There are many ways to learn, and parents and teachers have used various methods to make learning more accessible. Visual support is an effective method for assisting children’s learning. Visual aids are instructional media used during teaching and learning to assist the teacher in explaining and to help students comprehend more easily.
5 Tips For Using Visual Supports To Aid Your Kid’s Learning
Visual support aids in stimulating, motivating, drawing learners’ attention, and making concepts easier to grasp. This article will provide five suggestions for using visual aids to help your child learn.
1. Use Pictures
When children are learning at home, school, or church, pictures can provide visual support. Images aid learners in quickly grasping concepts. These can also be used to motivate or draw the attention of students. Visualizing an object rather than being told about it through explanation helps to understand it better. The images must be large and colorful. They can be printed on paper or displayed on an interactive board. For Sunday school learning materials, teachers can make use of these when lecturing.
For example, when discussing animals, the teacher will use pictures rather than bringing real animals into the classroom. Learners will have a general idea of how certain animals look and will associate them with real animals in the future.
For those who are unable to read, pictures can be used to represent information. For example, on toilets for boys, you can place a picture of a boy. Whereas on toilets for girls, you can use a picture of a girl.
2. Use Models
Models can represent real objects when learning, and they’re an excellent visual aid in assisting children’s learning. When teaching a concept, a teacher can use models instead of real objects. The models must be of adequate size and take child safety into account. The models must support what you want to teach while also taking into account your objectives and the number and age of your learners who’d play with the models.
Models, like pictures, aid in bringing the outside world into the classroom. Instead of bringing a real boat, you could bring a toy boat with the same features. It’ll be highly beneficial to bring an electrical toy to demonstrate to the children how it moves in water using a dish or school pool. Allow the children to use it as well.
Teachers can use puppets to perform a small play at Sunday school, so students will learn whatever concepts you’re teaching in a fun and stimulating way.
3. Use Symbols
Symbols can be used to represent a wide range of concepts. A symbol can be used in place of words or something else, and it’s a visual aid that guides children’s learning. They’re used to supplement the teaching of concepts, and children can use them to demonstrate their understanding.
In classroom routines, the teacher can use symbols to explain. Instead of writing words, you can write a timetable in symbols such as playtime, represented by a drawing of children playing, or break time, which a child eating can represent. Instead of writing ‘no running,’ a drawing of a child running with a large cross can be used.
Other symbols are used in various subjects. In mathematics, popular symbols include a ‘+’ for addition, a ‘-‘ for subtraction, an ‘x’ for multiplication, and a ‘÷’ for division. Other symbols can be used to represent a currency. And when children see them, they’ll associate the symbols with a specific currency such as ‘£’ for the British pound. Symbols can also be used with specific buildings such as ‘+’ for a hospital or church.
4. Use Videos
When it comes to teaching and using technology, teachers have adopted a variety of learning styles. Another way to utilize technology is to use videos to teach. Videos can be an excellent source of visual support for children’s learning. They aid in effectively engaging children, increasing motivation, and allowing for deeper learning. Children can watch the video several times to gain and retain information. They can be used to accommodate kids with short attention spans, particularly those in early childhood. They also place a premium on digital literacy; the more they’re exposed to it, the more confident and proficient they become. Subtitles can assist deaf children in reading and comprehending what’s happening in the video.
Before selecting videos, it’s best to know what you want to teach and what you want to achieve. For example, if you want to teach about the birth of Jesus at church, you need to select videos about the birth of Christ.
Videos can demonstrate practical topics such as teaching how to do a handstand in a mass display. A teacher can use a video to demonstrate how it’s done, and students will try to copy from the video.
5. Use Real Objects
Real objects are visual aids that are used to convey meaning and are incredibly beneficial to child learning. They encourage students to learn and use all of their senses. For example, when teaching about fruits, children can bring fruits from their packed lunches, and students will learn which group certain fruits belong to.
The teacher can organize a field trip because you can’t bring some real objects into the classroom. Children can go to an animal farm or zoo to learn about animals first-hand and better understand them.
Real objects can also assist learners in developing a variety of skills across all domains. During playtime, children can use actual balls and ropes, and they’ll also learn something new.
Conclusion
Don’t worry about your child becoming overly reliant if you use visuals. Visuals are more important and integral than people realize. The easier you make learning and communication for your children, the more likely they’ll succeed. Visual learning is beneficial to children’s learning, and this article has shown you how to do it.