Symmetry in Letters: Crafting with Clay
This material is suitable for children of any school age and is designed for those teaching or wishing to teach visually impaired children how to navigate the world around them. The task of parents and teachers is to show children that all sciences are interconnected and to make learning interesting and effective. At any stage of education, children should maintain an interest in gaining knowledge.
It is known that visual perception deficiencies negatively affect the development of cognitive operations. Children often struggle with analysis, comparison, and synthesis. Visually impaired children sometimes find it difficult to distinguish similar letters.
When explaining the topic of “Symmetry,” we work with letters, mold them from clay, and then draw lines of symmetry.
A, H, I, M, O, T, U, V, W, X, Y are letters that have axial symmetry. Axial symmetry is the symmetry of an object relative to a certain line, called the axis of symmetry.
We start by making letters from clay. Modeling helps create a clear image of the letter in the child’s visual memory. The value of modeling lies in the children’s effort to accurately represent the shape of objects.
Using a ruler (the ruler represents the axis of symmetry), we show that the letter “A” has axial symmetry.
Similarly, we demonstrate this with all the other letters. We focus on letters that have vertical axial symmetry.
B, C, D also have axial symmetry, but only horizontal.
For visually impaired children, it is better to work with yellow clay. The yellow color is well perceived by vision, providing a warm, energizing, and uplifting effect on the mind, bringing good mood.
An additional tool for visually impaired children is a magnifying glass. It is desirable that each visually impaired child has a desk magnifier to enlarge small details without straining their eyes.
In the lesson, it is essential to give verbal instructions for completing the task. The teacher’s speech should be clear and articulate.
The letters I and X have two axes of symmetry.
The letter X also has a center of symmetry. The center of symmetry is the point where all the axes of symmetry intersect. It represents symmetry concerning a point.
Crafting with clay helps to better absorb new material. Children get the opportunity to touch objects, in this case, three-dimensional letters. We not only talk about symmetry but also demonstrate and craft symmetrical letters.