Realia
[ree-AL-ee-ə]
Part of speech: noun
Origin: Latin, 19th century
1.
Objects and material from everyday life, especially when used as teaching aids.
2.
Real things or actual facts, especially as distinct from theories about or reactions to them.
Examples of Realia in a sentence
"The visiting firefighter dazzled the schoolkids with his realia, which included his helmet, ax, and oxygen tank."
"In science class, Daria learned best from lessons involving realia, such as demonstrations of dramatic chemical reactions."
About Realia
“Realia” is directly from the Latin “reālia,” meaning “real things.”
Did you Know?
The first realia many babies encounter is a simple set of wooden blocks, which were developed as teaching tools in 18th-century England and popularized by German educational philosopher Friedrich Fröbel (best known for inventing and naming “kindergarten”). “Fröbel gifts,” a set of mostly wooden blocks he developed, became massively popular educational toys for babies, offering them real-world experiences with basic shapes, gravity, and building or stacking. These toys provide pieces of the real world small enough for babies to handle and safely experiment with. Used as realia, building blocks have been the foundation of early learning for hundreds of millions of people.
