Below are just a couple visuals I've recently used with my boys.
Money
The best visuals for learning coins are to use the real thing. Pictures are okay. Toy money is great for playing store. But if you are trying to teach your child or student the names and values of each coin, use the REAL thing!
In the early years of education, students are expected to recognize the names of items (such as coins) despite their limited reading abilities. A great way to do this is to provide a simple matching game. Simply cut out some labels (as shown in the picture above) and let the child place the correct coin under the label.
While we don't often use dollar coins or half dollars anymore, it can be good for a child to learn about them. So if you don't have any available, stop at your local bank and inquire about them.
Grammar
Learning the difference between certain words can also be confusing, especially for special needs students. I found this simple illustration helped my son.
Words with -er and -est can be difficult, so hands-on visuals like this can be great. Let the child practice matching up the different sizes to the correct words.
Here are some examples:
- small, smaller, smallest
- tall, taller, tallest
- big, bigger, biggest
- thin, thinner, thinnest
- fat, fatter, fattest
Items found in your school room and/or child's bedroom can be easily used for this practice session. Try pencils, erasers, Legos, Unifix cubes (as seen in the above picture), army men, Hot Wheels, etc.
Don't get caught up in the complex illustrations. Sometimes the simplest visuals are the best visuals.