GB2179194A - Games - Google Patents

Abstract

Picture and word cards 123 are mounted on the two top steps 121 of a support 120. A plurality of differently coloured blocks 124 are placed on the same steps 121, in front of the cards 123, each block 124 representing a syllable of the word displayed or illustrated on the respective card 123. The blocks 124 are colour-coded, each colour representing a different musical note. A set of chime bars 127 are similarly colour-coded. A song may be played by striking the chime bars 127, in a sequence donated by the colour sequence of the blocks 124, the words of the song corresponding to the words displayed or illustrated on the cards 123. The apparatus may link with other games and/or apparatus disclosed in the specification, as part of an overall learning sequence. The specification also discloses numerous other games and/or apparatus, which need not be linked to the apparatus here described, e.g. a device for stamping the ends of strips of material so that the strips maybe joined together. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Games This invention relates to games. It is concerned especially with games which may be used in the education of children who have learning difficulties.

However, thegames are of such a nature that they may be played and enjoyed by all children.

The specification discloses a number of different games. All of the games may be played independent ly, butsome may interrelate, to provide a learning sequence.

Inthis specification, reference will be conveniently be madeto a "child" playing a game underthe supervision of a "teacher". However, it into be understood that, in generat,the players need not be children, and supervision need not be performed buy a teacher.Also, the word "game" is used conveniently to include teaching apparatus and methods * * * * * * According toa first aspect of the invention, there is providedachildrensgamecomprisingapluralityof gloves having different physical characteristics, the rules of the game being: a plurality of children are each given at least one of the gloves to wear; a teacher specifies at least one of the said different physical characteristics; and one or a pair of the children wearing gloves having the specified physical characteristicts) claptogether the hands on which those gloves are worn.

In a variation of the above game, said physical characteristics represent musical notes, and the object ofthe game is forthe children to remember a simple musical phrase ortune, with reference to the gloves. In this variant, the clapping may be omitted and, for example, each child may hold up its gloved hand when the appropriate note is sung or played.

To illustrate the first aspectofthe invention, reference will now be made, by way of example, to Figure 1 ofthe accompanying diagrammatic drawings, which illustrates a set of seven childrens mittens land a pair of further mittens 2, with detachable labels 3 and 4.

The mittens 1 are each of a different colour, and carry a label 5, on which there is written an animal's sound.

In one game, each child is given two mittens, with a different colou rfor each hand. The teacher calls out two different colours, and each child who has the pair ofmittensofthose twclcolours caps its hands. In this respect, it may be appreciated that there may be provided a plurality of mittens of the same colour, so long as each child is given two different colours.

One ofthe aims ofthisgame isto develop colour recognition in children, and also to develop their response to spoken instructions.

in a variation of the above game, thechildren may work in pairs. Then, when the teacher calls outtwo colours, the partners of each pairwhich has those colours clap their appropriate hands.

Ratherthan call out two different colours, the teacher may call out an animal noise. For example, in response to the call "Quack, Quack! Moo, Moo!", each child having the appropriate pair of mittens claps its hands together. Again, if the children are working in pairs, then the partners ofthe pair clap the appropriate hands together, ifthey are wearing the corresponding mittens.

Whereas the labels 5 may be attached permanently to the mittens 1,the pair of mittens 2are provided with detachable labels 3. To this end, each of the mittens 2 is provided with a Strip of "Velcro" interengaging hook and eye tape 6, which co-operateswith a strip 7 of complementary material on the reverse side of each label3.

Whereasthe labels3showtheoutlineofan animal and the animal's sound, the labels 4 show musical notes. For example, one of the labels 4carries the annotation "Cl", whereas the other label carries the annotation "F4". The labels 4 thus represent the notes C and F, which are respectively the first and fourth notes in the key of C.

With the musical labels4 attached to the mittens 2, children working in small groups mayworkouta simple musical phrase or tune, with reference to the notes represented by the mittens. Clapping of mittens may be omitted. Instead, when each note is played or sung, the child wearing the appropriate mitten may raise its hand.

Thus, in addition to developing colour recognition, the mittens 1 and2 may be useful in the development of visual scanning and auditory memory.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a childs game comprising a booklet containing a plurality of unfinished rhymes and a mitten on which there are displayed a plurality of items, a description of each of which correspondsto the missing word or words from a respective one of the unfinished rhymes, the rules of the game being: either one ofateacherand a child wears the mitten; the teacher reads to the child one of the unfinished rhymes; the child supplies the missing word(s) tothe rhyme; and the child points to acorresponding one ofthe items on the mitten.

According to a third aspect ofthe invention, there is provided a childs game comprising a mitten provided with an opening door and a pluralityofsilhouettes each adapted to be concealed behind the door, the rulesofthegamebeing: ateacher conceals one of the silhouettes behind the door; and a child thenopens the door and tries to identify the silhouette.

Preferably, the teacher andthe child speak predeter- mined phrases, corresponding at least in part to the nature of the silhouette behind the door.

The silhouettes are preferably animal silhouettes.

The door is preferably provided with a pocket in which the silhouettes are stored.

As in other games described in this specification, the roles ofthe teacher and the child may be reversed.

To illustrate the second and third aspectsofthe invention, reference will nowbe made, byway of example, to Figures 2 to 5 ofthe accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which: Figure 2 is a front view of a mitten on which there are displayed coloured flowers; Figure3 is a rearviewofthe mitten; Figure 4 is a perspective view of a door pocket of the mitten; and Figure 5 illustrates animal silhouettes for use with the mitten.

Onthefrontfacel 1 ofthe mitten there is displayed a circle 12 of relatively large flowers of various colours. For example, the fiveflowers ill ustrated may be red, blue, pink, purple and yellow, respectively. Above the circle 12 of flowers there is a circlet 13 of five smallerflowers, similarly coloured. A decorative design of afootpath 14 with footprints 15 is also shown on the front face 11 of the mitten 10.

There isprovidedfor use in conjunction with the front mitten face 11 a booklet of unfinished rhymes. To play a game, either one of a teacher and a child wears the mitten, so that the front face 11 is visible. The teacherthen reads one of the rhymes. For example, the teacher may read the rhyme: Walking round the flowers Giving each a drink The blue one andthe red one Theyellowandthe ........

It will be seen that thefinal word ofthe rhyme is missing, and the child is askedto supply this. In the above example, the missing word is clearly "pink".

Thereafter, the teacher may ask the child to. point to a pinkfloweron the mitten 10. To develop furtherskills, the child may be asked to pointto either asmall or a large pink flower- i.e. eitherinthe circlet 13 orthe circle 12 respectively.

The game therefore introduces the child to the concept of rhyming, and insofar as the child may read the rhyme as the teacher is speaking it, may also give experience of visual scanning. Moreover, the game developes colour recognition, and introduces the concepts of large and small.

