Optical Illusions

We spent some time yesterday looking at optical illusions. I was inspired to share some of these with the students because of the topic of my class Thursday night at AIC. I am taking a class about learning disabilities, and we watched a video by Rick Lavoie called F.A.T. City (frustration, anxiety and tension). The video is from 1989, and is quite dated, but if you get a chance to check it out of the library, it is mind-changing. One of the activities Rick did with a group of teachers is to show them the following picture, and have them identify it. Not one of them could! His point was that we need direct instruction - otherwise, the picture is a jumbled mess. And once you receive the direct instruction (i.e., once he told them what the picture was) they understood completely. Your child knows what the picture is - take a look at it, then ask them!