The idea, step by step
Choose the important features
Start with the boundary of the room or park. Add the main objects people need to locate. Draw each from above and label it.
Place objects using the instructions before decorating. If the reading corner must be left of the table, check that relationship first.
Check and improve
Read each instruction again and check it on the plan. Ask someone else whether the labels and positions make sense.
Different drawings can both be correct. Without exact sizes or a scale, the objects need not be identical sizes, but the stated relationships must agree.
A common trap
Thinking neatness makes a plan correct even when its positions are wrong.
Instead: Check all the position instructions as well as drawing clearly.
See the thinking
Three plan features
Draw a rectangular room with a table in the middle and shelves to its right. What should you check?
- Draw and label the rectangular boundary.
- Place and label the table near the middle.
- Place and label the shelves to the table’s right.
Repair a plan
The instruction puts a pond right of a garden, but the drawing puts it left. What must change?
- Use the garden as the reference place.
- Move the pond to its right and keep the labels.
Check your understanding
Two plans have different-sized tables, both left of a doorway. Can both be correct if no sizes are given?
Show answer
Yes.
The instruction fixes the position, not the exact size.
Your turn
6 questions · Work at your own pace.
Read the questions online
- Draw a top-down plan with a round mat above a rectangular table. Label both.
- Draw a gate, a bench to its right, and a kiosk right of the bench. Label them.
- A plan must show windows along the top wall. It puts them along the bottom. Does it follow the instruction?
- Name two features that make a plan easy to read.
- Make a park plan with a pond between a playground and garden. Explain how you checked it.
- Why do two rectangular objects need labels on a plan?
Read the worked solutions
- Draw a top-down plan with a round mat above a rectangular table. Label both.
Use the shapes seen from above.
Check that the mat is above the table.
A labelled circle above a labelled rectangle. - Draw a gate, a bench to its right, and a kiosk right of the bench. Label them.
The bench must be between the other two.
Gate, bench, kiosk from left to right. - A plan must show windows along the top wall. It puts them along the bottom. Does it follow the instruction?
Check the stated viewpoint before deciding top and bottom.
No. Move the windows to the top wall. - Name two features that make a plan easy to read.
A key and a clear boundary are also useful answers.
Example: clear labels and one consistent top-down view. - Make a park plan with a pond between a playground and garden. Explain how you checked it.
Exact sizes and the left/right arrangement may vary.
Check that there is a named neighbour on both sides of the pond.
A labelled pond with playground and garden on opposite sides. - Why do two rectangular objects need labels on a plan?
Shape alone may not distinguish a table from a cupboard.
Labels identify what each rectangle represents.
Curriculum reference & lesson scope
Australian Curriculum v9 and SA Curriculum
Bird's-eye representations; landmarks; relative position; making plans.
Official curriculum source ↗