Before the school day, go around the classroom and turn some pieces of furniture or decor backward. Flip things, such as chairs, the easel that holds chart paper, books on the shelf or student artworks on the wall. Once class starts, ask students to walk around the room and stand next to an item that they notice is now backward. Call on individual students to present their discovery to the rest of the class.
Set up an obstacle course in which students move through a sequence of activities that involve front and backward directions. For example, obstacles may include walking five steps backward, skipping rope 10 times forward and 10 more times backwards or organizing a set of chairs so that they point toward the front of the class. The first student through the course wins a treat.
Stand up at the front of the classroom facing the wall, with students standing at the back of the classroom. Call out a student's name. That student will respond with "Mother may I take 'X' steps forward" in which "X" is the number of steps the student wants to take forward. Respond to the request with either a yes or no. If the answer is no, tell the student how many steps forward or backward he must take. The first student to get to the front of the class, where you stand, wins the game.
Have preschoolers test their new knowledge of front and backward by designating a "backward day." Send a note home to parents explaining the concept, and having their sons and daughters wear their clothes backward. Make backward name tags and see if they can identify their own name. Start the class with end-of-day announcements, have students sit backward in their chairs and, if the school has a lunch program, start the meal with dessert.