Core Skills Analysis
Mathematics
Ash navigated the large maze and kept track of the hidden benches, then played a round of mini golf. In the maze, they used a systematic way to mark each bench on their phone, applying practical organisation and record-keeping to help monitor progress. Mini golf offered a hands-on context for noticing distance, direction and how a shot’s force affected where the ball travelled. Together, the activities gave Ash opportunities to use spatial reasoning and solve practical problems.
Digital Literacy
When Ash needed a way to keep track of the benches, they worked out how to mark them on their phone. This showed flexible problem-solving: they adapted a familiar digital tool to meet the needs of the activity. By recording each bench as they found it, Ash used digital organisation to support memory and keep track of progress through the maze.
Health and Physical Education
Ash moved through a large maze and took part in mini golf, engaging in two different forms of physical activity. Navigating the maze involved moving through changing spaces and adjusting direction, while mini golf called for controlled movements when striking the ball. These experiences gave Ash opportunities to practise coordination, body control and persistence while enjoying recreational activity.
Tips
Tips
Invite Ash to sketch a simple map of a maze afterwards and mark the benches in the order they found them, then compare the route with another possible path. For a mini-golf maths challenge, measure or estimate each shot’s distance and record the number of strokes, looking for patterns across holes. Ash could also design a phone-based checklist or map for a future outing and test whether it makes tracking landmarks easier. Finish with a short reflection on which strategy helped most and why.
Book Recommendations
- The Way Things Work Now by David Macaulay: An illustrated exploration of mechanisms and systems that can prompt curiosity about how tools and everyday activities work.
Learning Standards
- Mathematics — ACMMG199: Mini golf can provide a context for considering distance and duration; the activity description does not confirm that Ash measured or calculated either.
- Mathematics — ACMSP205: Tracking benches creates a practical opportunity to describe and organise events or items systematically; no formal probability work was described.
- Science — AC9S8I01: Ash identified a practical tracking problem and devised a way to address it during the maze activity.
- Science — AC9S8I08: Using phone-based marks to keep track of benches reflects communicating and organising information for a clear purpose.
Try This Next
- Maze map worksheet: draw the route and label each bench in discovery order.
- Mini-golf scorecard: record strokes and estimate each hole’s distance.
- Design challenge: create a phone checklist for tracking landmarks on an outing.
- Reflection prompt: Which strategy helped you stay oriented, and what would you try next time?