Where things are: a week of ready-to-teach maths

Five days of lessons for Foundation Space. Print this pack and the week is prepared: each day has a one-page plan and a student worksheet, plus cut-out position cards, a scene mat, a mini-check and every answer.

Start here: five minutes to Monday

1. Skim the week at a glance on the next page.
2. Print the five days. Each day is two A4 sheets: a plan and a worksheet.
3. Cut out the two card sheets once; they are reused all week.
4. Open the free interactive unit on your board. Every plan tells you which picture to show and when.
5. Teach straight from the plan. Timings, talk prompts, misconceptions and answers are all on the one page.

No maths background needed

This pack is written for the busy generalist teacher. Each plan explains the idea in plain words, lists the muddles children bring, and gives model answers, so you can walk in and teach it.

One day, one lesson

The five lessons fill a week of maths, one lesson of about 40 minutes a day. Run them in order: each day stands on the one before. Every lesson can also split into a short warm-up and a main session if your timetable runs small blocks.

The week at a glance

One lesson a day for a week. Each day stands on the day before, so run them in order.

How the week builds

Day 1 meets the first pairs, on and under; Day 2 adds the words that depend on facing, in front and behind; Day 3 needs two things at once, between; Day 4 sorts out left and right; and Day 5 strings them together to describe the whole room. It builds on naming shapes from earlier, and it opens the way to giving and following directions.

Materials for the week (one trip)

• From the classroom: scissors, pencils, this pack printed.
• A soft toy, a small box, two chairs and a ball, to act the words out. Anything the children know will do.
• Cut out once, use all week: the position picture cards and the scene mat in this pack. No maths equipment to buy.

Dear families

This week in maths, Foundation is learning to say where things are. We use position words like on, under, in front of, behind, between, next to, and left and right, always to say where one thing is in relation to another.

Try this at home

• Play hide the toy: put a teddy somewhere and ask your child to say where it is, using a position word.
• At tea time, ask what is next to the plate, under the table, or in front of the cup.
• Give little jobs with position words: put your shoes under the bench, stand behind me.
• Ask which hand is your left, which is your right, then find something on each side.

My position words this week

Fill one row a day. Tick when you have said it and shown it.

Printed from the free seegongsik Where Things Are teaching pack · seegongsik.com/au/foundation/space/AC9MFSP02/pack

On, under, in, next to

Children place a real object by another and say where it is. Position is never about one thing alone: a cup is not just on, it is on the table. Every position word links one thing to another.

We are learning to

• place an object on, under, in or next to another thing,
• say where the object is with a position word,
• name the other thing the position points to.

Success criteria

• I can put an object where you say.
• I can say where a thing is and what it is next to.

You need

A soft toy or beanbag, a small box and a chair for the demonstration. The position picture cards (cut-out sheet 1) and the scene mat (cut-out sheet 2), one set per pair. The worksheet, one per child.

Lesson flow (about 40 minutes)

Two half-sessions instead? End Session A after show me where. Start Session B by placing the toy and asking three children to say where it is before the mat work.

Watch for these ideas

• Saying a position word with no reference: under, but under what? The other thing must be named.
• Muddling on and in: a lid sits on the box, a marble sits in the box.
• Thinking next to means only touching: things can be next to each other with a small gap.

Answers

• The cup is on the table. The shoes are under the chair. The pencil is in the box.
• Each sentence names two things: the object and what it sits by.
• Draw-your-own varies: check the picture matches the position word the child wrote.

Say where it is

Look at each little scene. Fill the gap with a position word: on, under, in or next to. Then draw one of your own.

Fill the gap

Draw it

Draw a ball under a chair. Then write: the ball is ____ the chair.

Your own where

Draw a toy next to a box. Then say where it is out loud to a partner.

In front and behind

Some position words depend on facing. In front and behind change with where you stand: the cat in front of the box from one side is behind it from the other. This is a real idea for a small child, worth taking slowly.

We are learning to

• say what is in front of and behind another thing,
• notice that in front and behind depend on where you stand,
• describe a line-up using in front and behind.

Success criteria

• I can say what is in front and what is behind.
• I can move around a thing and see the words swap.

You need

A box and a soft toy for the demonstration. The position picture cards and the scene mat (cut-out sheets 1 and 2). The worksheet, one per child. Room for a short line-up.

Lesson flow (about 40 minutes)

Two half-sessions instead? End Session A after walk around it. Start Session B with the line-up.

Watch for these ideas

• Thinking in front and behind never change: they depend on which way you face.
• Muddling behind with under: behind is at the back, under is below.
• Naming only the toy and forgetting the box: in front of what, behind what?

Answers

• The dog is in front of the kennel. The ball is behind the box. In the line-up you are behind the child ahead.
• When you turn to face the other way, in front and behind swap over.
• Draw-your-own varies: check the word matches the picture and names the other thing.

In front or behind?

Read each little scene. Write in front of or behind in the gap. Then draw the last one.

Draw the tricky one

Draw a cat hiding behind a box, so we cannot see it. Where is the cat?

Between

Some position words need two things at once. Between is the clearest: one thing on each side. The child stands between two friends; the ball sits between the chairs. Naming both sides is the whole idea.

We are learning to

• say what sits between two other things,
• name both things, one on each side,
• place an object so it is between two things.

Success criteria

• I can put a thing between two others.
• I can name the two things it is between.

