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Teacher Tips
Each month The Learning Bug brings you great tips from teachers you know. These tips are easy to implement, and easy to create.
Flip Cards
Microsoft Word template file with instructions
Adobe Acrobat PDF template with instructions
Photo Daily Schedule
Create a time line with each activity your class does throughout the day.
Take photos of your students doing the activities shown.
Frame the photos with die cuts and place them along the time line and decorate with stickers.
Thinking Bulbs
Cut out a light bulb die cut in yellow and white for each student.
Use foam sheets, poster board, or laminate for durability.
On the yellow bulb write "Still Thinking" and on the white bulb write "Got it!".
Glue the two bulbs back to back. When you're doing group work, have the students hold the yellow side toward you until they figure out the answer.
When they think they've got it figured out, they turn the light bulb around.
Following Directions Frames from Carol Kohne
Adobe Acrobat PDF instructions
Calendars in Disguise from Shapes, ETC.
Question: What is a calendar?
Answer: A giant graph!
Question: What new ways can you use a calendar if you cut it up?
Cut up horizontal calendars to make large classroom graphs. Laminate all the components and use write and wipe markers. Use velcro™ to attach weather symbols or other mini accents. Tape together as many strips as you need.
Vary this idea for other graphing activities.
Cute as Pie Center Bags
Instead of storing your center pieces in a boring paper sack or resealable plastic baggie,
Decorate your centers. Find an appropriate accent (we've got more than a hundred designs). Glue the accent to the front of a gift bag.
Use fancy scissors to cut the top of the bag to follow the accent. It's cute and functional.
Counting Story Manipulatives
Adobe Acrobat PDF instructions
Felt Wall
Staple a large sheet of felt up to your wall at a height your kids can easily reach.
Use die cuts to cut out felt shapes and letters (die cuts can cut anything scissors can cut).
Kids love this hands on free-time activity. Use the letters, shapes, and colors for class instruction.
Sandpaper Letters
A great manipulative exploring letters can be made from sandpaper.
Use die cuts to cut sandpaper letters.
Kids can "feel" the letters with their fingers.
You can glue the letters down on paper for centers, or let the children play with the letters.
Lay the letters down to form a word, cover it with thin paper, and make a crayon rubbing.
2-Liter Reports
Adobe Acrobat PDF instructions
Leaf Picures from Angelina Robidoux
Fresh fall leaves provide a fun opportunity to create cute illustrations while talking about fall,
changing leaves, and deciduous versus coniferous trees. This craft project is easy and looks great.
The illustrations look quite a bit like the illustrations of Eric Carle books,
so it's also a great extension activity for many of his books.
To create a leaf picture, have students collect fallen leaves.
Have them collect a variety of sizes, colors, and shapes.
Coniferous leaves (pine needles for example) can also be used.
Once the students know what they're going to picture, spread white glue over the surface of poster board or construction paper.
Press the leaves down to the glue. Embelish the picture with markers, crayons, popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners, googlie eyes, pom-poms or other craft supplies.
Laminate the leaves as soon as the white glue dries to preserve the color of the leaves. Check out a few of our sample pictures for ideas.
Scented Salt Dough from Linda Anderson
For a little varietty, try scenting your favourite salt dough recipe. Add a couple tablespoons of spices like cinamon, ginger, or cloves for fall.
A few tablespoons of pepermint extract is great for winter. Lemon extract can be used for spring. Unsweetened drink powder will give a fruity smell (try cherry for Valentines day).
NOTE: the dies in powdered drink mixes may stain clothes.
Check out our cook and no-cook recipes.
Plastic Petri Dish Projects
Adobe Acrobat PDF instructions
Die Cut Mini-books
Use die cuts to create shaped mini books for your students.
Stack a sheet of coloured construction paper for the cover and several sheets of white paper for the book.
Fold the sheets in half to form a small book. Place the fold of the booklet near the edge of the die cut blade.
A small portion of the die cut should extend beyond the paper.
After you cut the booklet with the die cut, staple the booklet so it is bound.
Have students decorate the cover of the book and write a short story inside.
Snowman Snowball estimating/charting activity from Sally Thomas
Sally Thomas shared with us a great winter activity that teaches graphing and estimation.
Divide your students into small groups, or have them work individually. Have each group draw a large snowman on white butcher paper.
Cut out the large snowman. Each group's snowman should be about the same size and shape.
Have all the students cut out snowballs the same size (you may want to use die cuts or photocopy a pattern for the snowballs).
Have every group or student estimate how many snowballs will be required to fill the snowman completely. Graph the results (works as a bar graph or a pie chart).
Now have the student glue the snowballs onto the snowmen, counting the number of balls required. Graph the actual number of snowballs and compare to the estimates.
Decorate the snowmen, and display on a winter bulletin board. Older students can be asked to calculate the actual area of the snowmen and snowballs using the formula for the area of a circle (pi * radius2).
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