FM.I.78 MATCHES PICTURES, CHOICE 2

Matching pictures with pictures requires fine visual discrimination. In this exercise you will start with 2 pairs of pictures, and in later items you will progress up to 9.

Begin with very clear pictures, 5 cm square or larger. Pictures that you draw yourself with black felt pen and colour brightly will work very well. Use tracing paper to get 2 the same. Or you can buy 2 copies of the same picture book and cut them up. The early Ladybird books are good for this.

How to Assess

Materials: 2 sets of pictures, as described above.

Method: Put one picture from each set on the table. Say ‘Look, I can put the . . . on the . . .’. Demonstrate. Give the picture to your child, and say ‘Put the … on the . . .’. Give 2 tries for each picture, alternating them and changing the position of the pictures halfway through.

Score plus if your child matches the pictures with the identical pictures in 3 out of the 4 tries, without physical or verbal help.

How to Teach

Teach as for FM.I.60, using pictures instead of objects. Vary your materials during teaching.

If your child has difficulty positioning the pictures, try putting them in dishes.

For variety you could make a two-piece lotto board, in which 2 clear pictures are pasted or drawn onto a large piece of cardboard.

Playtime and Round-the-house Activities

If your pictures are fairly durable, give them to your child as free-play materials. He will enjoy looking at them, and when you are with him you can point out ones that are the same.

Identical pictures often recur in magazines – usually as part of advertisements. Collect such pairs of pictures and use them in a pasting activity. Choose a pair of pictures and paste one of each on a piece of paper. Give the other two to your child and help him to paste each one close to the one that is the same.

Remembering and Extending

When your child has achieved this skill you can move on to FM.I.79.