Sweet Search Top 12 Ways to Increase Student Participation Call it "active learning," or "classroom participation" -- every teacher wants to know how to motivate students to particpate, and how to nurture more involved students and fewer apathetic ones. With a little extra planning, that is possible. Below are four common reasons students don’t participate and techniques to solve those problems and spice up your lessons. Problem: The content is repetitive. Maybe it needs to be repetitive because the students don’t really “get it,” or maybe you’re reviewing for a test. Solution #1: Assess their prior knowledge. This could be as simple as asking students, “What do you know about (topic)?” Technology in the classroom tools that keep parents informed about classroom... To kick off this holiday week, we want to spread a little Thanksgiving joy with... Teaching strategies to help guide your students through a writer’s workshop... Exciting ways to use video conferencing in your classroom. Fed up with building pilgrim hats out of paper bags?
Free Websites that Teach Coding for Kids | Preschool Powol Packets Free websites that teach coding for kids are a wonderful tool to help kids (and adults) learn the language and style that computers are written in. We live in a very different world now than 30 years ago. Thirty years ago nobody I knew had smart phones, used the internet, or carried tablets. Today, my toddlers can navigate all three and my preschoolers want to know how they work. My 3rd grader started looking for help to code her own apps a few months ago. I started this collection as we browsed the internet for something written for her. It turns out that there are a lot of free websites that teach coding for kids. As I scoured the internet for free websites that teach coding for kids, I came across a lot that have a free component (like one free class or introduction) and a paid component. Totally 100% Free (as far as I can tell!) PluralSight: Free coding courses for kids. Code Studio: computer coding classes for kids 4 and up! App Inventor: Make android apps on this website.
I Love That Teaching Idea! Making a Magic (Drinking Straw) Flute Maybe my kids are weird but both of them love using drinking straws. So we had all the supplies we needed on hand for this little craft – nine straws and some clear tape. When I told my son we were making a flute, he was super excited. His classroom teacher is getting married and has been sharing details of the ceremony. “You know what the only instrument being played at her wedding is, Mom?” Before we got crafty, we read a wonderful book. Before we got into the story, we went through the cast of characters on the opening few pages. With the book read, I asked my son to grab his ruler, scissors, nine straws, and some clear tape. The first straw was set aside; it required no cutting. Now my son laid a long piece of clear tape sticky side up on the table and lined the straws up longest to shortest, with the tops of each even with one another. It was time to play our ‘magical’ flute! “I would play it for my brother to make him fall asleep,” he wrote.
How to Crochet: Star Stitch By Erin Burger – 96 Comments Out there in Crochet Land there are many ‘special’ stitches that I call ‘YO Stitches’ (the abbreviation for yarn over is yo). These stitches include the popcorn stitch, the bobble stitch, the puff stitch etc…etc… My favorite of these type of stitches is the star stitch. This tutorial is for both right and left handed people. Start by chaining a multiple of 3, then add 1 more chain. Row 1: pull up a loop in 2nd ch from hook and in each of the next 4 ch, yo and pull through all 6 stitches on hook (where will be a total of 6 loops, disregard error in this first photo which only shows 5), ch 1 to close star. This is your first star and it should look like this (continue on with pattern) * Pull up a loop in ch-1, pull up a loop in last ch of star just made, pull up a loop in each of the next 3 ch, yarn over and pull through all 6 loops on hook, ch 1 to close star, repeat from * across, hdc in last ch. Row 2: ch 2, turn, 3 hdc in each ch-1 from the previous row, ch3 turn.
