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Understanding of concepts
- 1-5 Years
- 5-11 Years
- 11-19 Years
- SEND
- Speech, language and communication
A concept is an idea that helps us to talk about things and explain what we have done or what we will do. Children learn simple concepts first, such as things that can be seen, felt or drawn. These may involve ideas that include size or texture.
Parents and carers can use this information at home to support their child. Education staff can also use this information with children in their school or setting.
Please try these ideas and advice before making a referral to the Speech and Language Therapy Service.
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Strategies to support a child's understanding of concepts
Children need to experience concepts in different situations. For example, to understand the word ‘dirty’, a child needs to see the word used in lots of different ways, like dirty boots, dirty hands and dirty car. Structured activities can also help the child learn.
- Focus on 1 concept at a time. For example, little then big, cold then hot, dirty then clean. It is important not to teach opposites at the same time. For example, do not teach big and small together as something may be medium size. Instead, start with ‘big’ and ‘not big’.
- Use a multi-sensory approach. For example, if you are teaching a child the concept ‘next to’, there are lots of things you can do to help.
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- Let the child experience the concept. For example, put the child ‘next to’ a variety of objects. This movement gives the child a physical learning experience.
- Show an object experiencing the concept. For example, place a teddy ‘next to’ a variety of objects.
- Use simple words to talk about the concept, such as “The teddy is next to the chair”.
- Use pictures and gestures to show the meaning visually.
- Talk about the concept in past and future experiences.
- Start with real objects, then use pictures, and later move on to abstract ideas.
- Choose objects and materials carefully. For example, when discussing the concept ‘small’ make sure the objects are not all hard or the child might think that ‘small’ also means ‘hard’.
- Repeat activities little and often.
- Once the child understands the concept in one situation, help them use the concept in new situations.
- Matching and sorting activities can be helpful in developing a child's understanding.
Living Language programme
This list is based on Ann Locke’s Living Language programme. Ann Locke explained that the different word groups should be used as a guide, and not stuck to rigidly. Children should learn the words in the first level (level 1), before moving on to the next level.
Some word groups do not contain all 4 levels, so a step may be missing.
Size
- Level 1 (basic concepts): big, little, heavy
- Level 2: empty, fat, full, long, small
- Level 3: biggest, large, light, short, tall, thin, bigger, fattest, heaviest, longest, smallest
- Level 4 (difficult concepts): deep, narrow, shallow, thick, wide, fatter, heavier, longer, smaller, largest, lightest, shortest, tallest, thinnest
Space
- Level 1 (basic concepts): in, on, under, off, out, up
- Level 2: in front, behind, near, next to, by, outside, top, over, through
- Level 3: beside, backwards, back, between, far, front, high, low, middle, side, together, towards
- Level 4 (difficult concepts): above, across, against, apart, below, facing, sideways, upright
Texture
- Level 1 (basic concepts): hard, soft
- Level 2: cold, dry, wet, hot
- Level 3: furry, rough, smooth, warm
Sound
- Level 1 (basic concepts): noisy, quiet/ly
- Level 2: loud/ly, soft/ly
- Level 4 (difficult concepts): high, low
Shape
- Level 1 (basic concepts): dot, spot, line, round
- Level 2: circle, flat, square
- Level 3: cross, triangle
- Level 4 (difficult concepts): corner, curved, diamond, oval, rectangle, shape, slant/slope, straight
Movement
- Level 1 (basic concepts): fast, slow/ly
- Level 2: moving, quick/ly, still
- Level 4 (difficult concepts): jerky, smooth
Quantity
- Level 1 (basic concepts): a bit, all, lots, some, more
- Level 2: another, any, many, no more, as much as
- Level 3: about, both, every, few, half, most, nearly, only, other
- Level 4 (difficult concepts): each, enough, equal, fewest, less, much, none, part, plenty, several, unequal, whole
Time
- Level 1 (basic concepts): again, now
- Level 2: after, soon, today
- Level 3: always, before, later, yesterday
- Level 4 (difficult concepts): early, late, never, once, sometimes, tomorrow, twice
Personal qualities
- Level 1 (basic concepts): good, happy, naughty, sad
- Level 2: bad, hungry, nice, pretty, silly
- Level 3: cross, frightened, kind, thirsty
- Level 4 (difficult concepts): clever, excited, pleased, unkind
Last reviewed: 24 November, 2025
