Home Geography for Primary Grades · Lesson I · Unit 1: Finding direction
1. Right, left, front and back
Goal: Your child names right, left, front and back, and sees that these words change every time we turn around.
You'll need
- A table or desk your child can sit at
- Two or three family members or stuffed animals to sit around the room
- A geography notebook (any notebook kept just for these lessons) and a pencil
What's in the book
Lesson I is a short talk about position: hands on the desk, the back and front of the desk, and who sits on your right, left, front and back, then turning round and asking again. A note to the teacher says these words are of little use for telling where places are.
The lesson, step by step
Hands on the table
Have your child sit at a table and lay both hands on it, side by side.
Lay your hands upon your desk, side by side.
Which side shall we call the right side?
Ask which hand is the right and which is the left. If your child is unsure, the hand they write or eat with is a useful clue.
Front and back
Ask your child to put their hands on the back of the table (the side farthest away), then on the front (the side nearest them).
Who is where?
Seat a few people or stuffed animals around your child: one on the right, one on the left, one in front, one behind.
SayWho is on your right? On your left? In front of you? Behind you?
Turn round
Now your child stands and turns to face the other way. Ask the same four questions again. Then turn a quarter turn and ask once more.
SayDid the people move? No! But your right and left changed when you turned.
Why we need something better
This is the point of the lesson, from the book's note to the teacher.
SayRight and left change every time we turn. If I told Grandma "the park is on the right," it would depend on which way she was facing. So people use words that never change. Tomorrow we will learn them from the sun.
Say it back
Ask your child to tell you, in their own words, why "right" and "left" are not good for telling someone where a place is.
Afterwards
Play "Simon says" with right hand, left foot, step forward, step back, and turn around.
Tip
Children of 7 often still mix up right and left. That is normal. A small sticker or ribbon on the right wrist for a week helps.
Answers to the book's problems
After turning round, the person who was on the right is now on the left, the one in front is now behind, and so on. Right, left, front and back depend on which way we face, so they cannot tell anyone where a place is.
Worked out for this site from the scan. If a number in your copy differs, trust the book.