Planning

Teaching space in primary classrooms helps students develop the visual and spatial reasoning skills needed to understand the world around them.
Through hands-on experiences with shapes, objects, maps, and movement, learners explore how position, direction, and geometry connect to real-life contexts and future mathematical learning.

The A+ Teacher Club Guides to Teaching unpack the Space Strand of the mathematics curriculum step by step. Created by numeracy coach Vikki Longthorn, these guides show teachers what to teach, when to teach it, and how to build deep understanding so students can describe, represent, and reason about shapes, locations, and movements with confidence.

Part of the How to Teach Maths in Primary Classrooms series.

What Is the Space Strand About?

The Space Strand focuses on the ways students describe, visualise, and represent the world through shape, position, direction, and movement.
It connects geometry and spatial reasoning, providing the foundation for problem-solving, coding, mapping, and design.

Students learn to:

• Identify, sort, and describe 2D shapes and 3D objects.
• Use positional language to describe locations and relationships.
• Recognise and create symmetry, transformations, and patterns.
• Follow and give directions to move through space.
• Represent pathways and positions using drawings, models, or digital tools.

Spatial reasoning develops from physical exploration and movement to symbolic representations such as maps, diagrams, and coordinate grids.

Why Teaching Space Matters

Spatial understanding is central to success in mathematics, science, art, and design — and underpins reasoning about geometry, measurement, and even number patterns.

Teaching space concepts effectively helps students:

• Develop visualisation and mental rotation skills.
• Use and understand positional and directional language.
• Make connections between shapes and movement.
• Communicate reasoning through diagrams, gestures, and models.
• Apply mathematical ideas to mapping, construction, and coding.

Students who build strong spatial reasoning are better problem-solvers, flexible thinkers, and more confident learners across all subjects.

How the Space Strand Connects to the Curriculum

Mathematics in the Australian Curriculum v9 is organised into six interrelated strands — Number, Algebra, Measurement, Space, Statistics, and Probability.
The A+ Teacher Club Guides to Teaching Space align directly with this structure, showing how to teach geometry and spatial reasoning from Foundation through Year 6.

Across these years, students:

• Explore 2D shapes and 3D objects through manipulation, description, and construction.
• Learn positional and directional language to describe where things are and how they move.
• Develop understanding of symmetry, reflection, rotation, and transformation.
• Represent and interpret maps, pathways, and grids.
• Apply spatial reasoning to problem-solving and coding contexts.

Each guide connects curriculum outcomes to hands-on classroom practice through clear teaching sequences and success criteria.

For full curriculum details, see the Australian Curriculum Mathematics Overview.

Mathematics Manipulatives for Teaching Space Concepts

Hands-on materials are essential for helping students visualise and reason about shape, position, and movement.

Recommended manipulatives include:

• Pattern blocks and tangrams – for exploring shapes, symmetry, and transformations.
• Geoboards and elastic bands – for creating shapes, angles, and reflections.
• 2D and 3D shape sets – for sorting, classifying, and constructing models.
• Mirror tiles and symmetry finders – to explore reflection and balance.
• Grid mats and floor maps – for following directions and representing position.
• Building blocks and construction kits – for modelling 3D structures.
• Directional arrows, coding cards, or programmable robots – to connect movement, direction, and digital reasoning.

Manipulatives allow students to experiment physically before formalising ideas using drawings and symbols.

Using Picture Books to Teach Space Concepts

Picture books help students connect spatial ideas to movement, position, and visual reasoning. They provide meaningful contexts for using mathematical language.

Recommended titles include:

• “Rosie’s Walk” – Pat Hutchins – reinforces positional words like over, under, through, and around.
• “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt” – Michael Rosen – perfect for exploring direction and movement.
• “Shapes, Shapes, Shapes” – Tana Hoban – uses photographs to introduce 2D shape recognition.
• “Changes, Changes” – Pat Hutchins – encourages shape manipulation and spatial reasoning.
• “The Greedy Triangle” – Marilyn Burns – explores 2D shapes, sides, and transformations.
• “Perfect Square” – Michael Hall – introduces symmetry and creative transformation.
• “Mapping Penny’s World” – Loreen Leedy – links mapping, position, and perspective.

Integrating these books helps students apply mathematical vocabulary naturally and visualise spatial relationships through story and illustration.

Common Student Difficulties in the Space Strand

Spatial reasoning takes time and practice to develop. Students may have difficulty visualising, describing, or representing what they see and do.

Common difficulties include:

• Misunderstanding positional language – confusing left/right, in front/behind, or above/below.
• Difficulty identifying shapes when orientation changes (e.g., a square turned looks like a diamond).
• Trouble distinguishing between 2D and 3D attributes.
• Confusion with symmetry – focusing on visual appearance instead of reflective balance.
• Challenges interpreting maps or diagrams – not understanding scale, symbols, or direction.
• Limited spatial vocabulary – difficulty describing relationships clearly.

Teachers can address these through modelling, play-based exploration, gesture, and drawing activities. Using precise spatial language consistently helps students connect everyday experiences with formal mathematical reasoning.

Achievement Standards in the Space Strand

Achievement standards describe what students are typically able to understand and do, and they form the basis for reporting student achievement.
Each Mathematics achievement standard is organised into paragraphs reflecting the six strands. Students’ mastery of spatial concepts is judged against these descriptors.

In Mathematics, students progress along a curriculum continuum with an achievement standard at each level. The standard represents a satisfactory level of understanding—typically a C grade. Teachers report against these standards, noting that some concepts are introduced for extension and do not form part of formal grading.

Teaching space in primary classrooms begins with helping students understand how shapes, positions, and directions describe the world around them.
The A+ Teacher Club How to Teach Space Concepts Guides are organised by year level, supporting teachers to unpack the space curriculum and teach step by step — from describing position and location in the early years to following directions and interpreting maps in later grades.

Each guide aligns with the Australian Curriculum v9, addresses common student misconceptions, and builds teacher confidence through clear, concept-based instruction that makes spatial reasoning engaging and meaningful for students.

Explore the complete How to Teach Space Concepts Guides by Year Level to make spatial learning clear, connected, and fun.