Forward, Back, Left, Right

On a floor grid taped in your classroom, you can move in four main ways. Forward takes you one square ahead in the direction you face. Back takes you one square behind you. Left and right mean turn on the spot, not slide sideways.

Imagine you face the classroom door at the top of a tile grid. Forward moves you one square toward the door. Turn left and you now face the window, but your feet stay on the same tile. Only after the turn does forward mean a new direction.

Watch the step-flow animation. See a figure face one way, move forward, turn left, and move again. Each label matches one instruction a robot understands.

Two people can stand on the same square and hear the word forward. If they face different ways, they end up in different squares. That is why robots always track which way they face.

Try it with a friend on playground lines. Both say forward once. If one faces the goal and one faces the fence, you will see the problem immediately.

Good plans name turns before moves when the path bends. Forward, forward, turn left, forward is clearer than go toward the tree.

Map makers draw arrows on paper maps, but the idea matches the grid. An arrow shows which way is forward from a spot. A curved arrow shows a turn.

Before you read a whole map, practise saying four steps aloud while you walk a small square on the floor. Count how many forwards and how many turns you needed.

Next you will read a simple map with symbols for paths, trees, and goals. The four directions are the verbs; the map is the picture.