"Moving How Many Squares to the Right and Down: A Following Directions Activity" is a fun brain teaser that asks students to follow step-by-step directions.

Each page features a character that has to make its way home. Directions show the pattern, showing the directions followed by how many squares the character moves in parentheses. The directions might include as few as two steps or as many as five. For example, the directions would list "go right (2") and "go down (1)." Students start the directions with the "print robot" in a map, draw two boxes to the right and one box down before ending at the "print robot home" in the map. After students have completed the directions, they count up how many squares the character moved and write that number in the blank.

The first set of directions on each page is completed to show students how to do the activity.

Being able to follow step-by-step instructions is an important skill for students to master. It prepares them to answer more complex questions as they get older, but it can also give them real-world experience with certain skills, like following directions or programming a computer game.

Start with an activity that lists the directions one at a time. For example, students might move a game piece on a board a certain number of squares up, down, to the left, or to the right before writing the square they landed in as the answer. As students get better at following step-by-step directions that are listed out, try incorporating the steps into a word problem to see if they can tease out the steps for themselves.

Students can also try giving directions to other students in order to get them to complete an activity. If you're looking for an interactive way to practice, have students take turns being blindfolded while the class takes turns giving them step-by-step directions to get back to their desk.