Using grid mazes and arrows, guide children to help a snail reach home.

Adaptations specific to this investigation are included in the resource.

Set up on the floor or a table.

• Place Velcro on the arrows and snail so children don’t knock them off the board.
• Use a 3D character that is easier to hold and manipulate instead of the 2D snail

• Talk through the sequence of directions to get to the end of the maze as the snail is moved. E.g., “Down, left, right.”
• Talk through why the direction is incorrect while tracing the path of the arrows.  “Hmm, this arrow tells the snail to go this way, but that takes us away from the snail’s house. That’s not right.”
• Help children remember/determine the intended outcome: “What are we trying to help the snail do?”