Shape, Position and Direction
Shape, Position and Direction brings together naming 2D and 3D shapes with describing where an object is (above, below, next to, between) and how it moves or turns (forwards, sideways, clockwise, a quarter turn).
Method
- Start concrete: use real 2D shapes cut from card and real 3D objects, a ball, a box, a tube, so the child can pick up, stack, rotate and directly compare them.
- Also start concrete for position: physically place objects above, below, next to and between other objects on a table, and physically turn the child's own body clockwise and anticlockwise, before applying the words to a picture.
- Move to pictorial: look at a picture or a simple grid and describe where one shape sits relative to another, using arrows to show a turn or a movement.
- Go abstract by using the correct mathematical words consistently, vertex or vertices, face, edge, clockwise, anticlockwise, quarter or half or three-quarter turn, rather than everyday substitutes like 'corner' or 'pointy bit'.
- Teach left and right explicitly using a fixed anchor, such as always checking which hand the child writes with, since left and right cannot be judged by sight alone the way up and down can.
- Watch for the classic misconception that a shape's identity changes when it is rotated, for example believing a square becomes 'a diamond' and stops being a square once turned, when only its orientation has changed, not its properties.
- Watch for direction confusion when a question asks about someone else's left or right, such as a person facing you, rather than the child's own left or right, since these are mirrored and easy to answer from the wrong point of view.
Worked example
A triangle sits to the LEFT of a circle. The triangle then moves so that it is now ABOVE the circle. Describe the movement, then say whether the triangle is still a triangle.
- Note the triangle's starting position: it is to the left of the circle.
- Note the triangle's finishing position: it is now above the circle.
- Describe the movement in words: the triangle has moved up and to the right, ending up directly above the circle.
- Check the triangle's properties have not changed: it still has 3 straight sides and 3 vertices, so it is still a triangle.
- Moving or turning a shape changes only its position, never its name or its properties.
Practice questions
Type your answer and press Check to be marked straight away, or reveal the answer and mark yourself.
Q1A red car is parked in front of a blue car. Which car is behind the other?Show answer
Answer: The blue car is behind the red car
Q2How many edges does a triangular prism have?Show answer
Answer: 9 edges
Q3A ball is sitting on a shelf ABOVE a toy box. Where is the toy box compared to the ball?Show answer
Answer: The toy box is below the ball
Q4A cat is sitting BETWEEN a dog and a rabbit. Which animal is in the middle?Show answer
Answer: The cat
Q5Stand facing the front of the room. Make a quarter turn clockwise. Which way are you facing now?Show answer
Answer: Facing your right-hand side (a quarter turn clockwise from facing forwards means you now face right)
Q6Look at this group of shapes: a circle, a square, a triangle and a pentagon. How many of these shapes have straight sides only?Show answer
Answer: 3 shapes (the square, the triangle and the pentagon; the circle has a curved side, not straight sides)
Q7A lunch box is placed next to a water bottle on a table. The water bottle is then moved so it is inside a bag under the table. Is the water bottle still next to the lunch box? Explain your answer.Show answer
Answer: No, the water bottle is no longer next to the lunch box, because it has moved to a new position, inside the bag, under the table
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a KS1 Maths exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
A square sticker is turned around so that it looks like it is standing on one corner, often called a 'diamond' shape. Has the sticker stopped being a square? Explain your answer using the properties of a square.
Show mark scheme
Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
Nothing ticked yet - 2 available
A weathervane starts facing south. It makes a half turn, and then a further quarter turn clockwise. Which direction does it face at the end: north, east, south or west?
Show mark scheme
Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
Nothing ticked yet - 3 available
Two children stand facing each other. Wren holds up her right hand. Explain why the hand nearest to it, on the child facing her, is NOT that child's right hand.
Show mark scheme
Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
Nothing ticked yet - 2 available
Free printable worksheet
Want more practice on paper? Download the shape, position and direction worksheet pack - 20 pages of exam-style questions with a full mark scheme. One email opens every download in this browser for 14 days - no account, no card. Print it for personal and classroom use.
Next topics
Not quite what you needed?
Tell us what is missing on shape, position and direction, or which topic to write up next. Every request is read, and we reply to every one.
Build a full practice pack.
This topic is one of hundreds in the library - pick the ones a student needs and generate a printable PDF in minutes.