They say that the first step is admitting you have a problem. Hi, my name is Lori, and I have a dollar store problem. I cannot get out of one without spending at least $40. I've decided to start looking at my not-so-cheap shopping trips as an investment in my classroom and my blog posts. So to those of you reading this, thanks for feeding my addiction!
On a recent binge, I found these adorable Disney die cuts at my local Dollar Tree.
I had no idea of what exactly I would use them for, but I am obsessed with Disney, Mickey specifically, so I HAD to have them...all of them. I bought every package of the Mickey ones in the store. (Did I mention I have a problem?)
I thought it would be fun to write the names of U.S. cities on the back of the Cars die cuts. I was going to have my students use Google Maps to determine how far away the city is from us, how long it would take to travel there, and how much it would cost to get there. I also thought that having a high school volunteer write the city names would be a good idea. I was wrong. Of course, I only bought ONE package of these die cuts, so I am hoping to get back to buy a new set before another crazy teacher gets there and swoops them up.
However, my Mickey ones turned out much better. I mean, how cute are these? I decided to use these as talking points. I chose topics that I consistently find students need to review, re-work, and reveal to others. By asking students to talk about these topics, I left the activity open ended and really flexible. I can require as much or as little detail as I want, depending on the student, the time of year, or grade level.
These cards are great as a warm-up activity. One student could be in charge of reading it to the class or students could form groups to collaboratively come up with some talking points.
We all know that every minute counts in our day. During one of those weird transition times where you only have a few minutes, grab one of these cards for a quick spiral.
I am sure that there are a hundred more ways to use these cute cards...and I have a couple more packages to use up. Please share your ideas in the comments below!
No comments