Describe turns, position and direction -Maths - Learning with 91�ȱ� Bitesize

Describing position and direction.

Position is where something is.

We use directions and turns to get from one place to another.

Position

When we are describing where something is, we use keywords such as:

top
middle
bottom
below
above
in front
behind
on
under

Example 1

Look at the picture below. Can you fill in the blank using the terms we've just listed?

The cup of pencils is ____ the table.

An illustration of two boy sat at a table with a pen pot on the table.

The pencils have been moved, how would you describe their position now?

The cup of pencils is ____ the table.

An illustration of two boy sat at a table with a pen pot under the table.

Left and right

If something was next to you, how would you describe which side it was on?

You could describe it as being on the 'left' or the 'right'.

Use your hands to help you work out if something is on the left or the right.

An illustration of a young girl with her hands up labelled left and right,

Example 2

Let's practise describing position.

Fill in the blanks.

(i) The bottle is above the ball.

(ii) The ________ is below the ball.

(iii) The lunchbox is to the left of the rucksack.

(iv) The ________ is to the right of the ball.

(v) The________ is in the middle of the grid.

(vi) The ________ is between the lunchbox and the clock.

Grid with a bottle, ball, shoe, lunchbox, rucksack and clock.

Direction

When we are giving directions we use keywords such as:

up
down
forwards
backwards
left

right
quarter turn
half turn
clockwise
anti-clockwise

Clockwise and anti-clockwise

Clockwise is another way to describe a direction or turn.

Clockwise is a turn to the right as it follows the hands of a clock and anti-clockwise is a turn to the left, the opposite direction of a clock’s hands.

Turns

We can also describe different turns when we give directions.

Look at how these triangles have been turned.

A triangle has had a quarter turn clockwise, a half turn and a quarter turn anti-clockwise.

A full turn is turning all the way around and ending up in the same place that you started in.
A half turn is turning half way to face the opposite direction.
A quarter turn is turning left or right.

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