Scripture: Numbers 13-14
Learning Objectives:
- Students will review the spies’ journey to Canaan, their report, and how God lead the Israelites to wander for 40 years.
- Students will learn the basics of how to ask for and give directions.
Guiding Question: How do we ask for directions and give directions in a town?
Materials: Kid-friendly picture map of a town, names of places on slips of paper, optional: tents, boxes, fabric, paints to set up a mini town
Procedure: Review how the spies traveled for 40 days and then how the Israelites wandered for 40 years. Canaan was new territory and they probably explored a lot of new land when they wandered. Imagine being in a new town. How will you get around?
Teach basic vocab words for directions such as:
- How do I get to the____?
- Where is the____?
- Turn left
- Turn right
- Pass the____
- It is on the left/right
- Stop
- Go
- Road
- Store
- Café
- School
- Library
- Post Office
- Restrooms
- Fire Station
- Bakery
You may also want to introduce common road signs and cultural differences such as STOP, Yield, and Pedestrian Xing. Review the road rules in your community such as whether or not pedestrians have the right of way.
For the below activity, you may want to have a poster of the vocab or handouts made in advance.
Divide students into partners. Print out a basic, kid-friendly picture map of a town that shows stores, parks, community buildings (not a road map). Give each pair of students a bag with the names of the places on individual slips of paper. One partner will pull out a place from the bag. Then they must ask their partner how to get there. The partner gives directions such as, “Turn left at the bakery. Pass the shoe store,” etc. The student can use a game marker or small object such as a button to “walk” through the map. Then the partners switch. When it is that person’s turn again, they will ask directions from the place they left off. If you have more time and space, set up a town using painted boxes, tables, tents and/or draped fabric over chairs/ladders to make a mini in which students can explore giving directions as they walk around.
Additional Questions:
- What is the hardest/easiest part of giving directions?
- What do you think are the most important places to know how to get to?
- Is there more than one way of giving directions from a certain place to a new place? What is an example?
Supplemental Activity: Students can design their own map on paper to practice with each other. Encourage them to consider other places that weren’t on their other map that they would like to include. Students can design their own map on paper to practice with each other. Students can also make a map of their school or church or neighborhood.