Where are the toys?
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Overview
Using this Resource
Connecting to the Curriculum
Marking Student Responses
Working with Students
Further Resources
This task is about where toys are on some shelves.
Nikau keeps his toys on some shelves.
Task administration:
This task can be completed online or with pencil and paper. If completed online, auto-marking will be displayed to students.
This task can be completed by individuals, in pairs, groups or as a whole class.
Level:
1
Curriculum info:
Description of task:
Students select the correct way to describe where a toy is located on a shelf.
Curriculum Links:
This resource can be used to help to identify students' understanding of simple direction.
Learning Progression Frameworks
This resource can provide evidence of learning associated with within the Mathematics Learning Progressions Frameworks.
Read more about the Learning Progressions Frameworks.Answers/responses:
| Y2/3 (03/2018) | ||
| a) |
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very easy |
| b) |
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easy |
| c) |
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moderate |
| d) |
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easy |
| e) |
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moderate |
Based on an online sample of Year 2 and 3 students
Teaching and learning:
This resource is about describing the location of objects (in this case, toys on a shelf) using positional language such as left/right, top/middle/bottom and synonyms such as above/over and under/below. It also refers to objects on the left of or on the right of other objects.
Developing an understanding of positional language is an important initial step towards being able to understand and give locations using a map or a co-ordinate graph, describe the paths of objects, and describe the properties of objects as well as their relationships to each other.
The complementary resource, Toy Shelf, assesses student understanding of everyday positional language such as next to/under/above/over/below using the same image of a shelf of toys.
Diagnostic and formative information:
| Common error | Likely misconception or misunderstanding | |
| b) |
 |
Students may not be as familiar with the term over as with the term above. |
|
c)
e)
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Left and right confusion.
Unfamiliarity with the phrase on the right of/on the left of
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Next steps:
Over and above confusion
For students who were unsure of the word over to describe position, use the image from the resource and work on constructing sentences to describe where other toys are, e.g., The spinning top is over the rocket. The lego blocks are over the boat.
Left and right confusion
For students who confused their left and right, there are many activities available to assist with this. A Google search will generate songs, resources and games that can be used to help students to learn their left from their right.
Further explanation of the phrases on the left of or on the right of may be required.
The image in this resource can also be used by students to create their own descriptions of where toys are located, e.g., The rocket is on the left of the aeroplane. The truck is in the bottom right.
The ARB resource Which book? focuses on using the directions left and right. (Note: This resource uses the phrases to the right and to the left to describe location).
A real shelf of toys and/or other objects could be set up in the classroom and students could describe where objects are in relation to each other (The book is on the left of the whiteboard pen.) or by position alone (The scissors are on the bottom shelf.)
Alternatively the shelf could have some spaces on it and in pairs, students could describe where on the shelf to place an object, e.g., Put the car on the top shelf on the right of the playdough.
The English resource Where do they go? explores the positional language of prepositions such as in/up/on/down.
The following Level 1 and 2 resources explore left, right and location: