Cheese maze
The purpose of this activity is to engage students in using positional language and a simple scale to describe a path that will solve a problem.
About this resource
This activity assumes the students have experience in the following areas:
- Following instructions for movement, that include directions and distances.
- Creating instructions to get from one place to another.
- Using positional language to specify a location, using words like "behind", "beside", "in front of", "next to", etc.
The problem is sufficiently open ended to allow the students freedom of choice in their approach. It may be scaffolded with guidance that leads to a solution, and/or the students might be given the opportunity to solve the problem independently.
The example responses at the end of the resource give an indication of the kind of response to expect from students who approach the problem in particular ways.
Cheese maze
Achievement objectives
GM1-3: Give and follow instructions for movement that involve distances, directions, and half or quarter turns.
GM1-4: Describe their position relative to a person or object.
Required materials
See Materials that come with this resource to download:
- Cheese maze activity (.pdf)
Activity
Jenny has made a maze for her pet mouse to run through.
She wants to see if it can get from the start to the cheese.
Describe a route the mouse can take to get to the cheese.
The following prompts illustrate how this activity can be structured around the phases of the Mathematics Investigation Cycle.
Make sense
Introduce the problem. Allow ākonga time to read it and discuss in pairs or small groups.
- What do you think the problem is about? (What path should the mouse take to get to the cheese?)
What do you need to do?
Plan approach
Discuss ideas about how to solve the problem. Emphasise that for now you want ākonga to say how they would solve the problem, not to actually solve it.
- What words will be useful to tell the mouse how to move?
- How will you tell it to turn the way you want it to?
- How will you tell it to move the right distance?
- How will you record the instructions and where the instructions take the mouse?
Take action
Allow ākonga time to work through their strategy and find a solution to the problem.
- Have you shown your workings in a step-by step way? (Have you recorded instructions for the path that someone else could follow?)
- Did you use a diagram and words?
- Have you tested your instructions with someone else?
- Does your solution answer the question? Will the mouse get to the cheese?
Convince yourself and others
Allow ākonga time to check their answers and then either have them pair share with other groups or ask for volunteers to share their solution with the class.
- What is your solution?
- Is your solution the only possible one? Are there other routes the mouse could take?
- What might you do differently next time?
- What advice would you give to someone about giving instructions?
Examples of work
The student gives instructions for a path that will move an object between specified positions. With support they describe turns and distances.
The student gives accurate instructions for a path that moves the mouse to the cheese. They include turns (left or right) and distance in units.
The quality of the images on this page may vary depending on the device you are using.