North South East West Signs

About this resource

Children learn directions faster when the words are on the walls. This is 56 pages of big wall signs for North, South, East and West (and Northeast, Southeast, Southwest and Northwest), a compass rose poster, labels, desk cards, and cards to cut and match. Print the color set you like, or the ink-saver outline set, and hang them today.

EVERYTHING INSIDE (56 pages)

• 40 wall signs in 5 sets: Red, Blue, Green, Purple, and an ink-saver outline set. Every set has North, South, East and West (one big sign to a letter-size sheet, with an arrow, the word and the letter) and Northeast, Southeast, Southwest and Northwest (two to a sheet). That is 6 sheets per set, 30 sheets of signs in all.
• 1 compass rose poster, in color and in ink-saver outline, with the "Never Eat Soggy Waffles" memory line.
• 8 classroom labels to cut (North Wall, East Wall, South Wall, West Wall, and the four corners), in color and in ink-saver.
• 6 different desk cards to cut (a compass rose, a memory-line card, the main directions, the in-between directions, a Face North card, and a two-words-in-one card), in color and in ink-saver.
• 8 arrow cards and 8 word cards to cut and match, in color and in ink-saver. Set edge to edge, two across and four down, so cutting takes few cuts.
• In all, 8 cut sheets: 30 different pieces, 60 printed.
• 4 student pages with a "My name" line: Label the Compass (8 type-in boxes), Sort the Directions (a glue mat), Shape Map (6 questions from a star on a grid) and My Classroom (draw it, then write what is on each wall).
• Teacher pages: Start Here with a which-page-when chart, five short steps to teach it with answer keys, a class check, two filled examples (an invented class and an invented student), a note to families, a phrase bank of 20 starters in 5 groups, and a binder cover with spine and 4 tabs.
• Contents, terms of use and a what's-next page.

How To Use It

Pick the wall of your room that faces closest to north and hang the North sign there, then South, East and West. Put the in-between signs in the corners and the labels where children look. Say the directions around the compass rose like a clock, then cut and match the arrow cards and word cards, sort the words on the mat, and try the shape map as a quick check.

Built For The Child Holding The Page

Every student page has a big "My name" line, one short direction with a picture, and room to write or draw. The signs are big and plain so a child can read them from across the room, and everything reads in black and white too.

Type In, Or Print

The name lines, the compass boxes, the room lines, the class check, the family note and every notes area are type-in fields in any PDF reader. You can also print any page and write by hand. Print at 100 percent with fit-to-page turned off. This is a fillable PDF; it is not a Google Slides or PowerPoint file.

Who This Is For

Kindergarten to 3rd grade classrooms, self-contained and resource rooms, social studies and map units, paraprofessionals, substitutes, and families who want to practice the same words at home.

What This Is, And What It Is Not

Classroom signs, cards and working paper for learning the compass directions. The signs are labels you place where you choose; which wall of your room really faces north depends on your building, and the file says so. It is not a map-skills curriculum, and your school decides how directions are taught.