Spatial concepts can be difficult for some children to grasp. Some students may need direct instruction and repeated practice to understand and use these concepts accurately in everyday life. So, how do you teach spatial concepts in speech therapy? Let’s dive in! If you’re supporting students who have difficulties with these concepts, here’s a practical guide to teaching spatial concepts step by step.
What Are Spatial Concepts?
Spatial concepts are words that describe where objects or people are located in relation to one another. They are also called prepositions, positional words, or location words.
Common spatial concepts include the following:
- in
- on
- under
- in front
- behind
- next to
- between
Why Are Spatial Concepts Important?
Spatial concepts are foundational for many other language skills such as:
- Following directions (e.g., “put your shoes under the bench”)
- Answering WH questions, especially “where” questions
- Describing pictures, scenes, and events
- Understanding classroom and academic language
When Are Spatial Concepts Typically Learned?
Children begin understanding and using spatial concepts early in childhood, though not all children master them at the same time. Here are some developmental milestones for common spatial concepts. Please note that these age ranges are meant as a general guide.
- 2-3 years: in, on, under
- 3-4 years: in front, behind, next to, between
How To Teach Spatial Concepts in Speech Therapy
Overview
To teach spatial concepts effectively, we move through these three steps:
- Teach the concept
- Practice comprehension of the concept (receptive language)
- Practice using the concept (expressive language)
Step 1: Teach Spatial Concepts With Concrete Objects
Choose the concept
Start by choosing a concept the child has not yet mastered. You can refer to the age ranges above for general developmental guidance, while prioritizing the child’s individual needs.
Focus on one spatial concept at a time, or a pair of related concepts such as “in/on” or “in front/behind”.
Choose the activity
Use physical objects, such as toys, to help the child develop a more concrete understanding of the concept. As always, it’s better to teach through play! My favorite toys to teach spatial concepts are blocks and play food. I’ll share more about my go-to activities later on.
Teach the concept
Make sure you have the child’s attention first and model the concept in a variety of ways. Repeat the target concept frequently as you introduce it so the child hears it multiple times.
For example, to teach “in” with play food, you could place different objects in different types of containers. You might show “in” by picking an apple and placing it in different containers. You might model:
- “The apple is in the pan.”
- “The apple is in the bag.”
- “The apple is in the bowl.”
Then, you might have one container with different objects going “in”. For example, you can make a pretend soup and say:
- “I put the onion in the pot.”
- “I put the potato in the pot.”
- “I put the carrot in the pot.”
You can be as creative as you want with this! Just ensure to model the target concept several times in different ways to help reinforce the spatial concept.
Use Visuals
Visual supports can also be very helpful to reinforce meaning and demonstrate the contrast between two concepts the child may confuse.
Step 2: Practice Comprehension of Spatial Concepts (Receptive Language)
Once the student has been introduced to the concept (or concept pair), it’s time to check their understanding by incorporating comprehension tasks into play-based activities.
Choose the activity
Use a variety of activities to help strengthen comprehension and ensure the student truly understands what the concept means.
You can use:
- Toys
- Books
- Crafts
- Worksheets
- Board games
- Picture scenes
- Movement activities
Check understanding of the concept
During your chosen activity, ask questions that allow the child to demonstrate understanding by pointing, showing, or responding verbally. For example, if you’re building a block tower with the child, you might ask:
- “Can you grab the block that’s behind the tower?”
- “Can you put this block behind the yellow block?”
The child can show their understanding of “behind” by grabbing the correct block (the one behind the tower) or by placing the block in the correct location (behind the yellow block). You can also check understanding by asking:
- “Which block is behind the tower?”
And the child can demonstrate their understanding by pointing to the correct block or by responding verbally e.g., “the red one”.
Once the child consistently shows understanding across several activities and sessions, move on to expressive practice (using the concept).
Step 3: Practice Using Spatial Concepts (Expressive Language)
Once the child has demonstrated that they understand a spatial concept, it’s time for them to practice using it accurately.
Choose the activity
You can use the same types of activities as in receptive practice, but reverse the task. Instead of giving directions with the spatial concept, ask questions that require the child to use the concept in their response.
Check accurate use of the concept
During your chosen activity, ask questions that require the child to use the target spatial concept. Using the block tower example from earlier, you might ask:
- “Where is the red block?”
A correct response would be:
- “behind the tower” or “behind”
As with the earlier steps, you want to make sure the child is able to use the concepts accurately across a variety of activities and for a few consecutive sessions.
Activities to Teach and Practice Spatial Concepts
Here are some of my favorite activities to teach and practice a variety of spatial concepts in speech therapy sessions.
