This document discusses spatial concepts including position, directionality, and cultural influences on spatial understanding. It explains that pictures books can help children explore directionality and how ads are arranged differently in eastern versus western cultures. Specific spatial concepts like foreground/background, distance, angle, and framing are defined. Example picture books and animations for exploring these concepts are listed.

1. Spatial System
Leanne Sercombe Discovery College

2. Spatial - Think in terms of 2D and 3D
Position - where things are in relation to each
other & how they move from one position to
another
Directionality - the direction of the
movement: up, down, left and right

3. Practical experience: Exploring directionality in picture
books.
Look at ways the illustrator guides the eye of the reader through position and
direction. FInd examples in the selected picture books.

5. Cultural Influence
East:
Typically arranged
around centre and
margins
West:
Typically arranged
around top, bottom,
left and right
Practical experience: Take a look on MTR station and bus
stops
Look at the ways in which we view ads/posters and make ads and posters. Are
we seeing things based on our own cultural background? Is this why some ads
work/don’t work?.

6. Position - left/right
West - Text on the left
is regarded as known
info, on the right it is
regarded as new info
Eg. latest product
adverts are placed on
the right and cost
more
Kress and Van Leuuwen, 2006

7. Position - top/bottom
West
Text on the top engages
or invites the reader in
Text on the bottom
gives the info

9. Position - centre
East
The degree of
importance of
something is
indicated by how
close it is to the
centre where the
value is highest.

10. Position - foreground and background

11. Distance
The degree of space between
people, places and things may
indicate close or distant
relationships.

13. Distance - Angle
● A direct frontal angle is the shortest distance
and therefore indicates a closer
relationship, whereas an oblique angle
creates more distance and often means the
object is placed to the side and less
important.

15. Framing
● Frames can bring together or separate items
in a text.
● The items may be parts of text on a page or
screen; or people, places or things in a still or
moving image, or in space.

19. Framing
● Frames can be real, that is, a physical
boundary such as a fence in three
dimensional space or the visual
representation of a picture frame or fence on
a screen or page.
● A frame may also be may be implied, that is,
objects may be placed in a way that
represents a frame.

20. The Violin Man

21. Neville

22. Neville

23. Neville

24. Neville

25. The Violin Man

26. The Violin Man

27. Animations

52. Resources - Picture Books
Title Author/ ISBN
The Violin Man Colin Thompson
A Kiwi Night Before Christmas Yvonne Morrison and Deborah Hinde
Search for Atlantis Colin Thompson
Neville Norton Juster 978-0375867651
The Huge Bag of Worries Virginia Ironside and Frank Rodgers
Memorial Gary Crew and Shaun Tan
Blackout John Rocco

53. Resources - Animations
Title URL
The Lego Story https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdDU_
BBJW9Y
A Cloudy Lesson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psZmAs
H6I3Q
The Fantastic FLying Books of Mr Morris
Lessmore
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VljJIQu
PDSE
The Lost Thing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1YG7Z
XfC6g
La Luna https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxRH2V
5QlbM