Further examples of unfinished rhymes are given below.

Look at all the flowers Intheflower bed The blue one and the pink one The purple and the ........

Watering the flowers As all good gardeners do The pinkoneandthe purple The yellow and the ........

Weeding round each flower He's a very careful fellow Round the red one and the purple The blue one and the ........

When he's gone home You're sure to find His muddy footprints Left ........

Thefirstthree rhymes of the above group offour are, again, intended to be finished offwith the appropriate colour offlower. The final rhyme is one which can be used to finish offthe game, requiring the final word "behind" to be inserted. The footprints 15 are of course shown on the path 14.

On the rearface 20 ofthe mitten 10 there is also shown a footpath 21 with footprints 22. Coloured flowers 23 are also displayed, for decorative purposes. The main object of interest on the rear face 20, however, is an opening door 24, which is disposed above a doormat 25.

Asmay be seen in Figure 4, the door 24 is in the form of a pocket, which is open at the top there of to define a mouth 27. The door pocket 24 is adaptedto contain a plurality of silhouettes 26, which are depicted in Figure 5. Both the mitten 10 and the silhouette 26 may be of felt.

To play a game with the rearface 20 of the mitten 70, a teacher opens the door 24, which is pivotally secured to the mitten 10, and, unseen by the child, places one of the silhouettes 26 behindthedoor24. Then, wearing the mitten 10, the teacher shows the rear face 20 to the child, with the door 24 again closed. During an ensuing dialogue, the child opensthe door, and has to identify the animal from its silhouette.

An example of a dialogue betweenteacherand child is as follows.

Teacher: "Knock! Knock!" (or "Cluck! Cluck!") Child: "Who is that?" "Who is standing on my mat?" (Child opens door) Child: (Identifying silhouette) "It's Mrs Hen" Teacher: "Cluck! Cluck! Please let me in "I've got some eggs for you".

The game may be repeated, using different silhouettes, sounds and dialogues, and interchanging the roles ofteacher and child.

Itwill be appreciated that th is game helps to develop auditory and languageskills, andto help in the recognition of animal silhouettes.

Figure 6 illustrates a device 30 as an alternative means for playing a game as described with reference to Fig ures 3 to 5.

The device 30 comprisestwo cards 31, between which there is rotatably mounted a disc 32 of clear acetate material. The disc32 is pivotally secured at 33 to the cards 31, such that it may readily rotate. The dimensionsofthe disc 32 and the cards 31 are such that a small portion 34 ofthe disc 32 protrudesto one side of the cards 31, ,to enable the disc 32 to be rotated byauser.

In a similar mannerto the mitten 1:0, the device 30 is provided with an opening door 35, and the respective card 31 is imprinted with a suitable design-e.g.

including a winding footpath 36, as before.

Upon an outer portion ofthedisc 32 there are imprinted asuccessionof animal silhouettes37, similarto the felt silhouettes 26 of Figure 5. At an inner portion of the disc 32 there are provided a corresponding succession of appellations 38, each corresponding to a respective one ofthe animal silhouettes 37.

In Figure 6, onlythefrontface ofthe device 30 is visible, comprising that card 31 which bears the opening door35. Behind the opening door35,the corresponding card 31 is formed with a window 40, through which is visible part ofthatouter portion of the disc 32 on which the animal silhouettes37 are imprinted. On the rearface ofthe device 30, the corresponding card 31 is formed with a window 39, through which the appellations 38 may be viewed.

In essence, the game is played as described above, with reference to Figures 3to 5. However, using the device 30, there is no need to have separate felt silhouettes, as shown in Figure 5. The teacher for example, simply rotates the disc 32 until a desired appellation appears in the window 39, atwhich time the corresponding silhouette is positioned within the window 40. Upon opening the door 35, the animal silhouette 37 is visible.

When the roles are reversed, and the child turns the disc32to insert an appropriate silhouette into the window 40, this assists the development of word recognition, as the child learns to associate the appellation in the window 39 with the animal silhouette that it is desired to place in the window 40.

* croith*e pres*ent * * * * * According to a fourth aspect ofthe present invention,there is provided a child's game apparatus comprising a plurality of cards each ofwhich carries at leastonewordand a board on which cards maybe arranged, the board comprising one portion adapted to receive at least one card to pose a question and another portion adapted to receive at least one card to form an answerto the posed question.

To illustrate the fourth aspect of the invention, an embodimentthereofwill now be described, by way of example, with reference to Figures 7 to 11 ofthe accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which: Figure 7 illustrates a plurality of cards which carry various words; Figure8 illustrates a board adapted to receive the cards of Figure7; Figure 9 is a frontview of a wallet adapted to hold various ofthe cards, with doors of the wallet open; Figure 10 is another front view ofthe wallet, showing the doors closed; and Figure 11 is a rearview ofthe wallet.

The board 50 is divided into three portions 51,52 and 53. Marked on these various portions are rectangles which are of various lengths, corresponding to the lengths of various ones ofthe cards 55.

The first board portion 51 is for receiving a card 55 which carries words, corresponding to the sound of an animal. Thus, the word "sound" is printed atthe left hand side ofthe portion 51, and is followed by an arrow 58, pointing from left to right. In a similar manner, the second andthird portions 52 and 53 are adapted to receive cards 55 which carry words corresponding to questions and answers.

To play the game, a child chooses one ofthe cards 55 corresponding to an animal sound, and lays it in the rectangle 54 in the first board portion 51. In doing this, the child must choose a sound card which corresponds in length substantially to that of the rectangle 54 in the first board portion 51, and follows the direction of the arrow 58, to develop the leftto right reading skill. In the example illustrated in Figure 8, the first card to be placed inthefirst board portion 51 carriesthewords"Baa! Baa!".

The teacherthen shows to the child two of the cards 55 which correspond to two questions. In the example shown in Figure 8, the questions are "Who is that?", followed by "Who is standing on my mat?" The child is then given these two cards, and places them in the correct sequence in the two rectangles 54 in the second board portion 52. Again, it will be observed thatthe lengths of the cards 55 correspond substan tia I ly to the lengths ofthe resepective rectangles 54, and the child follows the left to right arrow 58. Thus, the child is encouraged to correlate lengths of spoken phrase with lengths of printed phrase, by reference to the length of the respective cards 55, and the leftto right reading direction is further reinforced.

In thethird "answer" portion 53, the child firstly has to choose a picture 57 to go with the chosen sound entered in thefirst portion Sl.lnthis example, of course, the corresponding picture 57 is of a sheep, which is placed in a corresponding shaped rectangle 56 inthethird portion 53.

