Position and direction
Year 5 · Maths
Explore numbers, spot patterns and explain how you worked it out.
Choose a game
Take your time, try a game and collect stars.
Reflection in a mirror line
Reflect points in vertical and horizontal mirror lines on a grid.
Play Reflection in a mirror lineTranslation or reflection?
Does the shape slide, flip, or change? Sort moves into translations and reflections in this
Play Translation or reflection?
Learning about position and direction
These Year 5 Maths games practise Reflection in a mirror line, Translation or reflection?. Choose a game above for a short activity, or explore the examples below before you play. The full guide for each game explains its controls, gives more examples and includes a free printable for practice away from the screen.
Talk it through
Use counters, a drawing or a number line before moving to a mental method. Ask your child to explain a choice, then change one number and try the method again.
Ask: “How could you show the same answer another way?” Give your child time to explain. Return to an example after playing and ask whether they would approach it differently.
Reflection in a mirror line
Year 5 pupils identify, describe and represent the position of a shape following a reflection or translation, using the appropriate language, and know that the shape has not changed.
Try an example: Reflect (2, 3) in the vertical line through 5 on the x-axis.
2 is 3 squares from 5, so go 3 squares past 5: 8.
Show the answer
(8, 3)
What to look out for
Changing both coordinates. Only the coordinate across the mirror line changes.
Translation or reflection?
Year 5 pupils identify, describe and represent the position of a shape following a reflection or translation.
Try an example: A triangle slides 3 squares to the right without turning
It slides.
Show the answer
translation
What to look out for
Thinking any movement is a translation. Ask: did it turn or flip? If it did, it is not a translation.
Practise away from the screen
- Use a small mirror to reflect drawings and letters.
- Slide, flip and turn a cut-out shape on the table and name each movement.
Curriculum connections
These games support selected practice connected to Position and direction in the National Curriculum in England. Use your school’s sequence to decide when to introduce and revisit each skill. A game covers selected examples, rather than assessing every requirement.
Questions families ask
Where should we start with position and direction?
Start with Reflection in a mirror line. Look at the worked example together, then try a round. If the task feels unfamiliar, use the full game guide or its free printable before trying again.
Does this cover everything taught at this level?
No. This page brings together the games currently available for this topic. It supports selected skills and does not replace the full programme of study or practical teaching.