Reality vs. Fantasy Preschool Lesson

There are two oppositional ideas in education about teaching children the difference between reality and fantasy. Education experts do agree, however, that preschool children sometimes have difficulties in discerning the difference between reality and fantasy. It is important for both parents and preschool teachers to understand how they can use simple exercises to help build a young child's ability to distinguish between what is real and what is not.

  1. Exposure to Reality Lessons

    • For children to understand the difference between reality and fantasy, they need to gain real world experience. If a child is continually exposed to fantasy with no real world experience to compare to it, it can be harder for her to tell the difference. Fashion activities around stories or movies the children are familiar with. For instance, if the movie features talking trees, take the children for a walk in a real forest. Read them the story of "The Little Engine that Could" then take them to a museum to see real train engines. Discuss how the real experiences are different from the fantasy stories.

    Story Discussions

    • Fantasy stories contain elements of reality. For this exercise, explain to the children that some things in a story can happen in real life and others can't. Read part of a story to the group then ask them to pick out things that can really happen. For example, consider a story about two squirrels gathering nuts for a party where they meet a little boy and blow up balloons together. Tell the class that squirrels really eat nuts, and then let them pick out more real things about the story.

    Flash Cards and Pictures

    • Make flash cards or gather pictures of both real and fantasy items to show to a class. For instance, have one picture of a horse and another of a unicorn, one of a firefighter and one of a superhero. Show the pictures to the class one at a time and ask if it is a picture of something real or make believe. Use a few cartoon pictures, but make sure most of the pictures of fantasy items look real enough to make the children think or they may guess wrong. Ask the children why they think the picture is of something real or something that is not.

    Story Making

    • Make a fantasy story with a group of children. Separate the children into two groups. One group is the fantasy group and the other the reality group. Have one person from the reality group start the story by telling about a real place the story will take place, such as in their room at home. Have a member of the fantasy group add something that is not real to the story, for instance a picture they can walk into. Have everyone take turns adding to the story until it is finished. Discuss the finished story. This exercise will allow children to actively use fantasy for creative purposes while being guided when they make mistakes about what is real and what is not.

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