Thereafter, the child has to build-up the reason for the visit, and place three further cards 55 in the remaining three rectangles 54, which all of differing lengths. Thus, in the illustrated example, the child chooses the final three phrases: "It's mother sheep" "Please let me in" "I've brought some wool foryou" It may be appreciated that the apparatus of Figures 7 and 8 may be most useful in developing reading skills, teaching the child to proceed from left to right and from top to bottom, and to hel p establish the relationship between question and answer. Also, as mentioned above, the child obtains the relationship between the lengths of spoken phrases and the lengths of printed phrases.

As shown in Figure 8, all ofthe phrases are shown on individual cards of differing lengths. If desired, some or all ofthe phrases may be built-up from a plurality of shorter cards, depending upon the ability of the child in question. Figure 7 illustratesjustsome possibilities of various cards which may be used.

The pictures such as 57 may be full colour pictures, silhouettes or outlines, as desired and/or in accordance with the level of difficulty required.

The cards 55 and the board 50 may be contained conveniently in the wallet 60 which is illustrated in Figures 9to 1 1.The front ofthe wallet 60 is provided with two opening doors 61, each of which is formed with a slit 62 to co-operate with a respective tab 63 at thetopofthewallet60, to hold the door61 in a closed position. The front ofthe wallet is formed with a pluralityoffurtherslits 64, in each of which there may be disposed one or more of the cards 55. The rear 65 is hinged through the front of the wallet 60, and is adapted to contain the board 60 and others of the cards 55. To hold the back 65 of the wallet closed, it is provided with a tab 66 which is adapted to engage in a slit 67 formed in the front of the wallet 60.

The wallet 60 therefore provides something of an interesting toy in itself, to foster children interest in the game.

* * * * * * According to a fifth aspect ofthe invention, there is provided a childs game comprising a plurality of sets of picture cards, each set comprising two cards which show the same article respectively in full view and in silhouette or outline, the rules ofthe game being: a teacher selects one ofthe cards and shows itto a child; and a child then has to seek and identify the other card of the same set.

Each set may comprise three cards which show the same article respectively in full view, silhouette and outline.

At least one card ofthe same set may have the name ofthe article printed thereon. The printed name may appear on a reverse base ofthe card. The printed namemayappearboth in the singular and the plural, optionally at opposite ends ofthe card.

To illustrated the fifth aspect of the invention, an embodimentthereofwill now be described, byway of example, with reference to Figures 12to 14ofthe accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which: Figure 12 illustrates various picture cards; and Figures 13 and 14 are respective views from opposite corners, of a boxforthe picture cards.

The box 70 which is shown in Figures 13 and 14 has a plurality of drawers 71 which contain sets of picture cards, relating to various different topics. For example, the sets of picture a rds may show kitchen utensils, garden implements, carpenterstools, craft equipment, bathroom requisites, household equipment, etc. Other categories are visible in Figures 13 and 14. The bottom right hand drawer of Figure 14 is adapted to contain cards relating to verbs and pronouns.Theseare not essential forthe presently described game but can be used in other games, as will be described later.

The cards which are shown in Figure 12carry pictures of household articles. Afirst set of cards 72, 73 and 74 each show a pair of kitchen scissors. The first card 72 shows on its front facethe scissors 75, in full view, whereas the second and third cards 73 and 74 showthe same scissors, but respectively in silhouette and outline. Upon the reverse side 76 of each card there is printed the name of the article, respectively in singular and plural, at opposite ends ofthe card. Of course, in this particular example, both the single and the plural arethesame. Each ofthecardshas a coloured border 77 on both its front and reverse face.

The border77 is coloured blue, to indicate that each of the cards relates to a noun. This is of no particular significance as regards the presently described game, but its usefulness will become apparent in the description of later games.

Thecard 82is similartothe card 72, butshows instead a needle 85, in full view. The name of the article is printed in both singular and plural, on the reverse side 86 ofthe card 82. Further cards (not shown) which show the needle 85 respectively in silhouette and outline are provided to make up the set, in an analogous mannerto the set of scissors pictures.

A relatively simple game is played with the picture cards,suitableforchildren atafairlyyoung learning age.

Firstly, a plurality of sets of cards, preferably relating to a common topic, are spread outovera surface, and a teacher selects one of the full colour pictures. The child then has to seek and then identify the or each other card corresponding to that article, showing it in silhouette and/oroutline. Prior to this, the teacher may say the name of the article, and optionally show the corresponding noun on the rearfaceofthefirst selected card.

Thus, the game helps to develop the child's visual matching skills, as well as recognition of the various articles, animals, etc. Also, word recognition may be developed, by reference to the various nouns.

* * * * * * According to a sixth aspect of the invention,there is provided a childs game and apparatus comprising a plurality of sets of elements which carry respective words, different sets having different physical characteristics and corresponding to different parts of speech, the apparatus furthercomprising a base which hasa plurality of portions adapted to receive the elements, the portions having physical characteristics corresponding to those of said elements such that, in use,achild mayconstructaphraseorsentencefrom said words by placing in each of said portions a selected one of said elements having one of said physical characteristics which matches that ofthe portion.

Preferably, said base carries a plurality of fixed words, between which said portions are disposed.

Said fixed words my be so arranged that said phrase or sentence is in the form of a rhyme.

Said different physical characteristics may comprise different colours.

At least some of said elements may carry pictures corresponding to the wordsthatthey carry.

To illustrate the sixth aspect ofthe invention, and embodimentthereofwill now be described, byway of example, with reference to Figures 15to 18 ofthe accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which: Figure 15 illustrates some examples of cards which carry respective words corresponding-to different parts of speech; Figure 16 illustrates a sheet of such cards which may be separated by cutting; Figure 17 illustrates a board adapted to receive various cards; and Figure 18 illustrates an alternative board adapted to receive various cards.

It will be recalled that, in the previously described game, there were provided a plurality of cards on which were printed nouns, and which were provided with blue borders. In Figure 15, similar cards 90 are provided, each having a red border 91, and each having printed thereon a respective verb 92. in addition to the main form ofthe verb 92, each of the cards 90 also carries alternative forms 93 thereof.

Similar cards 94 and 95 are provided with yellow and pink borders 96 and 97 respectively, and have printed thereon a pronoun 98 and an indefinite article 99, respectively.

There are provided a plurality of blue-bordered noun cards (such as those 72,82 of Figure 12), red-bordered verb cards 90, yellow-bordered pronoun cards 94 and pink-bordered indefinite article cards 95, and these may conveniently be kept in a container such as the box 70 of Figure 14. Itwill be appreciated that such a collection of cards enables a sentence or phrase to be built up.

