items based on left and right. They need to place all the right-sided items to the left side and vice versa.
This activity succors those people who may have occasional bewilderness identifying these pairs. Also, placing the items to the other side based on instructions stipulates the sense of direction over time.
7. Yoga and Practice
Physical activities like dance and medication may need the individual to have good knowledge about the directions. To start the activity, the mentor takes the people to an open place like a garden or a ground. Now the mentor does yoga while they instruct the same about how to do it. The learners need to follow their commands and can also look at them to notice what needs to be done. For instance, the mentor may raise their left hand and turn right, they also speak about the same. The students need to listen and follow the same.
This activity lets the individuals not only learn about various directions like left-right, top, and forward but also may ensure physical fitness.
8. Decode Hints
Letting the player know the direction to follow directions may be facile over time. Consequently, offering indirect cues of directions may create excitement and complexity in the activity.
To start the activity, the instructor chooses a ground or a garden to conduct it and procures 10 boxes, papers, and a pen. The leader starts writing hints about the direction on paper and places it in the boxes; these are placed in relevant places on the garden or ground
Now the individual starts the activity with one chit in hand. They need to decode the direction and get to the next box. The campaign gets completed when all the boxes are decoded. The hints can be simple or complex based on individuals. For instance, to depict the left direction, the hint may be, “The armor of Captain America.”
This activity may replicate the treasure hunt, and thereby ensure an engrossing training session.
Summing up,
Directions determine the location and demography. For that reason, ensuring mastery is often crucial. Be it traveling to the workplace, or organizing items on the shelf, adults may often employ directional knowledge in their daily routine.
People often get versed with activities and games at a preliminary level of education but may lose their significance as the grades increase. The above-mentioned picks may rejuvenate the exhilaration of activity-based learning. Even with minor changes, you may apply these picks to measure how these assist in learning about directions.
References:
- Temple, B. A., Bentley, K., Pugalee, D. K., Blundell, N., & Pereyra, C. M. (2020). Using Dance & Movement to Enhance Spatial Awareness Learning. Athens journal of education, 7(2), 153-167.
An engineer, Maths expert, Online Tutor and animal rights activist. In more than 5+ years of my online teaching experience, I closely worked with many students struggling with dyscalculia and dyslexia. With the years passing, I learned that not much effort being put into the awareness of this learning disorder. Students with dyscalculia often misunderstood for having just a simple math fear. This is still an underresearched and understudied subject. I am also the founder of Smartynote -‘The notepad app for dyslexia’,