Purim Noisemaker | Free Kids Crafts The noise maker or grogger is a classic Purim prop used during the reading of the Megillat Esther (Book of Esther) to make noise every time the name of the evil Haman is mentioned. The reading takes about 1/2 hour, and during that time children who are old enough to come to the reading must sit quietly so that everyone can hear every single word of the story. So listening for Haman’s name gives everyone a reason to pay attention! Supplies Plastic cups, any size, clear works well too! Instructions 1.Fill one of the cups about 1/4 full with dried beans or anything else you have on hand that will make noise when shaken. 2.Attache the popsicle stick to one cup with hot glue, and then join two cups together with hot glue. 3.Decorate the cups with electrical tape and stickers 4.Enjoy making lots of noise on Purim! This craft is reprinted courtesy of CreativeJewishMom.com. Contributor CreativeJewishMom.com
DROPS Pattern Library: Lace patterns DROPS pattern library contains patterns, and it keeps growing every day! The DROPS designers want you to see how these different techniques will look when applied to a knitting or crochet project. This is a very useful tool when you are looking for inspiration for own designs. Remember that by switching between yarn quality thicknesses and by picking a different knitting tension you will be able to create a new aspect to the design. Have fun! NOTE: Click on the flag/link under the picture to go to the full pattern. Back to the School of Handcraft Sort by: Yarn quality | DROPS number | Pattern type
Musical Instrument Crafts for Kids: How to Make Instruments Like Drums, Flutes, Kazoos, Bells, Rattles, Guitars, Activities for Children Home > Arts and Crafts Projects for Kids > Musical Instruments Crafts for Kids to Make Bang Bang ... Toot Toot ... Shake Shake ... Make Guitars, Banjos, & Stringed Instruments Make Noise Makers / Maracas / Shakers Make Drums More Musical Instruments Crafts Below Making a Rattle Shell Musical Instrument (Parental Help / Supervision Needed for This Craft) The rattle shell is another simple instrument. How to Make an Easy Comb Kazoo That Really Works The youngsters can have a lot of fun with this simple gimmick. Making Songs and Music with Musical Glasses Fill a glass with water. Make Sand Blocks to Make Music Select 2 blocks of wood about I inch by 21/2 inches by 5 inches. Making Musical Tambourines Cover an embroidery hoop or a box cover with unbleached muslin or heavy wrapping paper. Make Sea Shell Trumpets - Learn how to make these sea shell trumpets with the help of your parents. 9 Easy to Make Musical Instruments- Children love music as much as they enjoy making things.
How to Make Simple Crochet Slippers « Crafts IMPORTANT NOTE: This pattern uses US crochet terminology. You can find the SLIPPER SIZE, YARN and HOOK specifications at the end of this article !!! (To see more of my patterns, please visit my ONLINE SHOP!) I am an addict. An addict for crochet slippers. It all began when I saw slippers similar to these somewhere on the internet. I loved them so much I couldn’t get their tempting image out of my head. All I needed was a pattern. But because I am terribly, terribly impatient, I found creating my own pattern quicker than looking for an official one on the web. And since I’m no crochet guru, the pattern turned out to be really simple. Actually, these slippers might be the simplest slippers in the universe. Or not. But they might. This is what I did… Round 1: 5 ch (chain stitch); join into ring with sl st (slip stitch) Round 2: 3 ch; 7 dc (double crochet stitch) into the center of the ring; join with sl st Round 3: 3 ch; 1 dc into first stitch; 2 dc into each next stitch; join with sl st Row 14: turn (!)
Homemade Musical Instruments Crafts for Kids These homemade instruments and noisemakers are for the most part quick and easy to make and based on simple recycled materials. Kids can make a fantastic kitchen band of their own, or perhaps use them to ring in the New Year with style? A popular old-fashioned noise-making toy, the Chinese drum (rattle) is twisted in the hand so that the beads bounce of it and make a noise. With practise you can get a good rhythm going! These homemade cymbals are perfect for younger kids to make and play in their own kitchen band! This homemade Rainmaker is a fun way to make lots of noise at a celebration such as New Year's Eve or a birthday - or just for a kitchen band! This homemade trumpet will allow the children to "toot" very noisily whenever a loud noise is required! Kwanzaa is often celebrated with traditional African music, with the rhythm provided by African drums. Children will have fun designing and then decorating their own didgeridoo in bright colours.
100+ Google Tricks for Teachers It's Google's world, we're just teaching in it. Now, we can use it a little more easily. With classes, homework, and projects–not to mention your social life–time is truly at a premium for all teachers, so why not take advantage of the wide world that Google has to offer? From super-effective search tricks to Google tools specifically for education to tricks and tips for using Gmail, Google Docs, and Google Calendar, these tricks will surely save you some precious time. Search Tricks These search tricks can save you time when researching online for your next project or just to find out what time it is across the world, so start using these right away. Convert units. Google Specifically for Education From Google Scholar that returns only results from scholarly literature to learning more about computer science, these Google items will help you at school. Google Scholar. Google Docs 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. Gmail 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. Google Calendar 44.