Positions, Directions and Spatial Sense
Lessons in this chapter
About Positions, Directions and Spatial Sense
Where Things Are is a vocabulary chapter, and it matters more than it looks: a child who does not have these words cannot follow half the instructions the rest of math is written in.
The first lesson covers above, below, in front of and behind, which are the words for describing where something sits relative to something else. The catch kids run into is that the answer changes depending on what you compare to, so the same cup can be above the table and below the shelf at once.
The second lesson takes on, under, top, bottom, inside and outside. Inside and outside do the most work later on, because they are how kids will eventually talk about a point being inside a shape or a number being inside a range.
The third lesson adds near, far, before, after and between. Before, after and between are the ones that carry straight into number work: the whole of Numbers to 20 depends on a child being able to find the number that comes before, after or between two others, which is the same idea applied to a number line.
The three lessons each open as a worksheet in the page, and they are picture questions rather than number questions: a scene, and a question about where something is in it. The first covers above, below, in front of and behind, and the third brings in near, far, before, after and between, which is the vocabulary Numbers to 20 then borrows for the number line. All three are free and scored as you go.
Frequently asked questions
Three lessons of vocabulary. The first covers above, below, in front of and behind; the second adds on, under, top, bottom, inside and outside; the third brings in near, far, before, after and between. The Common Core puts this language in kindergarten Geometry (K.G), which asks children to describe where objects are using terms such as above, below and beside.
Because math instructions are written in these words. A child who is unsure what “between” means cannot answer which number comes between 7 and 9, however well they can count.
Above, below, in front of, behind, on, under, top, bottom, inside, outside, near, far, before, after and between, spread across three lessons.
Say both halves out loud: the cup is above the table and below the shelf. Hearing the same object described both ways, depending on what it is compared to, is usually what makes it click.
They are the same idea on a number line. Numbers to 20 asks kids to find the number before, after or between two others, so the words are learned here and used there a chapter later.
The ability to picture where things are in relation to each other, and to describe it. It is what later lets kids read a coordinate grid or follow a geometry construction, which is why it starts this early.