Classroom activity Kindergarten Careers & CTE

Cones Before Digging: A Kindergarten Water Crew Game

A 25-minute kindergarten careers game in which teams must count out four cones and set a work zone before anyone on the crew is allowed to pick up a shovel.

Grade: Kindergarten
Subject: Careers & CTE
Material: Classroom activity
Time: 25 min
Prep: Low prep
Materials: about 20 paper or plastic cones, or paper cups turned upside down, two dark paper circles about the size of a dinner plate for the holes, two paper signs reading SLOW on a craft stick, two toy shovels or craft-stick shovels

Standards

K.CC.B.5 Common Core Math

Count to answer 'how many?' questions about as many as 20 things arranged in a line, a rectangular array, or a circle, or as many as 10 things in a scattered configuration; given a number from 1-20, count out that many objects.

How this material aligns: Each round begins with a runner counting out exactly four cones from a larger pile, which is this standard's given-a-number, count-out-that-many task with objects.

All materials for K.CC.B.5 →

D2.Civ.14.K-2 C3 Framework

Describe how people have tried to improve their communities over time.

How this material aligns: The debrief asks who the work zone protects and what the crew is fixing under the street, so students describe how this crew keeps the community safe while repairing its water.

All materials for D2.Civ.14.K-2 →

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This material is in the public domain (CC0) and may be copied, edited, and shared freely, without attribution. Updated 2026-07-23.

Objectives

Students will count out exactly four cones from a larger pile.
Students will set up a work zone in the correct order before digging begins.
Students will explain who the cones and the sign keep safe.

Vocabulary

Key words: cone, sign, safe

Teacher overview

Before a water crew touches a shovel, somebody sets the work zone: cones around the hole and a sign where drivers can see it. That order is required on a real job, and it works as the rule of a kindergarten game, because no crew may pick up a shovel until the cones are counted out and the sign is standing. This is a two-team game for a whole class in an open space or a hallway, run in three short rounds, with a counting task built into every round. The rule the game enforces is the rule the crew follows on the street, so students practice the setup rather than hear it described.

Activity Directions

Set up (4 min). Place a dark paper circle on the floor at each end of the open space; these are the two holes where a pipe has broken. Beside each hole, put a pile of about ten cones, one sign, and one shovel. Divide the class into two teams standing at a start line in the middle. Tell them the pipe under the floor is broken and their crew has been sent to fix it.
Teach the rule (4 min). Walk one round yourself while the class watches. Say the rule aloud in order: count out four cones, put one cone on each side of the hole, stand the sign up so drivers can see it, and only then pick up the shovel and make three digging motions. Say plainly that touching the shovel before the sign is standing means the crew starts that step again.
Round one (5 min). Send one runner from each team. The runner counts four cones out of the pile aloud, sets them around the hole, stands the sign, and digs three times, then runs back and tags the next runner. Watch for counting rather than grabbing; a runner who takes five cones puts one back and counts again.
Round two, with traffic (5 min). Run the relay again, but this time call out "car coming" once or twice while runners are working. On that call every student freezes and steps behind a cone until you say "all clear." Ask afterward whether the cones were in a place that gave them somewhere to stand.
Round three, crews of two (4 min). Send two runners at a time from each team. One counts and places the cones while the other stands the sign, and they dig together. This round has no winner announced; the point is that both jobs happen before the digging.
Debrief and end (3 min). The game ends after round three. Ask two questions and take several answers to each. First: "Who do the cones keep safe?" Second: "What is under the street that the crew came to fix?" Close by having each team count its four cones back into the pile.

From Water for Schools (waterforschools.org). This material is in the public domain (CC0) and may be copied, edited, and shared freely.

Differentiation

Support (below grade level)

Pre-count the cones into groups of four and set each group in its own paper plate, so the runner carries a plate rather than counting under time pressure. Shorten the running distance to about six steps, and let an adult or an older buddy stand the sign while the student places the cones.

Extension (above grade level)

Give these students the setup inspector role: before digging can start, the inspector checks that there are exactly four cones and that the sign faces the right way, and says aloud what is missing. Ask the inspector to report at the debrief how many crews had to fix their setup and what the most common mistake was.

ELL supports

Teach the four steps as four gestures before any words: four fingers for the cones, a square drawn in the air for placing them, a flat hand raised for the sign, and a digging motion for the shovel. Run one full silent round using only the gestures. Accept debrief answers given by pointing at the cones, the sign, or the hole.

Extensions

Walk the class past a real work zone if one appears near the school, and count the cones from a safe distance on the sidewalk, comparing the real number with the four the game used. Back in class, add cones and a sign to the block corner so students can set a work zone around any construction they build, which keeps the routine alive long after the game ends.