DIRECTIONS - Free Printable

Let’s solve this step by step.

You’re starting at the City Library.
Your goal is to get to the City Middle School.

Look at the map:

- The City Library is on Main St., between 5th Ave and 4th Ave.
- You need to go south (down) to Oak St.
- Then you’ll turn right (east) onto Oak St.
- Go past City Park, cross 3rd Ave, and the City Middle School will be on your right — just before Lake Blvd.

Now let’s follow the directions given in the example at the bottom of the page:

> “Turn left into the 5th Avenue, then take the second on the left and you’re on Oak Street. Go straight on, go past the City Park, cross the 3rd Avenue and the City Middle School is on your right!”

Wait — that doesn’t match the map!

If you’re at the City Library and turn left into 5th Ave, you’d be going south down 5th Ave. But then it says “take the second on the left” — that would put you on Grove St or Elm St, not Oak St.

Actually, looking again — from the City Library, if you want to get to Oak St, you should go right onto Main St? No — wait, the library is already on Main St.

Better way: From the City Library, walk south along 5th Ave (that’s turning left if you’re facing east). Then when you hit Oak St, turn right (east) onto Oak St. That matches “take the second on the left”? Hmm… maybe not.

Let’s re-read the sample answer carefully:

> “Turn left into the 5th Avenue, then take the second on the left and you’re on Oak Street.”

That must mean:
Start at City Library → Turn left (south) onto 5th Ave → Walk one block to Oak St → But “second on the left” would be after passing one street? Wait — no, if you’re walking south on 5th Ave, the first intersection is Oak St? Actually, looking at the map:

From City Library (on Main St), if you go south on 5th Ave, the next street you hit is Oak St — so that’s the *first* left? Or is it considered “taking the second on the left”?

Wait — perhaps the direction means:
After turning left onto 5th Ave, you continue until you reach Oak St — which is actually the *second* possible left turn? Let’s count:

Walking south on 5th Ave from Main St:
- First intersection: Oak St? Or is there another?

Looking at the map layout:

Main St runs horizontally across top part. Below it is Oak St. So from City Library (on Main St), going south on 5th Ave, you immediately hit Oak St — that’s the first cross street.

But the instruction says “take the second on the left”. That suggests you pass one street, then turn left at the next.

Hmm — contradiction?

Wait — maybe I misread the map.

Actually, looking closely:

The City Library is located between 5th Ave and 4th Ave on Main St.

To get to Oak St, you can either:

Option A: Go south on 5th Ave → reach Oak St → turn right (east)

Option B: Go south on 4th Ave → reach Oak St → turn left (east)

But the sample answer says: “Turn left into the 5th Avenue, then take the second on the left and you’re on Oak Street.”

That implies: After turning left onto 5th Ave, you don’t stop at Oak St — you keep going? But Oak St is directly below.

Unless... “take the second on the left” refers to something else.

Wait — perhaps “take the second on the left” means: after turning left onto 5th Ave, you walk past one block (maybe River St?) and then turn left again? But that wouldn’t put you on Oak St.

I think there might be a mistake in the sample answer — OR we’re misunderstanding the map orientation.

Let me try tracing the correct path based on the map:

Starting point: City Library (top center-left)

Goal: City Middle School (bottom center-right, near Lake Blvd)

Best route:

1. From City Library, walk south on 5th Ave (turn left if you were facing east).
2. At Oak St, turn right (east) onto Oak St.
3. Continue east on Oak St — you’ll pass Fire Station, County Hospital, etc.
4. Keep going until you see City Park on your left.
5. Cross 3rd Ave (which intersects Oak St).
6. Just after crossing 3rd Ave, City Middle School is on your right.

So the correct verbal directions should be:

“Excuse me, how do I get to the City Middle School?”

→ “Go south on 5th Avenue until you reach Oak Street. Turn right onto Oak Street. Go straight, pass City Park, cross 3rd Avenue, and the City Middle School will be on your right.”

But the sample answer says:

> “Turn left into the 5th Avenue, then take the second on the left and you’re on Oak Street. Go straight on, go past the City Park, cross the 3rd Avenue and the City Middle School is on your right!”

This seems incorrect because “take the second on the left” from 5th Ave would not lead to Oak St — unless they meant “take the first left”, or perhaps “turn right”.

Alternatively, maybe “take the second on the left” refers to turning left off Oak St later? No, that doesn’t make sense.

Wait — perhaps the phrase “take the second on the left” is being used incorrectly here. In standard direction-giving, “take the second on the left” means: while traveling down a road, ignore the first left turn, and take the second one.

But in this case, if you’re going south on 5th Ave, the only major horizontal streets are Main St (where you started), then Oak St, then possibly others further south.

Looking at the map again — below Oak St is River St, then Grove St, etc.

So if you go south on 5th Ave from Main St:

- First cross street: Oak St
- Second cross street: River St? Or is there something in between?

Actually, between Main St and Oak St, there may not be any other named streets — so Oak St is the first.

Therefore, “take the second on the left” is likely an error in the sample answer.

However, since the task is to use the format shown in the example, and the example gives those exact words, perhaps we are supposed to accept them as written — even if slightly inaccurate — for learning purposes.

But our job is to give accurate directions.

Let me double-check with compass rose: North is up.

City Library is north of Oak St.

City Middle School is southeast of City Library.

Correct path:

- South on 5th Ave to Oak St
- East on Oak St to beyond 3rd Ave
- City Middle School is on south side of Oak St, east of 3rd Ave

So best clear directions:

“Excuse me, how do I get to the City Middle School?”

→ “Walk south on 5th Avenue until you reach Oak Street. Turn right onto Oak Street. Continue straight, passing City Park on your left. Cross 3rd Avenue, and the City Middle School will be on your right.”

But to match the style of the example, which uses phrases like “take the second on the left”, we could adjust — but only if it's accurate.

Since “take the second on the left” from 5th Ave does NOT lead to Oak St, we shouldn't use that.

Perhaps the intended meaning was: “Turn left onto 5th Ave, then at Oak St, turn right” — but they wrote “take the second on the left” by mistake.

Given that, and since the user wants us to solve the problem accurately, I will provide the correct directions based on the map.

Final Answer:

Excuse me, how do I get to the City Middle School?
Go south on 5th Avenue until you reach Oak Street. Turn right onto Oak Street. Go straight, pass City Park, cross 3rd Avenue, and the City Middle School is on your right.