This year, I am teaching a remedial math class, in addition to my 6 science classes. And when I say remedial, I do mean remedial - like we are still working (after 9 days) on regrouping with adding, in the 6th grade. But, hopefully, we will master this, subtraction, and our multiplication tables. I do have a few that are a bit speedier in this class and I wanted something cool for them to do.
I have always liked the
overpriced shakers with the toys inside that the kids hunt for, so I decided to make my own. Every minute of my day must be academic, so my little shaker is all about multiplication. Here is how I made my shaker out of ingredients that I had at the house!
So, without further ado, this is how you do it!
Materials:
Rice
Rubbing Alcohol
Food Coloring
Recycled OJ Bottle
Multiplication cards
Cookie trays
So, first up, I dyed the rice. I put about two tablespoons of rubbing alcohol in a gallon sized plastic bag and added 5 or so drops of food coloring. (My mother hates when I don't measure - sorry mom!) I mixed them up really well and added a bag of rice. I tossed until it was completely colored.
When it was the color I wanted, I dumped it on a cookie tray lined with foil to dry. Because I am
cheap environmentally friendly, I reused the same plastic bag for the next three colors. I just rinsed and washed it out. No need to waste bags on colored rice!
After it dried, I dumped it all in a new gallon bag and mixed it up. I let mine dry overnight, partially because I started this project
really late at night, and part because I forgot to pull it in from the
backyard Tennessee outdoor dryer before I went to bed. I pulled my multiplication facts from
Super Teacher Worksheets. They have great printables and multiplication flash cards. I wanted mine really small, so I printed them two to a page on cardstock. I cut them out and trimmed off the equals sign and question mark.
I added a little rice, a few cards, a little more rice, a few more cards, and did this until it is almost all the way full. I left room at the top so that I could shake the cards around and there would be plenty of room for movement.
The only thing I have left to finish to put a sticker or something on the front. Despite my best efforts, I cannot seem to get the adhesive completely off. I don't know what Kroger used - super glue? I can't wait to use it in my classroom. I am thinking about making one for each of my units in science with vocabulary words... what do you think?
