*This post about picture books for teaching spatial concepts contains affiliate links.*
I love picture books, so when it came time to teach my students about spatial concepts, I knew I had to find some books they were going to love! I scoured the internet (thanks Amazon!) for some fun, engaging reads that my students would love and came up with 8 picture books that were a hit in my classroom! Here are the 8 books we loved and a quick description of what you’ll find inside the books:
1. Where Are You?
The story of Where Are You? by Sarah Williamson is a cute story of two snakes playing in the grass. While the snakes are playing, they go on adventures through, under, and out of making this a great interactive book for your students to learn all about spatial concepts.
2. Press Here
Press Here by Herve Tullet is one of my favorite finds. I actually found this book in a gift shop while wine tasting with my family and it’s one of the first books I bought for my new nephew to enjoy. This book has students following basic directions to press dots and change what happens on the next page. While students are following basic directions, there are TONS of spatial concepts for them to practice!
3. Behind the Mask
Behind the Mask by Ruth Heller is a great book for modeling and practicing prepositions. I LOVE books by Heller and have quite a few that I rely on for teaching concepts in my classroom. This book does not disappoint and my students love reading this book to learn about spatial concepts!
4. Hide & Seek: A First Book of Positional Words
Hide & Seek by R. D. Ornot is a super fun (and cute!) book. It’s a traditional game of hide and seek with a group of woodland friends. The friends count to 10 and the little creatures hide, but the spatial concept comes when it’s time for the creatures to find each other in the woods. With prepositions like behind, under, and between as well as so many more, your students are going to get great practice in using prepositions.
5. Piggies in the Pumpkin Patch
Piggies in the Pumpkin Patch by Mary Peterson is a fun adventure of a couple pigs having fun on the pumpkin patch. The book features so many positional words and adorable illustrations so your students get a great picture of the meaning of different prepositions. With words like across, into, and behind your students are going to be masters of positional concepts in no time!
6. Up, Down, and Around
Up, Down, and Around by Katherine Ayres is a picture book about vegetables that students love to read. It’s one of my spring favorites and it focuses on the spatial concepts of up, down, and around. The adorable pictures and easy reading makes it a fun book to share with my students.
7. In-Between Things
In-Between Things by Priscilla Tey not only teaches the spatial concept of in between but the illustrations are absolutely stunning! This fun story about a cat and dog keeps my students engaged. We practice identifying items from the text as well as from the illustrations when we’re reading this story.
8. Big Bug
Big Bug by Henry Cole is a great book for students who are practicing the concepts of big and little. The beautiful illustrations are super engaging for my students, but I particularly like how it shows how two things compare in size and in some instances an item can be big (like a dog compared to a bug) and in other instances the item can be small (like a dog compared to a barn). This is a book my students love because the predictability and simplicity of the text often allows them to read the book independently.
These are 8 of my favorites for teaching spatial concepts. Another great place to look for students who need more interaction with their books is flap books. Students lift the flaps to reveal different surprises. This is a great way to practice some spatial concepts while keeping students engaged. Do you have a favorite book for teaching spatial concepts? Leave me a comment and let me know. I’m always looking to build my classroom library with books that help us expand our language skills.
