Position Words: A Creative Way to Introduce Left, Middle, and Right to Pre-K and K Students

To introduce the lesson, you can do the following:

• Write the lesson title on the board or a large sheet of paper: Position Words: A Creative Way to Introduce Left, Middle, and Right to Pre-K and K Students.
• Ask the students if they know what position words are. Give examples of position words such as up, down, in front of, behind, etc. Explain that position words are words that tell us where something is.
• Tell the students they will learn three new position words today: left, middle, and right. Explain that these words tell us where something is about something else.
• Show the students a picture of an object with different positions. For example, a picture of a cat on the left of a dog, a flower in the middle of a vase, and a book on the right of a table. Point to each object and say its name. Then, point to each object again and say its position word. For example: "This is a cat. The cat is on the left. This is a dog. The dog is on the right."
• Ask the students to repeat after you. For example: "Say: The cat is on the left."
• Repeat this process with different pictures of objects with different positions.

To warm up the students' brains and bodies, you can do the following:

• Ask the students to stand up and face you.
• Tell them you will say a position word, and they must move accordingly. For example: "Left! Move to your left." "Right! Move to your right." "Middle! Move to the middle."
• Ensure they understand each position word's meaning by pointing to it or demonstrating it yourself.
• Start with simple commands such as "Left!" or "Right!" Then, make it more challenging by adding commands such as "Left and right!" or "Middle and left!"
• Praise the students for their movements and correct them if they make mistakes.

To introduce the concept of position words to the students, you can do the following:

• Tell the students that they will watch a video that will teach them more about position words. Explain that the video will show them different pictures and ask them questions about the position of the objects in the pictures. Tell them to pay attention and try to answer the questions.
• Play mathskills4kids.com's video link for the lesson plan: https://youtu.be/YUl4ZEx_NMc. Pause the video after each question and ask the students to raise their hands if they know the answer. Call on a student to answer and check if it is correct. If it is correct, praise the student and repeat the answer. If it needs to be corrected, correct the student and repeat the answer.
• After the video, review the position words with the students by asking them to recall what they learned. For example: "What are the three position words we learned today?" "What does left mean?" "What does right mean?" "What does middle mean?"

To reinforce the concept of position words and make it more fun for the students, you can do the following activities and games:

• Position Words Bingo: Prepare bingo cards with pictures of objects with different positions. For example, a picture of a cat on the left of a dog, a flower in the middle of the garden, and a book on the right of a table. Give each student a bingo card and some markers. Call out position words randomly and ask the students to mark the picture that matches the position word on their bingo card. For example: "Left! Mark the picture that has something on the left." The first student to mark five pictures in a row, column, or diagonal wins.
• Position Words Memory: Prepare pairs of cards with pictures of objects with different positions. For example, a pair of cards with a picture of a cat on the left of a dog and another picture of a cat on the right of a dog. Shuffle the cards and place them face down on a table or the floor. Ask the students to take turns flipping two cards and trying to find a matching pair. If they find a matching pair, they keep it and say the position word matching it. For example: "I found a pair! The cat is on the left." If they do not find a matching pair, they flip the cards back over and let another student try. The student with the most pairs at the end wins.
• Position Words Simon Says: Ask the students to stand up and face you. Tell them that you will play a game called Simon Says. Explain that you will say commands using position words, and they have to follow them only if you say "Simon says" before the command. For example: "Simon says touch your left ear." "Touch your right foot." (Do not follow this command because it does not have "Simon says" before it.) If they follow a command without "Simon says, "they are out of the game. The last student standing wins.

To encourage group sharing and communication among the students, you can do the following:

• Divide the students into small groups of three or four.
• Give each group a set of pictures of objects with different positions.
• Ask each group to take turns describing one picture using position words. For example: "In this picture, there is a bird on the left, an apple in the middle, and a worm on the right."
• Ask each group to listen carefully to each other and ask questions if they do not understand or agree with something. For example: "What is on the left? Is it a bird or a plane?" "Why do you think that?"
• Praise each group for their descriptions and questions.

To conclude the lesson, you can do the following:

• Summarize what you learned today by reviewing the position words and their meanings. For example: "Today we learned three new position words: left, middle, and right. Left means something is on your left side when you face forward. Middle means something is between two things or in the center of something. Right means something is on your right side when you face forward."
• Ask some questions to check for understanding. For example: "What is another word for left?" (Answer: opposite of right) "What is another word for right?" (Answer: opposite of left) "What is another word for middle?" (Answer: center)
• Give some examples of how you can use position words in your daily life. For example: "You can use position words when you give or follow directions. For example: 'Turn left at the corner.' 'The bathroom is on the right.' You can also use position words when you describe things or tell stories. For example: 'The ball was in the middle of the goal.’