Figure 16 illustrates a sheet of verb cards 90 separated by a matrix of red lines 100, along which the sheet may be cut to separate the individual redbordered verb cards 90. Any desired number of cards may be provided in this or any other convenient fashion. For the convenience of teachers, there may be provided blank coloured matrixes (e.g. of red or blue lines), to provide blank cards on which verbs or nouns may be written, for further use.

In Figure 17, the board 101 is printed with a plurality of fixed words 102, and a plurality of coloured boxes 108. The boxes 103 and 104 are defined by red and pink borders respectively. The remaining boxes 105 to 108 are defined by blue borders.

A child chooses a topic on which to construct sentences, and from the selection of pre-printed cards, makes an appropriate selection of one red, one pink and four blue cards. These cards are subsequently placed into the correspondingly coloured boxes, to make up sentences.

For example, a child may decide to construct some sentences about baking. For this, cards bearing the word "BAKE" and "A" are placed into the boxes 103 and 104 respectively. Then, blue-bordered noun cards bearing the words "CAKE", "FLOUR", "EGGS" and "WATER" are placed into the boxes 105, 106, 107 and 108 respectively. As a result, the child constructs the two sentences: "I will BAKEACAKEforyou".

"I will need FLOUR and EGGS and WATER".

It will be appreciated that the cards and boxes may be of any suitable shapes. Ifdesired, all of the noun cards may bearon the oppositeface a picture of the respective article. This may assist word recognition and, at an earlier stage, the picture sides ofthe cards may be used in place of the sides bearing the written words.

In Figure 18, the board 110 is similar in composition to the board 101 of Figure 17, having a plurality of printed words 111, and a plurality of coloured boxes 112,113 and 114, which are defined by blue, red and pink borders respectively. As inthe preceding example, a sentence (or phrase) is built up by placing appropriate cards in the various boxes, colourmatching the borders appropriately. For example, the following sentence may be built up; "NEEDLE and THREAD and SCISSORS too I will MAKE A DRESS for you".

It will be appreciated that, in use of the board 110, there is built up not only a sentence, but a rhyme. This introduces the child to syllabification. It also introducesthe child to rhyming, and provides a useful step towards introducing a child to musical understanding.

In a refinement of the arrangement illustrated in Figure 18, there may be used with the word cards a plurality of blocks, each ofwhich denotes a single syllable. After placing the cards on the board 110, the syllable blocks are placed upon orabovethe cards.

Thus, in the above quoted example, asinglesyllable block may be placed above the card in the middle of the top row, and above each ofthe cards in the bottom row. For the remaining positions at the left and right of the top row, two syllable blocks are placed above each ofthe respective cards.

It may thus be appreciated that the above described apparatus may provide most useful practice in sentence composition. Generally, it helps to develop word sequence experience, entailing categorisation, vocabulary extension, word function, syllabification, reference skill and comprehension.

According to a seventh aspectofthe invention, there is provided apparatus for use in teaching music, comprising: a plurality of first elements representing words and/or pictures; a plurality of colour-coded second elements, different colours representing different musical notes; and a support adapted to receive and display the first and second elements in juxtaposition, with each second element corresponding to a syllable of a word which is represented by an adjacent card, either directly or by reference to a picture on the card.

The apparatus may be subject to a numberof optional variations, additions or omissions, a number of which will become appa rent from the following description of an embodiment in accordance with the seventh aspect of the invention, which is described, by way of example, with reference to Figures 1 9to 25 of the accompanying drawings, in which:: Figure 19 is a perspective view of a four-step support carrying word and picture cards and associated coloured musical note blocks, together with a set of colour coded chime bars; Figure 20 illustrates various different colour coded blocks; Figure 21 shows a colour coded musical note reference sheet; Figure 22 shows a set of additional chime bars; Figure 23 shows a key signature chart; Figure 24 shows a sheet of musical notation employing colour coded blocks; and Figure 25 shows large-scale staves for musical notation.

In Figure 19, the support 120 comprises four steps 121, towards the rear of each of which there is formed a longitudinal groove 122.

In the illustrated example, picture and word cards 123are mounted on the two top steps 121,the bottom edges ofthe cards 213 engaging in the respective groovesl22,tosupportthecardsl23inupstanding position. The cards 123 may be similarto those describedwith reference to Figures 12to 18, having colour-coded borders to denote whether the cards represent verbs, nouns, pronouns, indefinite articles, etc. and optionally having pictures of articles and their corresponding nouns on opposite faces ofthe cards.

In fact, it will be appreciated that the cards 123 as illustrated in Figure 19 make up a rhyme similarto that described above with reference to Figure 18. Thus, the rhyme goes: "Needle, thread and scissors too I will make a dress foryou".

As may be seen, all of the "noun" cards are disposed such that they display pictures rather than words, but th is is essentially a matter of choice.

Itwill be recalled that, in the description with reference to Figure 18, it was stated that small blocks may be placed adjacentthe respective cards, each block representing a respective syllable of the adjacent word. In an analogous manner, there is placed in front of each ofthecards 123 in Figure 19 one or more block 124, corresponding to a respective syllable of the word that is depicted in the adjacent card, either directly or by reference to the appropriate picture.

Thus, on the top step 121, each ofthe cards relating to the "needle" and "scissors" has in front of it two blocks 124, corresponding to the two syllabels of those words. Every other card in Figure 19 has a single block 124 placed in front of it.

The blocks 124arethemselves colour coded, the different colours representing different musical notes.

The colour code is displayed on a corresponding colour-coded strip 124, which is placed at the foot of the support 120. In this example, the strip 125 is divided into a succession of eight portions 126, which may have the colour sequence (from left to right as seen in Figure 19): Purple Yellow Brown Blue Red Green Orange Purple.

These eight portions 126 correspond to the eight successive musical notes in the key of C, starting at middle C, and ending ata further C one octave above.

Placed upon each of the portions 126 is a respective chime bar 127,which is marked with the corresponding colour and the corresponding musical note. A striker 128 is provided, forsounding the chime bars 127.

Returning to the colour coded blocks 124,the selected sequence ofoolours corresponds to a selective sequence of musical notes. For example, the two lines of blocks 124,setouton thetwotop steps 122, mayhavethefollowing colours, readingfrom left to right and fromtop to bottom, as shown in Figure 19; Red Red Yellow Yellow Brown Brown Yellow Red Red Green Green Orange Red Red Itwill be observed that, although all ofthe blocks 124 are ofthe same height and depth, they are of different lengths. The purpose of this is to denote different lengths of note (and time values). The various types of blocks '124 are illustrated in Figure 20.

In Figure 20, the basic colour coded musical note block 130 is a 3 cm tube, and this corresponds to a single note, or crotchet. A minim is represented by a double length block 131, having a cross-section of 3x3 cm, and a length of 6 cm. A half note, or quaver, is represented by a shortened block 132, again having the same dimensions in cross-section, but of half the length of the standard cube 130-i.e. 1.5 cm.Asetof blocks such as 130, 131 and 132 is provided in each of the colours ofthe colour coded strip 125.

