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Language Concepts

Spatial Concepts

In, on, under, behind, between - where things are.

Mastered by
ASHA places understanding and using location words like inside, on and under in the 3-to-4-year band, with behind, beside and between at 4 to 5
Practice items
24
Sections
3

What this skill is

Spatial concepts are the words that answer "where". They are harder than they look, because most of them describe a relationship rather than a thing - "under" is not a property of the ball or the table, it is the arrangement between them. A child has to hold both objects in mind at once and attend to the word that connects them.

What to expect

Comprehension runs ahead of use, sometimes by a year. A child who cannot say "behind" may still put the cup behind the box when asked. Watch for children who succeed by guessing from context: if the only sensible place for milk is IN the fridge, following "put the milk in the fridge" proves nothing about the word "in". The real test is a direction with two plausible answers.

Try this at home

Hide and seek with a toy, taking turns at both jobs. They hide it and tell you where it is; then you hide it and describe where it went. Swapping roles is what brings out production rather than just comprehension - and going first yourself shows them how the telling sounds.

When to refer

Not following in and on by 3, or still unable to follow behind, in front of and between by about 5.

Print it

Spatial Concepts worksheet24 items across 3 sections, with answer key · PDF

Where Is It?

10 items

Answer each question with a spatial word.

  1. 1.The cat is sleeping ____ the bed. (not on top - below it)under
  2. 2.The book is ____ the shelf. (resting on top)on
  3. 3.The milk is ____ the fridge. (inside)in
  4. 4.The ball rolled ____ the couch. (out of sight at the back)behind
  5. 5.The teacher stands ____ the class. (at the front, facing them)in front of
  6. 6.The peanut butter is ____ the bread and the jelly. (in the middle of two things)between
  7. 7.The plane flew ____ the clouds. (higher up)above
  8. 8.My shoes are ____ my bed. (below it)under
  9. 9.Sit ____ me. (right beside)next to
  10. 10.The dog walked ____ the tunnel and came out the other side.through

Follow the Direction

8 items

Give the child a small object and a container. Read each direction once and see what they do.

  1. 1.Put the block in the cup.block inside the cup
  2. 2.Put the block under the cup.block beneath the cup
  3. 3.Put the block behind the cup.block at the back of the cup
  4. 4.Put the block next to the cup.block beside the cup
  5. 5.Put the block on top of the cup.block resting on the cup
  6. 6.Put the block between the cup and the spoon.block in the middle
  7. 7.Put the block in front of the cup.block at the near side
  8. 8.Hold the block above the cup.block held up over the cup

Tell Me Where

6 items

Look at each picture and say a whole sentence about where the thing is.

  1. 1.Where is the cat? (sitting in a box)The cat is in the box.
  2. 2.Where is the kite? (up in the sky)The kite is above the trees.
  3. 3.Where is the shoe? (poking out from under the bed)The shoe is under the bed.
  4. 4.Where is the boy? (standing at the back of his sister)The boy is behind his sister.
  5. 5.Where is the dog? (lying beside the couch)The dog is next to the couch.
  6. 6.Where is the sandwich? (on the plate)The sandwich is on the plate.