I Spy Ramps

Play the “I Spy Ramps” ramps game with your child. Does the ramp have a steep or gentle incline?

5–10 minutes

Get Ready

Materials you will need:

Baking sheet or large picture book
Ball
Cell phone or iPad camera
Positional Words Chart PDF
Rolling Song: Lyrics PDF

Materials PDF

Things to do before the activity:

Think of an area where you can explore ramps, such as a hilly park, a playground, or an accessible public building.
Look at the words on the Positional Words Chart with your child. Act them out: stand in front of your child, sit next to your child, and so on.
Display the “Rolling Song” on your iPad or phone and sing it with your child.

A character with a speech bubble and crab with a thought bubble.

I spy a steep ramp that is behind the swings!

And I spy someone pushing a grocery cart up a ramp!

Explore!

Step 1.

Before you go outside, tilt a picture book or baking sheet at an angle to make a ramp. Notice the ramp’s steep or gentle incline. Roll a ball or other object down the ramp. Notice how it moves.

Point out that a ramp is a surface with one end higher than the other. Which end is higher?
How does the (ball) move down the ramp? What if the ramp were (steeper, gentler)?
Point out where the (ball) stopped: for example, next to, under, in front of, behind the ramp.

Step 2.

Go outside and look for ramps. When you see a ramp, give I Spy clues to help your child find it. Tell how the ramp is used. For example: I spy a gentle ramp that is behind the tree. There is a ball slowly rolling down the ramp.

Talk together about ramps you have noticed and how they can make certain tasks easier for people to do.

Step 3.

Find the ramp. Have your child follow the I Spy clues to find the ramp. Take a photo of the ramp.

Notice the ramp’s gentle incline. Why is the ball moving slowly?
Point out that an object tends to move faster down a steep ramp and slower down a gentle ramp.
Switch roles and continue playing the game.

Step 4.

Take a break if your child starts to lose interest. Sing and act out the “Rolling Song.” Replace the word hill in the lyrics with the name of a ramp you found. Then continue playing I Spy.

Review!

Look at the photos you took while playing I Spy.

Count the number of steep and gentle ramps you found. Are more ramps steep or gentle?
Which ramp is steepest? How did the object move down the steepest ramp?
Name objects in the photos that are under the ramp, next to the ramp, and so on.