Practical Ideas to Support Concept Development

By Gwyn McCormack

I would like to share some ideas that I demonstrate at Positive Eye’s early numeracy courses around concept development, plus some top tips to go along with the ideas.

You can download a pdf of these tips here.

Provide real objects, concrete experience of places, activities, processes

Allow time and opportunity:

To explore and find out not just what things are, but also what they do
To explore what the objects, processes, activities feel like using fingers, hands, feet, toes
To explore the texture, shape, colour, weight, flexibility and malleability of different objects
To use manipulative skills to push and poke, squeeze and squash, pull and twist the different objects to see what can be done with them
To find out which parts of an object move and which stay still, whether objects will roll or bounce
To find out whether things will stack on top of one another
To find out which things will fit inside other things and how objects can be moved from place to place
To manipulate things to understand how they move, drop them to see what they sound like and bang them on a hard surface to see if they change shape
To smell, to taste, to listen to find out what noise the object, process makes

Remember…

Always give child the real object to explore tactilely and provide clear description to support further understanding

The child is only able to access that which is under their finger pads at that moment
Child has to mentally link all the parts of the object, graphic or page content together
They don’t have the full view of the object/process in one glance as is the case when accessing by visual methods
Understanding the world via tactile methods requires high levels of concentration and the child may become very fatigued and will need to take rest breaks

Some fun ideas for concept development

1. Basket of everyday objects

Filled with cup, jug, socks, shoes, brushes, keys, balls, facecloth, padlock, sponges (any household object)

*Basket of everyday objects, including socks, shoe, mug, measuring cup, wooden spoons, sponges, paintbrush*

To develop skills:

Counting
Matching and sorting
Categorising
Discriminating

Match the textures, make sounds. Rattle the spoon in the cup, find other objects that make a sound, fill the cup and the jug with water find out which holds the most, squeeze water from the sponges. Match the socks, categorise the brushes, find all the circular, square shapes, longest, shortest objects.

2. Understanding the qualities of objects

Woodenness of the wooden spoon — *Different types and sizes of wooden spoons help to illustrate the “woodenness of a wooden spoon”*

Experience and maximise the learning opportunities:

Shortest—longest
Handles of wooden spoon, different top (fork)
Categorise by spoon head
Thinnest—widest
Measure using the spoon as a unit of measurement.

Whiskness of whisks — *Different types of wire whisks*

Explore the qualities of the different whisks
Whisk bubbles in a bowl
Make cupcakes using whisk
Make a mobile with whisks
Add plastic whisk to the collection
Explore electric hand whisk (not plugged in)
Listen to the sound each whisk makes when it is used.
Find out which is the heaviest—lightest whisk

3. Concept Hanger (B for Bracelet)

Hang Bracelets, metal objects, wooden objects, square/circular/rough/smooth/cold to touch objects.
Change the objects each week, collect the objects with the child.
Categorise the objects
Sort by shape, size, length, texture, height

Bracelet hanger — *Bracelets in a hanger*

4. Concept bags

R for Rolling (Objects that roll)

Rolling pin, pastry cutter, paintbrush, glue, cork, small ball, large ball, lens cleaner, inner tube from kitchen roll.

*A bag of objects that roll include different types of balls, a hollow cardboard tube, a rolling pin, a glue stick*

Find out how far each will roll, line them up in order. Is it the lightest that rolls the furthest or the heaviest? Do the objects roll further on a slippy surface or a carpet?

The “Metalness” of Metal

In a metal tin:

Oval metal tin
Bracelets
Shirt cufflets
Clock
Bolt
Pastry cutter

Metalness of metal — *A metal tin with metal items include an alarm clock, bracelets, a cookie cutter*

Sort metal from wood in a sorting tray, sort metal by texture, shape, purpose, weight

Concept Bags—”H” For Hairbands

Range of hair bands and hair accessories to classify by shape, texture, purpose, make patterns and shapes with the hairbands.

Concept bags/Classification—silver and shiny bag (two attributes)

Beads, belt with sequins
make up bag, buckle
boxes, bracelet

*A bag of silver and shiny objects, including beads, a purse, a belt, a bracelet*

5. Understanding numerousness

The oneness of one, the ‘twoness’ of two, the ‘threeness’ of three.

Numerousness boxes — *Boxes with a number of the same objects, e.g. spoons, pencils*

Make boxes with different objects in, e.g one car, two fans, 3 bottles, etc.

Numerousness box — *Boxes contain* *multiples of the same objects, e.g. pencils, fans.*

The box contents can be used to understand the oneness of one, the ‘twoness’ of two, as well as to understand the ‘pencilness’ of the pencil, or the ‘bottleness of the bottle” Children can add their own objects, collect them from around the environment, sort them in their sorting tray, match the correct number with the correct box.

Use a detachable number line to add to the front cover of each box. Line the boxes up to make a number line.

Number Line

Use a number line for counting, adding, subtracting activities.

Detachable individual boards stuck on with Velcro, can be used for other counting activities.
Use with spinner to play Snakes and Ladders (up and down the number line)

*A tactile number line with items glued to a series of horizontal cards in ascending order (1, 2, 3, etc.)*

Positive Eye offers further ideas at https://www.positiveeye.co.uk/

Collage of using everyday objects to teach concept development to children with visual impairments

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