Hands On Learning: Weighted Numbers & I Spy Bottles

Hello again, Café Friends!!!

 

It's been a while since my last post. I feel like I've been MIA! Finishing up National Board Renewal has zapped my time! It'll be submitted in less than a month, then hopefully I can get back in my "normal" routine - whatever "normal" might be! :-)

 

All of this renewal business has really caused me to reflect on my teaching and help me to remember WHY I do what I do with my students. I've been working on a component about student engagement and wanted to share a few activities I used this past week in centers to help promote hands on learning and student engagement.

 

(1) Weighted Numbers

 

I love using weighted numbers to show how to balance addition equations. These can be found at most teaching resource stores and online for about $20. I would suggest getting a couple of sets so students can balance equations with larger numbers.

 

Each number has the number word on the back so the 6's and 9's don't get mixed up. Plus, this helps reinforce number word recognition.

 

The picture above shows 6+3 = 9. I also wrote on the board: 9 = 6+3. This is such a hard concept for a lot of my students. The balance scale is a concrete learning tool that helps them see the "balance" {equals}.

 I always tell them when they see the equals sign to think of a balance scale. Both sides of the scale {equation} must be equal in order for the equation to be true.

 

I put the scales and numbers in my math center for students to explore balancing equations, helping them to understand that 6+3 is the same as 3+6.

 

 

(2) I Spy Bottles

 

Another hands on activity my students LOVE are I Spy Bottles that I made. Each bottle contains various objects and ten sight words. I've used these in my literacy centers for word work. They're also perfect for time-fillers. My goal is to make enough for a class set.

 

These are great for your kinesthetic learners and students with attention difficulties. I typed a sheet with the I Spy items, laminated the sheets, and students use dry-erase crayons {or markers} to check what they've found. Coins are the hardest to find. It keeps them busy for a while! They love the challenge.

 

Click Here to view an older post about how to make your own I Spy Bottles.

 

 I'd love to hear about engaging activities you use with your students! Feel free to share in the comments below. :-)
 

Thanks for stopping by the Café!

I Spy Bottles with Sight Words

I came across some more Fiji water bottles in my cabinet today and it reminded me I need to start working on some more I Spy Bottles! My goal was to make thematic ones this past summer, with colored rice to match the holiday/season. Ha! That idea was quickly gone once September came around. But the kids have enjoyed using the ones I have in the Word Work center this year.

 The pic below shows one bottle of a set of three I made. Inside the bottle are small items and little strips of sight words printed on cardstock {and laminated for durability}. I searched all of the junk drawers and the kids' toys for little things - anything- that would fit in those little bottles. The Dollar Tree was also a good place to find stuff. Pennies, Nickels, Dimes, toothpicks, silly bands, birthday candles, paper clips, little frogs, plastic rings, old keys.....etc. I also bought some sequins to add some extra color.

FYI- when you make your bottles don't forget to write down what's in each bottle BEFORE adding the rice. I learned that the hard way and those little things don't come out of the bottle as easy as they went in. :-) Add the rice last and leave some room for shaking the items. You'll have to play around with this to decide what you think would work best for your bottle.

Once you have your bottles like you want them I'd suggest hot-gluing the cap on. I added some ribbon just to fancy it up a bit. I used numbers on the lid so I'd know which bottle went with the correct I Spy Sheet.

To dye the rice I found a few ideas online and pretty much combined some of those ideas .

You'll need:

~ a large bag of rice {I bought a 5 lb. bag and used what I needed}

~rubbing alcohol {a few tablespoons}

~liquid food coloring {@10-12 drops depending on the color you want}

~disposable bowls and spoons {unless you don't mind the dye getting on them}

What I did:

~put alcohol in bowls, then add drops of food coloring

~add rice until it's coated well {I didn't measure the rice, but there wasn't any liquid left in the bowl}

~pour the rice onto aluminum foil or waxed paper and spread out to dry {if you pour out liquid, I would suggest adding more rice to soak it up}

~ store in a container {obviously dyed rice isn't for eating, so please don't eat it}

This recipe for dyed rice seemed to work well for me. There may be others out there, but this made some very colorful rice. Looked so pretty spread out on the counter and worked just fine for the I Spy Bottles.

Good luck if you decide to make your own. Start saving those water bottles!