Position, directions & patterns
🎯 In this topic you will
- Recognise and use ordinal numbers.
- Use vocabulary to describe position.
- Order ordinal numbers correctly.
- Use words to describe and continue patterns.
- Use words and actions to describe direction.
🧠 Key Words
- above
- behind
- below
- beside
- between
- in front of
- next to
- on
- ordinal
- position
- under
- left
- pattern
- right
- sequence
Show Definitions
- above: Positioned at a higher level than something else.
- behind: Located at the back of something or someone.
- below: Situated at a lower level than something else.
- beside: Placed next to or at the side of something.
- between: In the space separating two objects or points.
- in front of: Positioned ahead of something when facing it.
- next to: Very close to something, usually touching or beside it.
- on: Resting on the surface of something.
- ordinal: A number that shows position in an ordered list, such as first or second.
- position: The place where something or someone is located.
- under: Directly below something else.
- left: The direction on the side of the body where the left hand is when facing forward.
- pattern: A repeated or predictable arrangement of shapes, numbers, or objects.
- right: The direction on the side of the body where the right hand is when facing forward.
- sequence: A set of items arranged in a specific order.
📍 Why Position Matters
We need to know about position so that we can understand instructions.
🗣️ Describing Where Things Are
We need to tell other people where we have put objects.
🔢 What Ordinal Numbers Tell Us
Ordinal numbers tell us the position of numbers or objects.
🚫 What They Do NOT Tell Us
They do not tell us how much there is or how many things there are.
❓ EXERCISES
1. Look at the cars. For each question, write the position as a number and a word.
a. What colour is the car in front of the $5$th car?
b. What position is the orange car?
c. What position is the white car?
d. What position is the pink car?
e. What colour and position is the car behind the blue car?
f. Which cars are beside the $3$rd car?
👀 Show answer
b. $6$th (sixth).
c. $8$th (eighth).
d. $1$st (first).
e. Purple, $7$th (seventh).
f. The red and yellow cars.
2. These colours have been lined up.
a. Which colour is $4$th?
b. Which colour is after the $5$th colour?
c. Which colour is before the $3$rd colour?
d. Which colour is beside the $1$st colour?
👀 Show answer
b. Purple.
c. Yellow.
d. Orange.
3. Put a ring around the child who came $1$st in the race. Colour the child who was $5$th.
👀 Show answer
4. Join the words to match the position of the fox.
👀 Show answer
5. Join the words to match the position of the ball.
👀 Show answer
6. Write the ordinal number of the coloured cake in each row of cakes. The first one is done for you.
👀 Show answer
7. Draw a line from the word to the object. Fill in the missing words.
a. The cat is ______ the chair.
b. The chair is ______ the table.
c. The ball is ______ the table.
d. The flowers are ______ the vase.
👀 Show answer
b. under
c. under
d. in
8.
How many apples are there before the $3$rd apple? How many apples are there after the $7$th apple? How many apples are there after the $5$th apple? How many apples are there after the $8$th apple?
👀 Show answer
🧠 Think like a Mathematician
You will need $3$ cubes of different colours.
Put them in the order of red $1$st, blue $2$nd, yellow $3$rd.
Question: What different patterns can you make with red $1$st?
You could have:
Investigate the different patterns if you have yellow first.
Investigate the different patterns if you have blue first.
Colour the patterns you have made.
Label the cubes in each pattern $1$st, $2$nd, $3$rd.
Now add a $4$th cube colour.
Follow-up Question: How many patterns can you make?
Show Answers
- With $3$ cubes: There are $3! = 6$ different patterns.
- With $4$ cubes: There are $4! = 24$ different patterns.
- This is because the number of arrangements of different objects is found using factorials.
🔢 What Is a Sequence?
Asequence is a list of objects or numbers that are in a special order. This order could be going forwards or backwards.
📏 Sequences Follow Rules
Asequence has a rule. Sometimes it can have two rules. Sequences and patterns have rules that we need to understand so we know what comes next.
🌍 Patterns Are Everywhere
Patterns are everywhere. We see them on our clothes, on our walls, on our buildings and on flowers and trees. We see lots of patterns in maths too.
❓ EXERCISES
1. Describe the pattern that you can see.
Draw a repeating pattern of your own. Describe it to a partner.
👀 Show answer
2. Look at the row of learners.
Draw the next $2$ learners at the end of the row. Keep the pattern of their arms the same.
Make your own pattern using arms.
👀 Show answer
3. Draw and colour your own pattern.
Use shapes or objects.
👀 Show answer
❓ EXERCISES
4. Work with a partner.
Solve the clues to colour the squares.
Orange is below green.
Yellow is between green and purple.
Yellow is above blue.
Red is next to blue.
👀 Show answer
Bottom row (left to right): orange, blue, red.
5. Work with a partner.
Fill in the missing words.
next to above below between
The green square is ______ the red square.
The blue square is ______ the yellow square.
The yellow square is ______ the blue square.
👀 Show answer
The blue square is above the yellow square.
The yellow square is below the blue square.
6. Make your own coloured squares puzzle.
Ask your partner some questions about your puzzle.
👀 Show answer
7. Look at this arrangement of shapes.
Draw the shape that is:
above the grey square
below the green square
between the blue triangle and the green square
next to the yellow circle
above the green star
👀 Show answer
Below the green square: the pink triangle.
Between the blue triangle and the green square: the yellow rectangle.
Next to the yellow circle: the red rectangle.
Above the green star: the blue triangle.
8. Give directions to your partner to get from the start to the finish.
Each section is a step.
Start by taking $2$ steps forward and then turn right.
👀 Show answer
9.
Colour her left hand red.
Colour her right hand blue.
Colour her left shoe green.
Colour her right shoe yellow.
Colour the left flower red.
Colour the right flower yellow.
👀 Show answer
10. Work with a partner.
Colour the path Aisha takes to get to her house without bumping into objects.
The path has been started for you.
Find $2$ other ways she could take.
Colour one green.
Colour the other one blue.
