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Describe Relative Positions of Objects

This lesson explains how to describe the relative position of objects using positional words such as above, below, next to, between, in front of, and behind. Students practice comparing an object's location to more than one reference point using pictures and guided examples suitable for early learners.

What Does It Mean to Describe Relative Position?

Every object in a picture, a room, or a math problem has a location. But instead of measuring exact distances, one of the simplest ways to talk about where something is located is to compare it to another object nearby. This is called describing the relative position of an object. Words like above, below, next to, and between are called positional words, and they help us explain exactly where something is without needing a ruler or a map.

Learning to use positional words correctly is an important early skill. It helps students follow directions, describe pictures, and later on, it connects directly to reading coordinate grids and describing shapes.

Common Positional Words You Should Know

Here are some of the most common positional words used to describe where an object is compared to another object:

Above / below: one object is higher or lower than another
Over / under: similar to above and below, often used for things passing over or under something
In front of / behind: describes which object is closer to the front or hidden behind another
Next to / beside: two objects are close together, side by side
Between: an object has one thing on each side of it
Left of / right of: describes horizontal position compared to another object
Near / far: describes how close or distant one object is from another
Inside / outside: describes whether an object is contained within another or not

Picture It: A Shelf Scene

Positional words make the most sense when you can see a picture. Look at the scene below and notice how each object is described in relation to another object, not by itself.

The bear's position and the box's position are both described using the shelf as the reference point.

Using More Than One Reference Point

An object's description can change depending on which other object you compare it to. In the picture above, the star is between the cat and the dog. But the star could also be described as near the cat, far from the bear, or below the shelf. None of these descriptions are wrong, they simply use a different reference point.

This is why it always helps to ask two questions when describing relative position: "Which object am I describing?" and "Which object am I comparing it to?"

Worked Example

Imagine three toys lined up on a table: a red block, a green ball, and a blue cup, from left to right in that order.

Question: Describe the position of the green ball.

Answer: The green ball is to the right of the red block. The green ball is also to the left of the blue cup. Since it has one toy on each side, we can also say the green ball is between the red block and the blue cup.

Notice that all three descriptions are correct. They each describe the same object, the green ball, but they compare it to different neighboring objects.

Why This Skill Matters

Describing relative position is a building block for many other topics. Once you can describe where an object sits compared to another, you are ready to plot and describe locations on a grid, such as in navigating spaces in grids. Positional language also supports geometry work, including how you sort 2D shapes by attribute and how you talk about composing and decomposing 2D shapes, since describing how shapes fit together often relies on the same positional words.

Keep practicing with real objects around you. Point to something and describe it compared to two different neighbors. The more you practice, the more naturally these positional words will come when solving math problems and following directions.

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