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How to Teach Children the Difference Between Left & Right

Teaching young children left and right is an important step for them to learn many other skills. Preschool and early elementary school-aged children should be able to master the difference between left and right with some guidance and practice. Eventually, children will be able to automatically differentiate between left and right. This is an important precursor to mastering other skills and concepts such as directional sense, geometry and map skills.

Instructions

    • 1

      Explain to the children the concept of the directions left and right and how those directions are used. You can explain how it is important to know left from right in order to get to school, the store or a friend's house.

    • 2

      Show the children how to tell the difference between the left and right hand. Have them make a fist with their thumbs touching and put their fingers up. Have them pull their hands apart and look for the uppercase letter "L". The hand that makes the letter "L" is the left hand.

    • 3

      Label items used daily with left and right. If students sit at a desk, label the left and right side of the desk to remind students of the directions. You can also label their hands with a washable, non-toxic marker, with the letters "L" and "R" to remind them which hand is the left and which is the right.

    • 4

      Practice the difference between left and right on a daily basis. You can practice the directions using worksheets, by playing a game or by singing a song about directions.

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