It will be appreciated that it is necessary to distinguish between bottom C and top C,which are of the same colour(purple) in this example. This is achieved simply by placing two blocks 124On top of one anotherto denote top C, as illustrated in Figure 20.

Figure 20 shows an additional small block 133, a plurality of which are also visible in Figure 19. The small blocks 133 are, for example, black in colour, and are used to denote where the accent falls in a tune. In simple 2/4timing,thiswill be atthefirst note of each bar. Thus, as may be seen in Figure 19, a small accent block 133 is placed on top of a respective colour coded musical note block 124, upon the first beat (i.e. upon the first red block 124), and every two complete beats thereafter.

Figure 21 shows a reference sheet 136, upon which the colour-coded musical notes are depicted upon a stave, forthe natural key of C. Thus, in Figure 21,the sequence from middle C to top C follows the same colour sequence as the colour coded strip 125 The apparatus is not restricted for use only with tunes having natural notes, as in the key of C. To expand the repertoire, a set of five further chime bars 138 is provided, to give the sharp and flat notes occuring between middle C and top C. As may be seen in Figure 22, the chime bars 138 are marked with their respective notes, andforthis purpose, the more usual notation for each note is given. That is, the note between G and is marked as G sharp, and carries a red dot.If desired, the same chime bar may be marked at opposite ends with corresponding sharp and flat notations, and means may be provided for changing a respective coloured identifying dot 139, if desired.

Alternatively, for each note, there may be provided two chime bars, one designated asaflat, and the other as a sharp.

Whereas the natural chime bars 127 have a white upper surface 129, the sharp and flat chime bars 138 have a blackuppersurface 137.

In Figure 23, a key reference chart 140 illustrates the key signatures of the seven keys based on the natural notes C to B. At the right hand side of the chart 140 there is a list 141 ofthe root notes of the keys, preferably colour coded. In addition, at the left side of the chart 140, there is a corresponding list, showing the colour codes in solid blocks. There is also a list 143 of staves containing the key signatures. For each of these signatures, there is shown the corresponding root note, in its correct position in the stave and with its appropriate colour code. There is also shown each sharp orflatwhere present, also in its appropriate colour code, and preferably with the nameofthe flattened or sharpened note to the left hand side ofthe stave.

The sheet 150 shown in Figure 24 contains an alternativeform of musical notation. In it, musical notes are written in the form of coloured blocks 151, which correspond in colour and respective size to the coloured blocks 124 shown in Figure 19. Similarly, where an accent occurs, there is provided a small, black accent block 152.

Thus,forexample,thetoptwo lines onthechart 150 may represent the same tune that is illustrated in three dimensionalform in Figure 19.

To progress further towards proper musical notation, use may be made ofthe large scale staves 155, which are shown in Figure 25. The lowerstave 155, as seen, shows the basic form ofthestave, comprising the usual five stave lines andthetreble clefsignature.

The userthen hasto build-up the appropriate musical notation, upon the large scale staves.

To this end, the user places the blocks 124 upon the stave 155. Upon the top stave 155, there have been placed the colour coded musical note blocks 124 corresponding to the top line of the tune displayed in Figure 19, with accent blocks 133 placed appropriately. Moreover, vertical bar dividers 156 are placed at the correct intervals along the stay 155,to separate the notes into proper bars. The time signature is displayed adjacent the treble clef notation, by means of a transparent time signature overlay 157which, in this example, illustrates that there are two full beats (crotchets) in each bar.

The apparatus illustrated in Figures 19 to 25 may be used as follows.

Firstly, a rhyme is composed. To do this, a game similar to that described above with reference to Figure 18 maybe performed although, in this instance, a separate card will be required for every wo rdthat is employed.

The word andforpicture cards 123 are then transfer- red to the top two steps 121 of thesupport 120, and engaged in the corresponding grooves 122. Then, it is necessary to selectthe colour-coded blocks 124, to representthe syllables and musical notes desired to make up the tune.

The way in which the colourcoded blocks 124 are chosen depends very much upon the ability of the particular child. If desired, the musical notation chart 150 of Figure 24 may be consulted, to pick out a tune which corresponds, in rhythm, to the syllabes afforded bythechosen cards. Indeed, if working to the chart 150, the cards 123 may be exchanged, to obtain the desired syllable pattern.

The tune may then be played on the chime bars, following the colour code determined bythe sequence of blocks 124 and, underthe supervision of a teacher, following the accents determined by the accent blocks 133, and the lengths of note determined by the lengths of the blocks 124.

Of course, the precise sequence of events may be varied as desired. For example, a child may firstly place the cards 123 upon the steps 121, and thereafter compose its own tune, by experimentation with the chime bars 127. The composed tune isthen "recorded" by means of an appropriate selection of the colour coded blocks 124, so that, in this case, thetune comes first and the notation afterwards, ratherthan vice-versa.

When the tune has been set up satisfactorily on the support 120, the musical notation may be transferred to the proper treble clef staves 155. Referring to the colour coded reference sheet 136 of Figure 21, the blocks 124 are moved from the support 120 to the correct lines on the staves 155, together with their appropriate accent blocks 133. The bar dividers 156 and the appropriate time signature overlay 157 are placed in the correct positions on the staves 155.

lnthisway, the child can progress from making up a simple rhyme, to setting the rhyme to music, and thereafter recording the music in a notation which corresponds quite closely with traditional musical notation, in fairly simple and interesting steps, the chime bars 127 enablingthetuneto be played as well.

The notation chart 150 of Figure 24 may be used as an alternative to the staves 155 of more conventional appearance, should a child experience difficulty in adapting to musical notation.

It will readily be appreciated that the key signature chart of Figure 23 and/orthe sharp and flat chime bars 138 of Figure 22 may be used to lead a child on to an understanding of different key signatures.

The apparatus illustrated in Figures 19to 25 therefore serves to develop listening skills by extending a knowledge of rhythm into a knowledge of music, and introducing children to the musical concepts of time, rhythm and pitch.

* * * * * * According to an eighth aspectofthe present invention, there is provided a childs game comprising a base, a pluralityofsupports adapted to fit onto the base, and a plurality of picture andlorword cards adapted to be carried bythe supports, the rules of the game being: the child selects plurality of said cards relating to successive points of a storyortopic; the child arranges the supports in an array on the base; and the child places the cards in sequence on respective supports ofthe array.

The game may comprise the additional step of fixing to the supports of the array a flexible line which connects the supports successively in a sequence corresponding to the sequence of said points in the story or topic.

The base may be adapted to receive the supports in selectable ones of a plurality of predetermined positions.

