Part of the Big Ideas

Our own experiences of space and two-dimensional representations of space reflect a specific point of view.

Practice in the classroom will cultivate an awareness of perspective: the understanding that spatial relationships look different when viewed from different positions.  It will take time before they understand that when they are face-to-face with their friend, something on their left appears to their friend on her right, but early experiences can prepare them for this type of sophisticated thinking.

© Erikson Institute’s Early Math Collaborative. Reprinted from Big Ideas of Early Mathematics: What Teachers of Young Children Need to Know (2014), Pearson Education.

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"She began to see her entire math program through a spatial and geometry lens. Even when students were doing number sense activities she would encourage them to gesture with their hands or visualize the number line. She found often kids didn’t have the language to describe spatial positioning, but as they used their hands to gesture they began to find the words."

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