Abstract:
An educational aid that provides a surface, such as a page in a book, that is sectioned into at least two sections. A plurality of concepts are presented in the first section and a plurality of concepts are presented in the second section that relate to the subject matter of the first section. The concepts are at least linguistic, mathematical, and artistic and allow the user to compare the more complex concepts with the simpler concepts and thereby increase the learning curve by building upon an already learned concept.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to educational aids and methods therefor and particularly to an apparatus that presents concepts in sections that proceed from simple to more advanced in a gradational fashion. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Instructional aids have been used previously for educational purposes; however, they have had several disadvantages. U.S. Pat. No. 5,492,473 to Shea discloses a language instruction and fact recognition apparatus. The apparatus provides a plurality of master charts with words thereon, a plurality of study cards with words thereon, a complicated reference system for matching the right cards to the right master charts, and two separate apparatuses for maintaining the cards and the master charts. However, storing and transporting the master charts and the cards can become cumbersome in addition to the loss of the cards. 
     U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,486,111 and 5,275,569, both issued to Watkins, disclose a language translation teaching aid that presents a first sentence, a second sentence in a second language with a word-for-word translation, and a third sentence in the second language with an accurate translation of the first sentence according to the normal rules of syntax and grammar of the second language. However, the number of phrases that can be presented limits Watkins and most often the phrases that are presented are not useful to the person learning the language because they may apply to impractical phrases. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,713,739 to Yu discloses a learning aid for use in language education. The invention includes a foldable structure that receives a plurality of inserts. A first set of inserts present the target language, a second set of inserts present the known language, and a third set of inserts present the transition between the known language and the target language. Yu is limited to only teaching foreign languages based on a known language and the plurality of inserts may become misplaced or lost and the coordination of corresponding inserts is time consuming and cumbersome. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,934,708 to Batjuk discloses a dictionary of an alphabetic foreign language in which a word is defined in a known language, but a plurality of other words having an identical sequence of letters of the original foreign language word are grouped therewith. However, Batjuk requires the use of additional space on the paper to arrange corresponding words thereon that may be related in sequence but unrelated in meaning and will increase the size of the book and deplete resources unnecessarily. The fragmented presentation of unrelated words does not provide a logical reasoning for increased learning of the user. 
     The prior art does not address the need for an apparatus that provides a graduated teaching tool that allows the user to learn and build on a simple concept in a graduated fashion. Therefore, there remains a long standing and continuing need for an advance in the art of teaching aids and educational methods that is simpler in both design and use, is more economical, efficient in its construction and use, and eliminates the need for a plurality of corresponding cards that may be misplaced or lost. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art. 
     In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide a teaching aid that reduces the number of disassociated members and reduces the risk of loss thereof. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide an educational aid that provides the reader a gradual expansion and complexity of several concepts. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide an educational aid that extends the life thereof by allowing the same educational aid to be used as the reader develops their reading ability and vocabulary. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide an educational aid that allows the presenter to present the concepts in a gradually developing complex fashion. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide an educational aid that allows collaboration between a less complex presenter and a more complex presenter that expands on the less complex concepts. 
     It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an educational aid that allows a reader to comprehend an alternate style of writing such as an Elizabethan style. 
     It is a further object of the present invention to provide an educational aid that is less costly to manufacture and produce. 
     In keeping with the principles of the present invention, a unique educational aid that has at least a surface, and can have a plurality of surfaces such as pages in a book, wherein the surface is separated into at least two sections. At least a first concept is presented in the first section and is expanded upon in a second section in a more complex fashion. 
     The concepts that are presented may be linguistic, mathematical, or artistic in nature and each section provides a more complex presentation than the previous section. In maintaining the successively complex concepts on the same page, the reader is able to simultaneously view the previous simple concept and build thereupon to develop a better apprehension of the more complex concepts. Furthermore, the book or other medium that the concepts are presented upon may be reused as the reader develops a broader understanding of the concepts. 
    
    
     Such stated objects and advantages of the invention are only examples and should not be construed as limiting the present invention. These and other objects, features, aspects, and advantages of the invention herein will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the embodiments of the invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the claims that follow. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     It is to be understood that the drawings are to be used for the purposes of illustration only and not as a definition of the limits of the invention. 
     In the drawings, wherein similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views: 
     FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a surface illustrating the different concepts thereon as presented in the different sections. 
     FIG. 2 is a top plan view of a surface illustrating the different linguistic concepts thereon as presented in the different sections. 
     FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a surface illustrating the different mathematical concepts thereon as presented in the different sections. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to FIGS. 1,  2 , and  3 , therein is illustrated an educational aid  10  having a surface  12 . Surface  12  may be of any medium whereon a plurality of indicia  14  is presented. In a preferred embodiment, surface  12  may be a sheet of paper or a page in a book; however, it is to be understood that surface  12  may be a monitor, a television screen, or a liquid crystal display. Indicia  14  may be letters in any language, numbers, mathematical symbols, artistic illustrations, or any other form of relaying perceptible information such as, but not limited to, visual perception when reading normally or perception by touch when reading braille. 
     A first concept  16  is created by the combination of the plurality of indicia  14 . Concept  16  may be in the form of a sentence, a mathematical equation, or an illustration of an object. A second concept  18  may be presented along with concept  16  or logically flowing therefrom. Concepts  16  and  18  may continue at length until an n th  concept is presented. A first separating element  20  is placed across surface  12  after the optimal number of concepts are presented, thereby creating a first section  22  and a second section  24 . It is to be understood that although the separating element is presented as a dashed line, it is to be understood that any method may be used to separate a number of sections such as, but not limited to, a solid line, a number of lines, another background and/or another color, another font or size, marks, symbols, or points. In addition, it is also to be understood that the separating elements may be presented in a vertical fashion to provide vertical sections that accommodate languages that are written vertically. 
     Second section  24  also has a plurality of indicia  14  thereon. A third concept  26  is presented by an alternate combination of indicia  14  such that third concept  26  expands upon first concept  16 . Similarly, a fourth concept  28  expands upon second concept  18  and is also presented in second section  24  such that a user may simultaneously view and compare both sections in a preferred embodiment. 
     In such a presentation, a reader is able to compare the progressive expansion on a concept in a comparative environment that allows the reader to expand on an already learned concept thereby accelerating the learning curve. In addition, when the educational level of each section is equivalent, then the differing sections may be used for differentiating between a thought for thought comparison, thus increasing apprehension of the material. Vocabulary, grammar and writing style are presented simultaneously which facilitates understanding of a more advanced concept by reviewing the same concept as presented in a more simple form in first section  24  or vice-versa. For example, if the reader is reading a concept presented in Elizabethan style in first section  22 , such as a Shakespearean play, the same concept may be presented in modem English in second section  24 . Thereby, a reader may refer to the modem English presentation to better understand an Elizabethan concept. Similarly, presentations that are metaphorical and/or have parallel characteristics may more easily be understood and learned by referring to a more simpler presentation of the same concept on the same page. 
     In a preferred embodiment, a second separating element  30  is presented on surface  12  such that a third section  32  is created. Third section  32  has a plurality of indicia  14  thereon and are combined to present a fifth concept  34  and a sixth concept  36  and may include up to “n” concepts as necessary or that can be accommodated by surface  12 . Fifth concept  34  expands upon first concept  16  and third concept  26 . Sixth concept  36  expands upon second concept  18  and fourth concept  28 . In a preferred embodiment, first section  22 , second section  24 , and third section  32  are presented to allow simultaneous perception thereof to allow comparative analysis and comprehension. Although three sections are displayed in a preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that there may be an increased or decreased number of sections dictated by the presentation and/or the presenter. 
     One of the sections may also be converted to include a partially completed concept such that the reader will be required to complete the concept, such as by “filling in the blank,” which reinforces the learned material. In addition, one of the sections may be adapted to include pronunciation symbols for the presented concepts to allow phonetic understanding thereof. Also, one of the sections may present a concept in an every day language and another section may present the same concept with a professional emphasis in the language, such as business, engineering, or legal. For example, a concept may be presented in the masculine gender in one section, the feminine gender in another section, and the neutral and correct gender in the other section. Furthermore, the presentation of concepts may be used for advertising purposes to present an evolution from good, to better, to best, which may present the product of the advertiser. 
     The method or presenting the concepts allows the presenter new opportunities that have not been used heretofore. Previously, presenters have been limited in presenting their material by the level of the perceiver but with the aid  10  concepts can be presented in varying levels of complexity to accommodate a larger audience for the same work. In addition, several presenters may collaborate on the same piece of work wherein a first presenter may present a simple concept that may be expanded upon by a second presenter and so on. While the above description contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention, but rather as an exemplification of one preferred embodiment thereof. Many other variations are possible without departing from the essential spirit of this invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined not by the embodiment illustrated, but by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.