Arrow & Color Match Activity | Following Directions
Learn left, right, up, down, and diagonals with a large set of 30 fields. Easy to prep and use many times. Good for partner talk and centers in Pre-K to Grade 1.
A gecko does not rush. It holds still on a warm stone, turns its head, and only then do its feet move. Color is how you spot which gecko belongs on which tile. The arrow is the look it already chose. Kids match seven colors on a hex map, set the geckos on the empty field, and turn each head until the group can leave. Print the pieces once and put the game on the table.
What’s included
30 hex fields with colored arrows — each field is a seven-cell pattern to copy
44 gecko tokens in 10 colors — students select the colors shown on the field
1 empty hex field — the work mat where the pattern is built
How to play
Choose one arrow field.
Look at the seven colored arrows.
Find seven gecko tokens in those same colors.
Place the geckos on the empty field in the same layout.
Rotate each gecko so it faces the same direction as its arrow.
Check the finished pattern against the field.
Clear the mat and choose a new field.
How to use
Math centers for color, position, and direction
Morning tubs and early finishers with a prepped set
Small groups when kids name the heading: left, right, up, down, and diagonals like up-left and down-right
Partner game: one child holds the map and talks; the other builds
Speech and ESL practice with color and direction words
OT and fine-motor time: pinch, place, and turn the tokens
Homeschool table game
Sub plans: leave the box and the steps.
Play in pairs. Give one child the sample map. Give the other the empty field and the lizards. The first child says where each gecko sits and which way it looks. The second child builds from the words only.
This set builds color matching, visual scanning, copying a model, spatial awareness, and direction words. Turning the lizards is the fine-motor piece.**
Easy to prep.
Just print on A4 or US Letter.
Cut and play.
Laminate for a durable set you can use again.
Skills Developed
Color matching
Visual discrimination
Copying a visual model
Direction and orientation (up, down, left, right, diagonals, turn)
Giving and following oral directions
Spatial awareness
Fine motor: placing and rotating tokens
Best for
Pre-K and Kindergarten
Grade 1
Ages 4–7
Reception and Year 1
ESL / ELL color and direction vocabulary
Special education support
Speech therapy for direction words
Occupational therapy / fine motor
Homeschool
The path is open. The lizards only need a color and a heading. Print the maps, set out the geckos, and let the first group leave.




















