Realia, Flashcards and One Chalkboard
A teacher has 28 learners aged 9–10, 45 minutes, a chalkboard, a box of realia (a ball, a cup, a small box), 12 flashcards showing prepositions, and a hand-drawn chart. There is no projector or printer. The target is prepositions of place (in, on, under, behind, next to). One learner has low vision and sits at the front. The teacher wants a presentation stage, a practice stage and a quick check of individual understanding. The room has fixed desks in rows.
1. Select the aids for each stage and justify the choice. Explain one adaptation for the learner with low vision.
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Presentation: use the realia - ball, cup, box - because prepositions of place are spatial and physical manipulation makes the meaning visible. Place the ball in the box, on the box, under the box, narrating slowly. The chalkboard carries the written form and a simple diagram, not a crowded picture.
Practice: learner-directed realia in pairs: one learner places the object, the other says where it is; then swap. With fixed rows, use the front pair and a 'pass the object' chain rather than free movement. Flashcards are useful for a quick review, but only as a whole-class flash, not for individual reading.
Check: individual oral instruction - 'Put the cup behind the box' - with an observation checklist of five learners per minute.
Adaptation for the low-vision learner: use the largest objects (ball, cup, box) rather than the flashcards; keep them on the learner's desk, not at the front; describe verbally what others can see; allow the learner to handle the objects to confirm position. Do not rely on the hand-drawn chart for this learner.
2. Which aid carries the highest risk of failure in this room, and how would you mitigate it?
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The flashcards are the highest-risk aid. They are small, the room has fixed rows, and the low-vision learner cannot use them at distance. A flashcard shown at the front asks learners to read a tiny picture and infer a spatial relation from a 2D drawing - a double demand.
Mitigation:
- Use the flashcards only for a 60-second whole-class review, and say the word as you show it so the image is not the only carrier of meaning.
- Replace individual flashcard reading with realia demonstration and peer placement.
- For the low-vision learner, give a personal set of two large objects (cup and box) and use verbal instructions.
- Keep board drawings large and simple; draw one relation at a time, not a six-picture grid.
Second risk: managing realia with 28 learners in rows. Mitigate by keeping one set at the front for demonstration and using imaginary objects for the pair practice, so the realia do not travel and disappear.
3. How would you check individual understanding without a projector or printed worksheet?
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Use a combination of low-tech checks that produce individual evidence:
- Physical response: give selected learners a small object or have them mime placing it. Call five instructions and watch five named learners each time; record on a simple checklist (in/on/under/behind/next to).
- Board-based exit slip: write three gapped sentences on the board; learners copy and complete on a slip of paper or in their notebook. Collect three slips from different attainment bands.
- Peer check with a clear criterion: pairs place an object and say the sentence; the listener says 'yes' or 'again'. The teacher circulates and notes two errors per group.
- Thumbs up/down is not enough on its own - it gives group-level, not individual, evidence, and a learner can copy a neighbour.
Avoid: asking 'Does everyone understand?' as the check. It produces a chorus, not evidence. The observation checklist plus the three exit slips give a defensible individual judgement without a projector or printer.