You need

Two chairs and a soft toy for the demonstration. The position picture cards and the scene mat (cut-out sheets 1 and 2). The worksheet, one per child.

Lesson flow (about 40 minutes)

Two half-sessions instead? End Session A after one on each side; start Session B with the line-up.

Watch for these ideas

• Using between with only one thing named: between needs a thing on each side.
• Muddling between with next to: next to needs one thing, between needs two.
• Placing the object off to one side, not truly in the middle of the two.

Answers

• The cup is between the plate and the jug. You stand between two friends. The path runs between the tree and the fence.
• Every between sentence names two things, one on each side.
• Draw-your-own varies: check the object sits between two named things.

What is between?

Look at the shelf

The book sits between the two boxes. Point to the book, then name a box on each side.

Fill both sides

Between needs two things. Fill in the thing on each side.

Draw it

Draw a ball between two chairs. Then say it out loud, naming each chair.

Left and right

Left and right depend on where you look from, so a child sorts out their own two hands first, then carries that sense to the things around them. Slow and playful beats fast and sure here.

We are learning to

• tell my left hand from my right hand,
• say if a thing is to the left or right of another,
• notice that left and right depend on which way I face.

Success criteria

• I can show my left hand and my right hand.
• I can say if a thing is on the left or the right.

You need

A soft toy and a ball for the demonstration. The position picture cards and the scene mat (cut-out sheets 1 and 2). The worksheet, one per child.

Lesson flow (about 40 minutes)

Two half-sessions instead? End Session A after which hand; start Session B with left of, right of.

Watch for these ideas

• Muddling left and right: it takes practice, so keep it light and use the writing hand as an anchor.
• Forgetting that left and right swap when you turn around, like in front and behind.
• Saying left or right with no other thing named: to the left of what?

Answers

• Answers depend on the child: check the hand or side they name is really their left or right.
• When you face the other way, left and right swap over.
• Draw-your-own varies: check the ball sits on the side the child wrote.

Left and right

Trace your hands

Put each hand on the box and trace around it. Label one Left and one Right.

Fill the gap

Write left or right in each gap.

Describe our classroom

The richest practice is describing a whole familiar space. The bag is under the desk, the clock is above the door, the mat is in front of the bookshelf. Today the week’s position words come together to map the room, then the mini-check.

We are learning to

• describe where things are in our own classroom,
• use several position words in one description,
• always name the other thing the position points to.

Success criteria

• I can say where a few things are in the room.
• I can use a position word and name the other thing.

You need

The classroom itself. The scene mat and position picture cards (cut-out sheets 1 and 2). The worksheet, one per child, and the mini-check for later in the week.

Lesson flow (about 40 minutes)

Run the mini-check on its own later in the week. Two half-sessions instead? End Session A after where is it in here; start Session B with map a corner.

Watch for these ideas

• Saying a position word without the other thing: on, but on what? Always name both.
• Falling back on here and there instead of a position word: nudge for on, under, next to.
• Mixing up the week's words under pressure: let the child act it out if they stall.

Answers

• The bag is under the desk. The clock is on the wall, above the door. The mat is in front of the bookshelf.
• Every good where names two things: the object and the thing it relates to.
• Draw-your-own varies: check each label uses a position word and names both things.

Where things are in our room

Draw a corner of our room

Draw a corner of the classroom. Show at least three things: a desk, a shelf, a bag, a mat.

Say where three things are

Finish each sentence about your drawing. Use a position word and name the other thing.

Position picture cards

Cut out the cards. Each one shows a ball placed by a box, with the position word underneath. Hold up a card and say the whole where: the ball is on the box. One set per pair is plenty.

Objects to place

Cut out these little objects too. Place them on the scene mat and say where each one is.

Teacher note: the cards show the same position words the on-screen cat unit acts out, so the floor game and the screen match.

Scene mat

This is a little room: a shelf, a desk and a door. Put your cut-out objects on it and say where each one is. The same mat is used all week.

Teacher note: place a card on the mat, then ask a child to say where it is and name the shelf, desk or door it sits by.

What we know: where things are

Work on your own. Say your answer out loud too if you like.

1. A hat sits on a head. The hat is ____ the head.
2. A dog sleeps below a bed. The dog is ____ the bed.
3. A fish swims inside a bowl. The fish is ____ the bowl.
4. A bin stands where you can see it, at the front of a fence. The bin is ____ the fence.
5. A car is parked so a wall hides it. The car is ____ the wall.
6. A swing hangs so there is a tree on each side. The swing is ____ the two trees.
7. You hold a spoon in the hand you write with. The spoon is in your ____ hand.
8. A light hangs high over a table. The light is ____ the table.

Answers and marking guide

Answers

1. on (the hat is on the head).
2. under (below and under mean the same here).
3. in (the fish is inside the bowl).
4. in front of (the bin is at the front of the fence).
5. behind (the wall hides the car, so it is behind it).
6. between (a tree on each side).
7. right if the child writes with their right hand, left if they write with their left. Check the hand they name.
8. above (the light is higher than the table, without touching it).

A quick three-level guide

Eight questions, four ideas. A child at standard uses the right position word and names the other thing it points to.

Weekly class record

Jot a tick as you move around the room; the mini-check fills any gaps. A tick a day is plenty.

The five columns are the five days: on and under, in front and behind, between, left and right, and describing the room.