Chapter 3: Realia Strategies

I choose Chapter 3 which discusses realia or concrete object strategies. I would use this strategy in every grade, but most specifically in the younger grades (Pre-K through 2nd). The book gave great ideas on how to use this strategy. In my classroom, I would like to have a lesson centered around the family unit. For this, my students would bring pictures of their family members. We would make a family tree with their names. Below each name, we would have the English word for their position in the family, i.e. grandfather, mom, dad. Along with the English word, I would like to have the corresponding word in the child's native language. I think this strategy is extremely effective because it gives my students a valuable foundation in connecting concrete objects to their proper words. As a child sees the use of the object, they can build a mental vocabulary of what the object are for or what they have learned as they are taught. I like this strategy because you use a labeling system to integrate words and their objects in a visual space. The one obstacle I see with this strategy is if you had a student who was visually impaired. While they can't see the object, you could still use a Braille labeling system to give them a tactile learning environment. I think that this strategy is not weighed down by time constraints because you could put students in a homogeneous pairing (one strong English speaker, one new English speaker) and have your students learn about their classroom. I would set aside a small group time for discoverey where my students could touch objects and learn. This strategy relies on your daily classroom experience so you are using the space you have. I don't see any true problems with implementing this strategy. I liked this strategy a great deal because of the hands-on and visual idea of learning.