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VIDBE-Q Volume 63 Issue 3
Image 3. Close-up image of muscles that was created using
multiple pieces of yarn in intersecting patterns to create
layers.
The key to introducing more detailed concepts is that
the representations must be easily understood and not
overlaid with too many textures. If you keep the design
simple, then the concept can be more advanced without
becoming confusing to our students. In addition, the
concepts must be taught over several sessions where you
can focus on one section, such as the bones or muscles,
and then focus on the representation as a whole. I used
simple materials found in almost every classroom setting to create a very detailed
model. In my experience, the most important feedback will come from your students. I
asked this student to describe what he felt at each stage of the development of the body
part we were focused on. He had to describe his thoughts about bones and muscles to
me so that I could ensure that he understood the concepts being taught once they were
put on paper. For example, I had started with plastic models of the skeleton and this
child was unable feel the difference between the various parts of the body such as the
bone and the muscle. As we read about each part of the body such as the rib cage, he
would describe it in a way that made sense to him. He used his fingers to represent
bones and then put them together with his thumbs touching on one side and his fingers
on the other like a circle. Once I saw how he understood the concept of the rib cage, I
used straws so that we could use them to create a three-dimensional (3D) design and
then follow-up on the page a two-dimensional (2D) image. By presenting the same