2.

1 Perception of Dimension

2.1.5 The Knobless Cylinders

Material: 4 boxes with 10 Knobless cylinders, each colour coded as yellow, green, red and blue,
Vinyl Mat.

Yellow box’s Knobless cylinders vary both in diameter and height by .5cm in each dimension.
Tallest cylinder has the largest diameter and the shortest has the smallest diameter (Block 1)

Green box’s Knobless cylinders vary in both diameter and height by .5 cm in each dimension.
The tallest has the smallest diameter and the shortest has the largest diameter (block 2)

Red Box’s Knobless cylinders vary only in diameter by .5cm.Heights of all cylinders are the
same (block 3)

Blue Box’s Knobless cylinders vary only in height by .5cms, diameters of all cylinders are the
same (block 4)

Presentation I: Making a Tower (Floor activity)

Maintain work cycle

Invite the child- “Good Morning Jyotika, would you like to make a tower with yellow box of
Knobless cylinders today? Come I will show you where the material is kept. This is the
Sensorial Shelf (point with two right dominant fingers).This is the yellow box of
Knobless cylinders. This is how you hold it (hold the box with both hands thumbs on top
and fingers below). Would you like to hold it? Would you like to carry the yellow box to
the work area?”

Once seated introduce the material (pointing with two right dominant fingers) this is the vinyl
mat and this is the yellow box of Knobless cylinders. Today we will make a tower with
the cylinders. Watch me first and then you may have your turn”

Open the lid and place it below the box like a table. Using all fingers of right hand hold the
cylinder from the top and show it to the child. Invite the child to hold it too. Start taking
out the cylinders from the box, place them in semi-circular fashion around the box .After
taking out the fourth cylinder ask the child to help you too. Place the empty box on the
top right corner of the vinyl mat. Tell the child “Today we will make a tower with these
knobless cylinders. Watch me first and then you may have your turn”
Pick the biggest cylinder and place it on the centre of the lid, take the next cylinder and place it
on top of the previous one aligning it with the centre of the previous one. Continue to place the
cylinders in decreasing orders to make a tower. After the tower is made, take an aerial view.
Dismantle the tower and invite the child to do the activity.
When the child finished the activity, Re-in force and wind up by saying “Jyotika today we saw
how to build the tower with knobless cylinders from the yellow box. Feel free to do this activity,
if you have any problem come to me. Shall we wind up now?” Start dismantling the tower and
put the knobless cylinders back in the box and cover the lid. Tell the child to take the yellow box
back to the shelf. Once he does that point to the other knobless cylinders boxes and tell the child
that he is free to work with those knobless cylinder boxes too.

Presentation II : Making Stair pattern(table activity)

Material – yellow box of knobless cylinders, cloth mat

Maintain work cycle

Invite the child “Jyotika do you remember making the tower with knobless cylinders? Would
you like to see another activity with knobless cylinders which is how to do make a stair
pattern?. Come I will show you where the material is kept. This is the Sensorial Shelf
(point with two right dominant fingers).This is the yellow box, for this activity we will
need a cloth mat too. Will you please unroll and lay the cloth mat at the work table.
Please carry the yellow box to the work table too”

Once seated introduce the material (with two right dominant fingers) “This is the Vinyl mat, this
is the cloth mat and this is the yellow box with knobless cylinders. Today we will see
how to make a stair pattern with the yellow knobless cylinders, watch me first then you
may have your turn.” Take out the knobless cylinders from the box and place them
around the box in semi-circular fashion randomly. Close the box and place it to the top
right corner of the mat. Search for the biggest cylinder; place it on the bottom left corner
of the mat. Start grading cylinders from biggest to smallest. Once the stair pattern is
formed trace using two right dominant fingers from left to right. Invite the child to do the
activity. After the child has done the activity reinforce and wind up by saying “Today we
saw how to make a stair pattern with yellow knobless cylinders, feel free to do this
activity anytime you want. If you have any problem come to me. Shall we wind up now,
place the knobless cylinders back in the box and close it. Tell the child to take the yellow
box back to the shelf, once there point to the other green, red and blue boxes letting the
child know that he is free to work with the cylinders in those boxes too.

Control of Error: work cycle should be complete, Visual Discrimination, seeing irregularity in
steps of the tower in the first presentation, tracing the stairs in second presentation.

Aims
Direct Aims- Visual and muscular perception of dimension,
Presentation I –making a tower
Presentation II – making a stair pattern

Indirect Aims
I - Intellectual Aims

a) Indirect preparation for mathematics-preparation for ascending and descending order,

grading and seriating, indirect preparation of decimals, size and shapes.
b) Indirect preparation for language-vocabulary building, sense of directionality future
preparation for writing, refining of writing finger while tracing.

II General Aims –development of concentration, eye-hand co-ordination, development of motor

skills, patience, self-esteem, care of environment.

Point of Interest- (for both presentations) use of prehensile movement, ask the child’s help after
the 4th cylinder
Aerial view (1st presentation)
Tracing with two Right dominant fingers (2nd presentation)

Age of interest: 3 years onwards for both presentations.

Language
Knobless, cylinders, yellow, green, red, blue, box, tower

Variations: making stairs using different boxes make the tower by blindfolding memory game,
three period name lesson