The royal baby is taken on an adventure by a lion in the middle of the night. As they dash through the countryside, followed by the Queen, the King, and the whole court, the story creates a map. The vocabulary of position and direction is developed with colourful and engaging pictures.

1.

Prior to reading, explore the students’ understanding of maps and what they represent. Create/share a simple map on the whiteboard with some features such as a pond or river, a bridge, a bush area, a house, and a road. Tell a story emphasising the key vocabulary of position and direction as you ask students to move a character around on your map. You may want to create a word bank with the cards and stick them to the board for reference later. See materials that come with this resource.

2.

Share the story with your students. As you get to one of the vocabulary words, ask them to find it in the word bank, and make sure the diagram on the card is understood in relation to the key word.

3.

Explore the map on p. 24 and trace the journey back to the castle, emphasising the vocabulary words again.

4.

In response to the story, ask students to work in pairs to create a small scene from blocks or other materials, such as toys or boxes. Give each pair a set of the vocabulary cards and ask them to take turns as the director and the follower. The director turns the cards over one at a time and gives directions. The follower has to listen and move the toy through the scene.

Depending on the age and independence of the students, you may need to model this before it becomes an independent activity.

For example,

• The director can draw a card and say, “Move the car over the bridge. Now go through the town. Then go under the mountain. Now go across the desert.“

5.

As an extension activity, students can take photos of their “stories” and create maps or slideshows.