Exercise Study: Location & Equipment Matching Game

Creative Curriculum Guided Edition Aligned

This hands-on matching and sorting game is designed for preschool small groups or large group instruction and supports meaningful conversations during the Exercise Study.

Children explore where different types of exercise happen by matching equipment and gear to the correct location. This activity encourages critical thinking, vocabulary development, and collaborative discussion in a playful, developmentally appropriate way.

What’s Included

• 8 Exercise Locations
  • Karate Studio
    
  • Ballet Studio
    
  • Basketball Gym
    
  • Boxing Studio
    
  • Hockey Rink (Ice)
    
  • Soccer Field
    
  • Beach Volleyball Court
    
  • Tennis Court

• 48 Equipment Cards
  • Each location includes 6 clearly connected items
    
  • Realistic, easy-to-recognize images
    
  • White background and low-ink design
    
  • Consistent style across all cards

How to Use

• Use during small group for guided discussion and intentional teaching
  
• Use during large group to build a class web or sort together
  
• Cut and laminate cards to create a reusable center activity
  
• Invite children to:
  • Match items to locations
    
  • Explain their thinking
    
  • Compare similarities and differences between sports
    
  • Talk about personal experiences with exercise
    

Teachers can remove or add locations based on group size, making this activity highly flexible.

Why Teachers Love It

• Open-ended and discussion-based (no worksheets)
  
• Supports 3–5 year olds
  
• Encourages language, reasoning, and social interaction
  
• Works well with Creative Curriculum studies
  
• Print once, laminate, and use year after year
  

Skills Supported

• Vocabulary development
  
• Classification and sorting
  
• Expressive language
  
• Reasoning and problem solving
  
• Social interaction and turn-taking
  

Teacher Tip

Lay out one location card at a time and gradually add equipment cards. Ask questions like:

• “Where do you think this goes?”
  
• “What clues helped you decide?”
  
• “Have you seen this before?”