Models Physical models, mental models, computer models, and mathematical models are tools that help students explore, appreciate, and understand real-world phenomena. Models are designed to resemble or function like the objects and phenomena that they represent. In primary grade classrooms, learners can use toys as physical models of real-world counterparts. Students should understand that toys are different from real-world counterparts in size, details, and the way they work. Using toys allows students to compare objects.
Toys also model some of the functions of the real-world objects.
As students progress through the upper elementary grades, they should understand and appreciate that changes in their physical models may suggest how changes in real-world things may work. Computer programs and simulations can also be used to model real-world events. Being able to identify those parts of a system that can or do remain constant and those parts of a system that can or do change is often essential in analyzing change. In primary classrooms students should collect, observe, and classify objects that occur in their world. Kindergarten through second-grade students should understand that things in their environment change in some ways and stay the same in some ways.