RT3 Toolbox Activity Winners – Round 3

This week’s post was written by Tonii Lewis, an assistant project director at Best Practices.  This is the third round of RT3 toolbox activity winners.

Winner #1 – Tess Lucas
Card #85: Pre-K Herald
Provide a newspaper template and support the children in drawing pictures or writing headlines about the events of the day or week. CLL9.4a

“I chose this activity to allow students who often visit the art center to explore various print media as well as share events or information important to them that was happening in our room that day. Students shared the day’s events, gathered newsworthy material, and conducted interviews in the “Lollipop Ledger”. Student work was dictated.”

Winner #2 – Stacy Tidwell
Card #143: Wormy Time
Purchase mealworms at a pet store; they are beetle larva used for feeding small mammals, reptiles and birds. Keep them in an open container with the bottom covered in old fashioned oatmeal. A cut apple provides enough food and moisture for the worms The children can hold them, watch them shed their skin as they grow and see them change into beetles. They can be released when you are finished with your study. Have the children journal their observations. SC3.4a

“Gave gummy and real worms to the students to observe and compare. Recorded observations. Even the most skeptical student ended up holding the worm. The children loved having a visual to compare living and nonliving.”

Winner #3 – Candice Flynn
Card #148: Block Center (modified for outdoors)
Create a pendulum by tucking a tennis ball inside the leg of panty hose and hang from the ceiling. Give children boxes, cardboard tubes and small yogurt containers. Encourage the children to build towers using the boxes and place tubes or containers on top to knock over. Have the children swing the pendulum to knock it over. Have the next child build again and swing the pendulum. SC4.4a

“Each student took a turn swinging the “Angry Bird”. Then that student had to reset the tower of blocks for the following student. I encouraged the students to also count the number of blocks they knocked down and discuss with their friends in line with words such as More, Less, Equal or Same as (MA1.4b and 1.4d)”

Winner #4 – Lindsay Hanson
Card #131: Plant a Garden
Plant a small outdoor garden with fast growing items such as green beans, marigolds, pansies and morning glories. Remind the children to tend the garden daily and photograph growth weekly. Post pictures in the classroom to reflect growth and create a class book at the end of the harvest. SS5.4a

“Instead of planting a garden in the ground, we planted an outdoor garden in shoes. We used different shoes, potting soil, and seeds. We talked about the parts of a plant and what they need to grow. The class tends to their shoe garden daily and records the growth in their daily journal. The students are enjoying watching their garden grow!”