The base and/or said predetermined positions may be of an irregular pattern.

The base may be of pegboard and the supports may comprise sticks each adapted at one end to engage the holes ofthe peg boardand formed atthe opposite end with a slit to receive a respective one ofthe cards. The pegboard and sticks may be of any suitable material.

To i 11 ustrate the eig hth aspect of th e invention, referencewill now be made, by way of example, to Figure 26 ofthe accompanying diagrammatic draw ings, which illustrates a game apparatus.

m Figure 26, a pegboard 160 of irregular shape is formed with an array of holes 161. This array may be regular, as in conventional pegboard, or may be irregular. A plurality of sticks 162 are provided, each of which may be removable engaged in any desired one of the holes 161. . Each ofthe sticks 162 is formed at its upper end with a slit 163, in which any one of a plurality of word and/or picture cards 164 may be removably engaged.

Toplaya game, a child makes up astory, on a selected topic. There may be provided different sets of word and/or picture cards 164 for different topics.

Inthe illustrated example, the topic is "camping".

The child makes up a story with reference to the word cards, each ofwhich corresponds to a point in the story. As the child makes use of each card 164 in turn, it engages the card 164 in the slit 163 atthe top of a respective one ofthe sticks 162, and engages the respective stick 162 in a respective one ofthe pegboard holes 161. As the child proceeds from point to point in the story, it places successive cards 164 in successive sticks 162 on the pegboard 160.

The pattern in which the cards 164 and sticks 162 are placed in the pegboard 160 need not be regular.

Indeed, it may be more interesting to a childto place the sticks and words in an irregular pattern, so long as the story may be traced from point to point. To assist recording ofthe correct sequence, the sticks 162 may be pushed through respective holes 165 in a perfo rated tape 166, which thereby serves to link the successive sticks 162 and therefore the successive cards 164, in the correct order.

It may be appreciated that th is game helps to introduce a child to the concept of note taking, whereby principal words are recorded, to denote a fuller story. For example, in the illustrated example, a corresponding storymaygo asfollows: ".... we went into a FIELD and saw in the corner of it a large green TREE, where we decided to put up our TENT ...." Thus, having made up a story initially, a child may record it by means ofthe game apparatus, and then recall the story, to a greater or lesser degree, with reference to the sequence of cards 164.

As mentioned above, the cards 164 may carry words or pictures or both, on opposite sides, as desired.

Younger children not ready to cope with words may still be able to take advantage ofthe game, by the use of pictures.

Although the apparatus is said to be composed of pegboard and sticks, these parts need not be made of wood, but may be made of plastics or any other suitable material.

* * * * * * According to a ninth aspect ofthe invention, there is provided a child's game comprising a plurality offirst strips containing direct speech and a plurality of second strips containing link words, the strips being such that the first strips may be detachably connected with the second strips to form reported speech in which the direct speech is linked by the linkwords.

According to a tenth aspect ofthe invention, there is provided a device for cutting strips of material selectively to form first and second end portions such that strips of material may be removable attached to one another by interengagement of said first and second end portions.

To illustrate the ninth and tenth aspects ofthe inventon,referencewill now be made, byway of example, to Figures 27 to 29 ofthe accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which: Figure 27 illustrates a series offirstand second strips of material containing direct speech and link words; Figure 28 illustrates the first strips containing direct speech, re-arranged on a dialogue card; and Figure 29 illustrates a device for stamping strips of material.

In Figure 27, six strips of paper are shown, making uptwo lines of reported speech.

lnthefirst line, two first strips 170 and 171 carry direct speech, and are disposed at opposite sides of a second strip 172, which carries the two link words "said Mary". Each of the first strips 170 and 171 is formed at its opposite ends with a pair of dovetail lugs 173. The second strip 172 is formed at each of its opposite ends with a respective slit 174, each having a length just slightly less than the maximum width of each lug 173.

The first strips 170 and 171 may be removably attached to the second strip 172, by interengaging the lugs 173 in the slits 174. Due to the dovetail shape of the lugs 173, the three strips may be thus fastened together quite securely, although readily disengage able if required. With the three strips 170,171 and 172 secured togetherinthis way, they make up the complete sentence of reported speech: "Where's my lamb?" said Mary "I can't see him".

In an analogous manner, the bottom line in Figure 27 comprises two first strips 180 and 181 placed at opposite sides of a second strip 182. The first strips 180 and 181 are formed at each end with lugs 173, and both ends ofthe second strip 182 are formed with slits 174.

Thus, the bottom line in Figure 27 affords three strips which may be detachably secured together, to make up the reported speech: "I don'tknow"said John "He's not here".

The various strips shown in Figure 27 may be used to make up a written dialogue, with the use of the dialogue board 175 which is shown in Figure 28. The dialogue board 175 is folded at its left-hand side (as seen) to afford a flap 176, having an edge 177, along which there are formed a plurality of slits 178, corresponding in size to the slits 174 of Figure 27.

As seen in Figure 28, the flap 176 is divided by a horizontal line 179 into two parts 183 and 184, corresponding to the direct speech of Mary and John, respectively. Thefourfirststrips 170, 171, 180 and 181 from Figure 27 are detached from the second strips 172 and 182, and are affixed to thefolder 176 inthe illustrated sequence, by means of interengagement of the lugs 173 with the slits 178.

Thus, as illustrated in Figure 28, the direct speech of Figure 27 is directly converted into dialogue form.

The stamping device 185 which is shown in Figure 29 comprises a base 1 86to which first and second arms 187 and 188 are pivotally mounted, being biassed upwardly by respective springs 189 and 190.

A pair offirst dies are mounted respectively atthe end ofthe first arm 187 and the respective end ofthe base 186, whilst a pair of second dies 192 are mounted respectively at the end of the second arm 188 and the respective end ofthe base 186.

The first dies 191 are adapted to co-operate with one another in a stamping operation,to stamp out lugs such as 173 at the ends of strips of paper. The second dies 192 are adapted to co-operate with one another in a stamping operation to stamp out slits such as 174 in strips of paper.

In use, a child is provided with a roll of paper of predetermined width, and writes on itthe desired words or phrases, for example as illustrated in Figure 27. The paper is cut into strips of appropriate length.

For strips containing direct speech, the ends ofthe paper are inserted into the device 185, and stamped by the dyes 191 to form the lugs 173. The ends of the strips of paper which contain link-words are inserted into the device 185, and stamped to form the slits 174.

Then, the various strips of paper may be connected together, as described above with reference to Figure 27.

Theflap 176 ofthe dialogue board 175 may be preformed with the slits 178, or these may be stamped as desired, by means ofthe device 185. The child may draw in the horizontal lines 179 as desired, and write upontheflap 176the names of the speakers.

