Visual Sense: Cylinder Blocks
Material
4 blocks each containing 10 cylinders with knobs, each fitting into the respective hole in the block
Block 1- The cylinders vary in two dimensions- length and breath
Block 2- The cylinders vary in three dimensions- length, breadth and height
Block 3- The cylinders vary in three dimensions- length, breadth and height
Block 4 - The cylinders vary in one dimension- height
Direct Aim
Visual Discrimination of dimensions- eventually know which cylinder goes in which hole by sight.
Indirect Aim
Preparation for writing - strengthening pincer grip by the way you hold the knob at the top of the cylinder
Preparation for mathematics - reinforcing the 1-10 decimal concept
Refinement of the voluntary movement
age
Starting at 3yr
How to hold
Hold the cylinder from the top, with two fingers on one side and the thumb on the other.
Presentation
Place the block on the table or mat.
Take out the thickest cylinder by grasping the knob with the thumb and first two fingers and extract the cylinder upwards in a single movement. Place the cylinder, standing up, in front of the block
Take out the thinnest cylinder by grasping the knob with the thumb and first two fingers and extract the cylinder upwards in a single movement. and place, standing up, in front of the block.
Continue to remove all the cylinders at random, in the same way. Place them at random standing in front of the block.
Choose one of the extremes (thickest or thinnest). Grasp the knob with a pincer grip, and look for the corresponding socket. show the child that you are looking at the cylinder and the wholes to compare size (shone in the video)
Hold the cylinder exactly over the socket and fit the cylinder in one movement into the whole. Do not let go till the cylinder is all the way in.
Replace the other extreme and then all the other cylinders at random. Occasionally look at the base of the cylinder and examine the height, in order to find the corresponding hole.
Exercises
The child works with any one Cylinder Block at a time
The child works with any two Cylinder Blocks at a time
The child works with any three Cylinder Blocks at a time
The child works with any four Cylinder Blocks at a time
(in the exercises, all the cylinders are removed and placed at random without taking into account the block they belong to.)
Control of Error
The Material is the control of error. If a cylinder doesn’t fit in the last whole the child will know they have made a mistake. The child should come to this realization by themselves.
Language
The following language is offered by means of the three-period lesson? once the child has had a good experience with that block:
Block 1; thin - think
Block 2; small - large
Block 3; no particular language
Block 4; tall - short (cylinder) deep - shallow (holes)
Comparatives and superlatives of each of the above
