Visualization Directionality



Visualization Directionality

Purpose: To aid in the development of ocular motility, spatial awareness and manipulation, searching eye movements, figure-ground discrimination, laterality, directionality, and speed of recognition.

Equipment/Apparatus: Visualization Directionality worksheets.


1. For the purposes of this activity, the available transformations are:

R = Rotate Right = One quarter turn clockwise.

L = Rotate Left = One quarter turn counterclockwise.

U = Flip Upside Down = a vertical mirror image.

S = Sideways Flip = a horizontal mirror image.

2. The exercise proceeds as follows:

a) Study one row at a time. Use a paper to mask off rows that are not used.

b) The child should study the picture in the left-hand column. The goal is to identify ALL images in the row that represent what the image on the left would look like if transformed as indicated (that is, if transformed either R, L, U, or S).


*Re-use the activity by changing the transformation of each item. For example, if the current transformation is R, then try L, then U, then S.

*You can load the activity by timing how long it takes to identify all the correct transformations on a page or on all pages. Change the transformations, then see if the child can be the last time. Add 5 seconds for each incorrectly identified transformation.

*For each item, be sure to identify all possible transformations.

*An alternate exercise is to have the child point to a transformation (in the list of four possible answers) and identify what the transformation is. For example, the four transformations in the first example (in order) are: U (flip upside down), S (flip sideways), L (rotate left), R (rotate right).

*What is meant by rotate ‘left’ vs ‘right’? My reference is the top of the shape, so if we use the happy face as an example, then rotating the shape left (an “L” transformation) will put the eyes on the left side of the picture (as demonstrated in the third choice in the happy face example/item), and a rotation right (an “R” transformation) will put the eyes on the right side of the picture (as demonstrated in the fourth choice).