Blocks
The block set is one of my go-to toys for teaching spatial concepts! You can teach and practice tons of concepts with blocks as you’re taking turns building a tower with the child. For example, for the concept “on”:
- Teaching: “Look, I’m putting the block on the tower.”
- Receptive practice: “Put the green block on the tower.”
- Expressive practice: “Where’s the block?”
Play food
This is also one of my favorites for teaching spatial concepts. Lots of prepositions arise naturally at the play kitchen! For example, “in”:
- Teaching: “Let’s put the carrot in the pot.”
- Receptive practice: “Put the spoon in the cup.”
- Expressive practice: “Where’s the carrot?”
Teaching Resources and Activity Packs
Sometimes it’s helpful to have a set of no-prep materials that you can pull out and use during sessions, especially on busy days. That’s why I created my own Spatial Concepts Activity Packet to support each step of instruction by introducing concepts like in front/behind and next to/between with colorful visuals, checking comprehension through guided receptive language activities, and keeping students engaged with fun expressive language games.
This activity set is fun, comprehensive, and easy to use, saving you time so you can focus more on working with your students and less on planning activities.
Movement Activities
The hide-and-find game is a really fun movement activity! It’s just as it sounds, we take turns hiding objects around the room and finding them!
- Teaching: “Let’s find all the cars. Oh, I found one under the table! This one is under the chair.”
- Receptive practice: “Let’s go look in the bin” / “Check behind the door.”
- Expressive practice: “Where’s the marker?” / “Where did you find the bear?”
Adapting Activities for Older Kids and Virtual Sessions
If you’re working with older students or providing teletherapy (or both!), you may need to make a few adjustments to your activity selection.
Older students
When working with older students who have not yet acquired some spatial concepts, you might want to use books, board games, and worksheets rather than toys to match the activity to the child’s age and interests.
You can also adjust the activity by gamifying it so it’s more engaging and motivating for an older student. For example, if you’re using a movement activity like the hide-and-find game described above, you might gamify it further by adding a time restriction. It might look more like this:
- “I hid 5 objects around the room. You have 2 minutes to find them all and say where each item is when you find it. Go!”
Teletherapy
It can be harder to teach spatial concepts virtually since you’re not in the same physical space as the child, but there are still lots of ways to teach these concepts! For example, you can use virtual games, picture scenes, or digital worksheets.
You can give the child remote access so they can “point” to items on the screen with the mouse cursor during receptive practice. You can also use activities where items are different colors so they can show their understanding of the target spatial concept by saying the color of the item. For example, in the image below, if the student doesn’t have remote access to drag and drop the checkmarks in the box, they can respond verbally, e.g., “the blue muffin is in front”.
Spatial Concepts Carryover and Home Practice
Practicing across different activities is great, and adding practice across different settings with different people is even better for carryover! Encourage families and teachers to practice during daily routines whenever possible:
- During meals: “Put your spoon next to your plate.”
- During cleanup: “Put the markers in the bin.”
- While reading: “Which dog is under the tree?”
You can use information handouts and simple worksheets to encourage consistent practice at home and in the classroom to support generalization. The goal is for students to apply spatial concepts across different contexts outside the therapy room.
Practice Tips for Teaching Spatial Concepts Effectively
- Repeat often: Repetition is important to ensure strong understanding of spatial concepts.
- Make it fun: Students are more engaged and motivated when they’re having fun!
- Use visuals: Visuals can be helpful to support understanding of spatial concepts.
What’s Next After Spatial Concepts?
Spatial concepts are building blocks for other language skills. Once your student has mastered various spatial concepts, you can build on these skills by targeting (if appropriate):
- Answering WH questions (specifically, “where” questions)
- Following directions
- Describing scenes or events
A Step-by-Step Resource for Teaching Spatial Concepts
We’ve discussed how to teach spatial concepts in speech therapy step by step. Whether you’re a speech therapist, parent, or educator, teaching spatial concepts can be simple and easy! To make this even easier, I’ve created a Spatial Concepts Activity Packet loaded with worksheets, activities, games, handouts, and visuals to teach and practice spatial concepts in a fun and engaging way! Check out the activity packet below to save planning time and use it in your next session or at home with your child.
Spatial concepts can take time for students to master, but providing lots of practice opportunities can make a big difference. With consistent modeling and receptive and expressive practice, students can build confidence and use these skills more independently.
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More How To Teach Guides for Basic Concepts:
How To Teach Quantitative Concepts
How To Teach Qualitative Concepts
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