It may thus be appreciated that the above described game and apparatus may be used to develop a childs awareness of direct and reported speech, and how they may be used both in conventional written work and in written dialogue.

In Figures 27 and 28, the strips containing direct speech are shown as including quotation marks and some punctuation.Whetheror notthese are included can depend upon the ability of the child. For example, instead ofwriting the quotation marks on the strips, the dovetails 173 may be regarded as serving a function similarto quotation marks, by indicating to a childthatspeech begins and ends.

In a variant of the illustrated arrangement, both the strips of direct speech and the strips 172, 182 of link words may be provided with dovetail lugs such as 173.

The strips of direct speech and linkwords are then connected together by preformed connecting strips which are formed at opposite ends with suitable slits such as 174, each connecting strip containing one or more elements of punctuation. For example, such connecting strips may contain opening quotation marks, closing quotation marks, full-stops, question marks, or various ofthese elements in combination. It will be appreciated that a child may then only have to form the strips of direct speech and link words, as indicated before, but only a single device needs to be provided, forforming the lugs 173.A single cutting device may be provided in su itable form, for cutting strips of paperto desired lengths, from a roll of the paper, andsimultaneouslyforming the lugs 173 as the paper is cut.

* * * * * * According to an eleventh aspect of the invention, thereis provided a childs game apparatus comprising a board which is formed with a groove in which a finger may be placed, the groove comprising a series of contiguous semi-circles.

The semi-circles may be arranged in a substantially straight row.

The board is preferably provided with a plurality of unique reference marks, each adjacent a respective one of the semi-circles.

To illustratethe eleventh aspect of the invention, reference will now be made, byway of example, to Figures 30 to 35 ofthe accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 30 is a perspective view of a game board; and Figures 31 to 35 show alternative check cards for use with the board Figure 30.

The board 200 which is shown in Figure 30 is formed with a groove 201 which comprises a series of contiguous semi-circles 202, in a horizontal row.

At each corner, the board 200 is formed with a horizontal slit 203, by means of which a check card may be secured to the board 200. In Figure 30, a check card 204 is secured above the groove 201, opposite ends ofthe check card 204 being formed astabs (not visible) which engage in the respective slits 203.

The check card 204 is divided into a series of reference marks 205, each of which is unique. In the illustrated example, each of the different marks 205 carriesa different number of dots. Additionally, the dots of the different reference marks 205 may be of different colours.

In use ofthe illustrated apparatus, a child places his forefinger at one end ofthe groove 201, as instructed by a teacher. The teacher then dictates a sequence of letters, such as, for example: "p d b d d b b b p d q d q p" The child moves its finger along the groove, in the direction consistent with shaping the respective letter.

That is, for shaping the letters band p, a child will move itsfingerfrom left to right, i.e. in a clockwise sense. Forthe othertwo letters, d and q, the child will move itsfingerfrom rightto left, i.e. anticlockwise.

When the teacher has finished the dictation, the child checks the accuracy of its reaction by reading off the position of itsforefi nger, with reference to the check card 204. For example, the child might say "I ended with five dots on my left and six dots on my right". If dots arecoloured,thechild might say "I ended between red and brown".

Figures 31 to 35 show alternative check cards. In Figure 31, the reference marks 205 each comprise an area of a unique colour. In Figure 32, each reference mark comprises a unique combination of two colours (e.g. white above-red and green-above-black). In Figure 34, the reference marks comprise different wordswhich are susceptible to confusion.

The check cards 206 and 207 which are shown in Figures 34 and 35 respectively are blank cards, which may be filled in as desired, by a teacher. Whereas all of the check cards shown in Figures 30 to 34 are adapted to be placed above the groove 201, the check card 207 in Figure35 is adapted to be positioned below the groove 201.

In Figures 31 to 35 there can be seen the tabs 208 which are adapted to engage in the slits 203 in the board 200.

It may be appreciated that the above described game may have a number offunctions. It may encourage children to listen to dictated instructions, and to react physically and alertly to those instructions. It may correct problems of directionality with the letters p, b, d, q. The checking step may reinforce an understanding of left/right and above/below. Also, the check cards may be used to reinforce an under standing ofany marks, words or pictures that are shown thereon.

* * * * * * According to a twelfth aspect of the invention, there is provided a childs game conprising a sheet of material carrying an array of letters or other shapes and a device formedwith an aperture, the rules of the game being: a child places the device on the sheet at any desired position and indicates on the sheet the outline of the aperture; and thechildthen counts the number of occurrences within said outline of a predetermined letter or other shape.

Preferably said array of letters or other shapes is a dense array. The density is preferably such that, for any straight line crossing the array, the probability of the line crossing one of the letters or other shapes is at least 0.9. The density ofthe letters or other shapes may increase, in one direction along the sheet.

The array preferably is of letters of at least two different types, and preferably types of letters that, although different, have a visual similarity.

There may be provided a plurality of said devices as aforesaid, each with a different said aperture.

To illustrate the twelfth aspect of the invention, an embodimentthereofwill now be described, by way of example, with reference to Figures 36 to 41 ofthe accompanying diagrammaticdrawings, in which: Figure 36 illustrates a roll of paper carrying various letters; Figure 37 illustrates a score sheet for use in a game between two players; Figures 38 and 39 illustrate an apertured frame, respectively in side elevation and perspective; Figure 40 is a perspective view of a shape board with removable shapes; Figure 41 is a bottom plan view of the board of Figure 40; and Figure42 illustrates various alternative arrays of lettersorothershapes.

The paper roll 210which is shown in Figure 36 has printed thereon a plurality of lower case letters21 1, in a dense array. The density ofthe letters is such that, for any straight line crossing the array, the probability of the line crossing one ofthe letters is at least 0.9.

It will be seen thatthe letters 211 comprise letters which are different, but bear a visual similarity to one another. They are, in fact, lowercase letters which are often confused by children. The four different letters areb,p,dandq.

To play a game with the paper roll 210, the players require a set of frames212, 2, one of which is illustrated in Figures 38 and 39. It will be seen thatthe frame 212 is of a shape that may easily be grasped by the hand, and it is formed with a central circular aperture 213.

Moreover, the frame 212 bears a coloured dot 214. By way of example, fourframes such as 212 may be provided, each having a different size of aperture 213 and a different respective colourofdot 214. By way of example, the colour coded frames may have the following colours of dots 214 and sizes (diameter) of apertures 213.

Blue-3cm; Red-4cm; Green-Scm; and Orange-6cm.

A game may be played between two players A and B using the apparatus of Figures 36, 38 and 39, and a score sheet as illustrated in Figure 37.

