Lesson 4: Route Planning & Problem Solving at the Zoo
Combining grid references, compass directions, and map scale to solve real zoo visitor planning problems — the mathematics of smart decision-making.
🎯 Ngā Whāinga Akoranga | Learning Intentions
How to plan optimal routes by combining spatial skills; how to represent a route as a sequence of grid references and compass directions; why mathematicians look for the most efficient solution.
Solve three zoo visitor scenario problems using grid references, compass directions, and distance calculations; explain route choices using mathematical reasoning.
🎥 Media Anchor & Mathematical Scaffold
Route Planning and Spatial Problem Solving
Video Anchor: Mathematical reasoning and spatial thinking in real-world contexts (Runtime: 0:00-6:23).
🧠 1. Get Ready
Here's the challenge: a family has one hour, two young children who tire easily, and wants to see a kiwi AND a giraffe AND get lunch. Using the map — can you plan a route that achieves all three goals? Show your thinking.
👁️ 2. Key Ideas to Cover
This lesson runs as a discussion and map task — no video is required. If your class has one you like on route planning with a map (5–10 min), it fits well as an optional opener before the task below.
🗣️ 3. Kaiako Move
Kaiako Move: Present three 'client briefs' — a family with young children, a school group of 30, and an elderly couple. Each group solves the same zoo problem from their client's perspective. Debrief: how did the constraints change the optimal route?
Task: Client Brief Challenge: Choose ONE client brief. Plan their zoo visit. Show: full route as grid references, compass directions between stops, total distance, and time estimate. Explain why this is the optimal route.
⚡ Whakaoho | Do Now (5 mins)
Quick problem: you're at enclosure C4 and need to get to E7 as quickly as possible. Using only compass directions — what is the shortest direction sequence?
📐 Activity 1: Guided Mathematical Exploration (25 mins)
Scenario solving: groups solve two different visitor scenarios using their zoo map skills. Compare routes with another group — was there a more efficient solution?
✍️ Activity 2: Application & Reflection (20 mins)
Route optimisation reflection: look at your planned route. Could you reduce the total distance by changing the order of stops? Show the before-and-after distances and explain the saving.
🏫 Kaiako Planning & Pedagogy Notes
Curriculum Alignment: Te Mātaiaho Mathematics Phase 2/3 — Apply spatial reasoning, measurement, and problem-solving strategies to authentic planning contexts.
Hamilton Zoo Context: Tasks are set at Hamilton Zoo as a familiar shared context. The grid, the distances and the routes in these lessons are teaching constructions, not surveyed zoo data — there is no zoo map supplied with this unit. If you want ākonga working from the real layout, bring the zoo's own visitor map to the lesson and say plainly that you are swapping the constructed grid for a real one.
Cultural Connection: Connect coordinate navigation to traditional Polynesian wayfinding — stars as coordinate systems, waka routes as vectors, mauri/kaitiakitanga of animal species at the zoo.