Children don’t automatically understand directionality. From the way words are presented on a page, to visual signs, conventional behaviours, left, right, up, down and backwards. Basically, directionality is what helps children understand the environment around them. It helps children identify where things are and where they fit in their relationship to those other things. It is important that we explicitly teach ways to help children with directionality.
Here are 8 ways to help children with directionality:
- Identify, teach and reinforce “North,” “South,” “East,” and “West” using their natural and close environment.
- When giving directions use the terms “right” and “left” regularly in both formal and informal contexts.
- Create strategies for practicing direction using paper and pen in response to verbal instructions. For example, “draw a large tree on the left hand side of the page.”
- Be careful about confusion created by mirror images by standing beside the child when giving instructions such as “left” and “right.”
- Use obstacle courses and fun games that require the child to move in directions under instruction. For example, step “over” the rope, skip “around” the tree, crawl “under” the fence.
- Play games such as “Simon Says” including instructions that require directionality. For example, “skip around the chair.”
- When teaching directionality use tangible and concrete cues such as “left-right” arm bands and “North-South” arrows.
- When appropriate emphasise activities that utilise “on-off” instructions. For example, we turn the cooling “on” when it is hot.
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