The two players decide in advance which colour isto relate to each of the four letters. As shown in the score sheetin Figure37,therelationshipisasfollows: b-green, p-blue, d-orange, q-red Each playerthentakes it in turn to place the respective frames 212 upon the paper roll 210, in an attempt to capture within the aperture 213 as many letters of the appropriate kind as possible. Figure 36 illustrates four rings which have been drawn by player A, respectively designated as G (green), B (blue), O (orange) and R (red). The player uses appropriately coloured crayons to draw the circles within the apertures 213 oftheframes 212, andthen goes on to colour in each occurrence of the respective letter within each ofthe circles G.B, O andR.

Each piayerthencounts upthe numberof occur- ences ofthe particular letterwithin his circle, and records it on the score sheet. If wished, the scores of the individual players may be added up, to give an overall winner.

It will be appreciated that, because ofthe density of the array of letters 211, it is difficu It to estimate by eye just how many letters of a particular type will occur, before drawing the respective coloured circles. Thus, each player has to use a degree of judgement, and a certain amount of luck will also be involved, in positioning the circles in the correct places.

If desi red, each player may have his own paper roll 210, or both players may share a common paper roll.

In the latter case, different players may use different coloured crayons. Where each playerhashis own paper roll 210, each roll may carry along its length a reference scale, or some other identifying means, to ensure that, at any one time, the players are playing on similar areas of respective rolis.

The shape board 215 which is illustrated in Figures 40 and 41 comprises a base board 216 which is formed with a plurality of different shaped recesses 217. A plurality of correspondingly shaped blocks 218 are adaptedto fit into the recesses 217, the depth of the blocks 218 being approximately twice asgreatasthe depth of the recesses 217, so that the blocks 218stand proud ofthe base board216,when inserted into the respective recesses 217. Upon the reverse side of the base board 216there are imprinted shapes 219 corresponding tothe shapes of the recesses 217 and blocks 218. Within each imprinted representation 219, there is written the corresponding name ofthe shape.

The various shaped blocks 218 may be used in place ofthe colour coded frames 21 2, as forms around which coloured outlines may be drawn upon the paper roll 210, to play a game substantially as outlined above. The players will initially agree which shapes will be used to "catch" a particular letter or other shape.

Figure 42 iElustratesvarious different sheets of letters ar other shapes, which may be used as an alternative to those shown in Figure 36. Of course,the Ofcourse, the principal of the game may be extended indefinitely, to different letters and shapes, densities and complex- ities.

Attention is drawn in particular, however, to the roll 220atthe top of Figure 42. It will be seen that, in the roll 220, the density of the letters 221 progressively increases from right to left. This means that, whilst a player may startthegame with the letters 221 at relatively easy spacings, the complexity progressively increases, as the player progressively practices.

It will be appreciated thatthe above described games encourage the development of visual scanning, and discrimination between visually similar letters, figures or other shapes.

* * * * * * According to athirteenth aspect of the invention, there is provided a childs game comprising a plurality oftransparent sheets having parts of shapes drawn thereon, and a holder inwhich the sheets may be superimposed such that said parts co-operate to form complete predetermined shapes.

Said shapes may comprise letters or numerals.

Said sheets and holder may have reference marks to facilitate correct orientation of the sheets inthe holder.

To illustrate the thirteenth aspect ofthe invention, reference will now be made, by way of example, to Figures 43 to 45 ofthe accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which: Figures 43 and 44 illustrates various perspex sheets having parts of numerals drawn thereon; and Figure 45 is a perspective view of a holderforthe sheets.

The clear perspex sheets 230 shown in Figures 43 and 44are of such a size as to fit readily within the holder231 of Figure 45, which holderhasthree upstanding sides. The top inside face 232 of the holder 231 is coloured blue.

Each ofthe perspex sheets 230 is provided with at last one edge 233 which is also coloured blue, to facilitate correct orientation of the sheet 230 in the holder 231. That is, for correct orientation, a blue edge 233 on one of the sheets 230 must be placed adjacent the blue in the face 232 on the holder 231. Some ofthe sheets 230 may have more than one correct orientation.

On each ofthe perspex sheets 230, the respective drawn shape 234 is formed with a dot 235 which may either be green or red (marked respectively G and R in the drawings).

To use the illustrated apparatus, the perspex sheets 230 are spread out on a surface at random, and a child is asked by a teacherto make a particular numeral. The child then has to select two or more ofthe perspex sheets 230, to make up the relevant numeral. For example, to make up the numeral "zero", the child has to place into the holder 231 the sheets 230 which are shown in Figure 43, respectively atthe left and right sides of the centre row. Having done this correctly, the child is then asked to trace outseverattimesthe shape ofthe numeral, from the green dot (G) to the red dot (R).Thistracing out of the numeral corresponds to the correctformation thereof, when the numeral is written.

Itwill be appreciated thatthe above described game and apparatus may assist a child in figureformation, and advance reasoning skills and visual discrimination.

In addition to forming numerals, as illustrated, there may be provided another set of perspex sheets 230, formed with part shapes of letters. A child is then required to form complete letters, by superimposition ofthe various sheets 230. The principle can be extended to the formation of any desired shapes.

It will be noted that, in Figure 43, the bottom right hand sheet 230 is blank. This is so that a teacher may drawanydesired shape thereon.

By way of example, each perspex sheet 230 may be approximately 6 cm. by 7 cm.

The invention is not restricted to the details ofthe foregoing embodiment(s). the invention extends two any novel one, or any novel combination, of the features disclosed in this specification and/or draw- ings, orto any novel one, or any novel combination, of the steps of any method or process disclosed herein.

Claims (10)

1. Apparatusforuseinteaching music,comprising: a plurality offirst elements representing words and/or pictures; a plurality of colour-coded second elements, different colours representing different musical notes; and a support adapted to receive and display the first and second elements in juxtaposition, with each second element corresponding to a syllable of a word which is represented by an adjacentfirst element, either directly or by reference to a picture on the first element.

2. Apparatus accordingto Claim 1, wherein said first elements comprise cards.

3. Apparatus according to Claim 2, wherein said support has means for engagement with said first elements.

4. ApparatusaccordingtoClaim 1,2or3,wherein said second elements comprise blocks.

5. Apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein said blocks are provided in different sizes, corresponding to different lengths of musical notes.

6. Apparatus according to any preceding claim, including a musical instrument for producing musical notes, said musical instrument being colour-coded in accordance with the colour-coding of said second elements.

7. Apparatus according to Claim 6, wherein said musical instrument comprises set of chime bars.

8. Apparatus according to any preceding claim, including a plurality of third elements which in use are received and displayed on thesupport in juxtaposition with the second elements, said third elements representing musical emphasis.

9. Apparatus for use in teaching music, the apparatus being substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure 19 ofthe accompanying drawings.

10. A game and/or apparatus, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any of the Figures ofthe accompanying drawings, individually or in combination.