Mini Object Collection
- mandymarks
- Jan 19, 2014
- 2 min read
Rationale:
A lot of my students have trouble comprehending symbols. I read somewhere that the symbol hierarchy does not exist, but I disagree. Intentional communication can be pre-symbolic: hand leading, pushing away
it can be pre-linguistic yet requiring some interpretation: pointing, head nodding
symbols can be very easily interpreted: representational objects
they can require a little more interpretation: photos
and even more interpretation: representational illustrations
or linguistic: text, speech, sign language
There are other forms of symbols but this is what I tend to work with. Mini objects are not quite as easy to come by, but some students may need them as "stepping stones" before understanding picture communication. I mentioned to my mom that I was seeking mini objects to begin building a collection for assessment with my students. They would also be fun for working on letters or sounds. I told her about Lakeshore's Alphabet Tubs. Waaay too expensive, but inspiring me to create something similar.
Materials:
It was a matter of weeks before my mom came across an incomplete set of Lakeshore's alphabet tubs at a yard sale. She bought it for me for $20. I'm still a little shocked that that happened. But, anyone can do this. I've been adding to my set for a while now and it definitely takes time, but is worth it.
tubs: my set was missing some letter tubs, turns out you can get the same tub at the deli...if you frequent the deli or buy an item in a small container regularly, just save them!
objects: I signed up for mailing lists for a bunch of educational stores. Mayer-Johnson let me know via email that they were having a 50% off sale. I bought Learning Resources' rainbow crayons full of mini objects, as well as their alphabet soup set of cardboard photos (not objects but they looked useful). In addition, I kept my eye out for piles of junk. Toys that once belonged to sets at school but have been separated and forgotten show up more than you'd think.
inventory: I wanted to share, so I made sure to list everything that should be in each tub. I also typed up the list on one page so that I can use it as a data sheet during assessment
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