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Definition: Real and concrete materials that relate to the concept being taught and facilitate the understanding of the concept.

Example: Bringing in real lemons to relate to and teach the abstract concept of "sour."

Why we chose it: This is an effective way to teach abstract concepts to students since abstract concepts can be more difficult to grasp, especially for younger students.

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This resource provides insight as evidence for why this instructional move works in the classroom. Using realia illustrates a real life context for English language learners.
A teacher or student might use this resource as a chance to figure out how to use realia in their classroom.

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What?

Realia are real-life objects that enable children to make connections to their own lives as they try to make sense of new concepts and ideas. This strategy brings the Perspectives central text to life for students by using everyday objects during the read aloud.

When?

Why?

Objects provide a concrete manipulative for students to handle while listening to the read aloud. The neuron stimulation from physical movement during the read aloud also helps students to conceptualize the ideas and themes present in the text. Realia also create total physical responses that help students recall ideas and themes from the text in later discussions.

1. Select a Perspectives central text to read aloud.

2. Determine what themes, messages, information and facts are being communicated through the text.

3. Brainstorm possible objects that can be distributed among students and used as a manipulative during the read aloud. Note that the concept of realia can include music.

4. Distribute the objects to each student prior to the read aloud.

Share authentic replicas (instead of relying on still photos only) for objects that may be unfamiliar to children (e.g., for a unit on transportation, bring in replicas of unfamiliar modes such as gondolas or hot air balloons).

When sharing historical accounts in text, try to complement these with exploration of real objects at a museum (e.g., cars, televisions, telephones and washing machines from previous eras). Encourage children to think about dimensionality, function and what they learned from the real object that they would not have learned from the picture.

5. Direct students to connect the object to their understanding of the central text while they listen.

6. After the read aloud, discuss student connections using the following questions:

How is the object related to the text?

How does the object represent the characters in the text?

How does the object relate to the speaker of the text?

How can the object help you remember the message or theme of the text?

What, if any, other objects could represent the text's message or theme?

English language learners

This strategy elicits Total Physical Response (TPR), which lets English language learners engage the text by moving, touching, pointing and role-playing.

Connection to anti-bias education

Realia encourages participation. Students hear the text and directly associate their comprehension to the object placed before them; manipulating the object during the read aloud solidifies their understanding of the text's message. Extending the after-reading questions to include what other objects might serve as realia for the same text encourages students to pull in their individual perspectives and experiences.

Sample Realia chart:

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Realia are real-life objects that enable children to make connections to their own lives as they try to make sense of new concepts and ideas. This strategy brings the Perspectives central text to life for students by using everyday objects during the read aloud.

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Use of Realia & Authentic Materials - International TEFL Academy 

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHIp5bRemso

This resources provides an introduction to realia, as well as how it can be implemented in the classroom. The video also places an emphasis on realia with ELs.

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In this classroom, the teacher brought in realia to enhance the lesson. Students learned more about the lesson through realia. https://learn.teachingchannel.com