Are your students learning about direction? You need our Following Directions: Grid Worksheets! This hands-on resource supports students as they practise giving and following directions on a grid, using either arrows or written instructions. With cute animal characters and clear visual prompts, these worksheets bring spatial reasoning and directional vocabulary to life.

Students will help guide different animals through a grid using step-by-step instructions. Some versions require students to read and follow directions using words like up, down, left, and right, while others use arrows for visual learners. These tasks encourage problem-solving, prediction and spatial awareness while building essential maths and literacy skills.

Whether used as a warm-up, fast finisher or part of your geometry or coding unit, this resource is flexible and easy to implement. It can be used individually, in pairs or in small groups, with opportunities to discuss strategies and check for accuracy. Students love the puzzle-like challenge, and teachers love how easy it is to prepare and assess.

Key Learning Outcomes:

• ✅ Follow directions using spatial and directional language
• ✅ Interpret and apply left, right, up and down movement
• ✅ Use visual and written prompts to navigate a grid
• ✅ Strengthen spatial reasoning and sequencing skills
• ✅ Apply direction-following in a real-world style context

What’s Included:

• A variety of grid-based direction worksheets featuring animal characters
• Versions using arrows for visual support
• Versions using directional words for vocabulary building

Materials Needed:

• Printed worksheets
• Pencils or coloured markers
• Optional: write-and-wipe sleeves for reuse

How to Use:

1. Choose which worksheet style suits your students—word-based or arrow-based.
2. Introduce or review directional vocabulary such as left, right, up, and down.
3. Students read or follow each instruction to move the animal through the grid.
4. They mark the animal’s path or final destination, depending on the task.
5. Discuss and check answers together as a class or in small groups to build metacognitive thinking.

Ideas for Classroom Use:

• 💡 Use in maths or coding rotations as part of a position and direction unit
• 💡 Set as a literacy warm-up with vocabulary focus on directional terms
• 💡 Pair students to read and check instructions together, supporting oral language development
• 💡 Use in EAL or speech groups to support following multi-step directions
• 💡 Encourage students to create their own directions for a peer to follow

Top Teacher Tips:

• 💛 Model the first few moves on a whiteboard or projector before students begin
• 💛 Use laminated copies in a maths centre with whiteboard markers
• 💛 Provide a physical grid mat and animal token for kinaesthetic learners
• 💛 Add a movement break version where students act out the directions physically

Following Directions: Grid Worksheets is a flexible and curriculum-aligned way to strengthen direction-following, reasoning and vocabulary through visual and written grid tasks. Perfect for consolidating learning in a fun and interactive way!

This resource pairs perfectly with our Following Directions POWERPOINT.