Diy Learning Cubes READING & ELA BUNDLE
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Tree Top Secret’s Diy Learning Cubes READING & ELA BUNDLE 1 Thank You for Selecting… DIY Learning Cubes Copyright Notice All Rights Reserved © 2014 Tree Top Secret Single Teacher Classroom Use Only Your individual purchase entitles you to reproduce this resource for your own classroom use. Please refer teachers to our website www.treetopsecret.com if they are interested in purchasing this resource for their own classroom use. No part of the file may be reproduced in any form, by any means, electronic or mechanical, without prior written authorization from Veronica Lopez. You may request permission by sending an email to [email protected] Designed for You by Tree Top Secret Education www.treetopsecret.com DIY Learning Cubes 2 All Rights Reserved ©2014 Tree top Secret Table of Contents… Reading DIY Learning Cubes Why DIY Learning Cubes? ......................................................................................................... 4 How To DIY Learning Cubes ..................................................................................................... 5 Learn the Alphabet................................................................ ...................................................... 8 Upper Case and Lower Case ....................................................................................................... 9 Match Letter with Drawing ....................................................................................................... 10 Dolch, Fry, High Frequency, or Sight Words ................................ ............................................ 12 Types of Texts ......................................................................................................................... 14 Main Idea and Details ............................................................................................................... 15 Vocabulary ................................................................ ............................................................... 16 Multiple Meaning Words .......................................................................................................... 17 Figurative Language ................................................................................................................. 18 Characters ................................................................ ................................................................. 20 Sequencing ............................................................................................................................... 21 Cause and Effect ....................................................................................................................... 22 Facts and Opinions................................................................ .................................................... 23 Synonyms and Antonyms ......................................................................................................... 24 Appendices ................................................................ .............................................................. 25 Contact Tree Top Secret Education ................................ ........................................................... 50 Designed for You by Tree Top Secret Education www.treetopsecret.com DIY Learning Cubes 3 All Rights Reserved ©2014 Tree top Secret Why DIY Learning Cubes? Why should we use learning cubes? You have great demands on your time and attention. It’s a challenge to cover the curriculum with engaging instruction that helps students learn and also prepares them for assessments. You need creative tools to help you… - introduce and reinforce curricular objectives - use effective instructional strategies - prepare formative and summative assessments We call tools which can do all of the above… Versatile Pedagogical Tools. DIY Learning Cubes are Versatile Pedagogical Tools DIY Learning Cubes are versatile pedagogical tools which can be used to cover many objectives. They fit in with different instructional approaches and at any stage of a lesson cycle. Students can use them to work independently, with a partner, or in groups. They can stand-alone as a station or be integrated into other stations. Strategic placement and use of the DIY Learning Cubes will also help you re-capture what would otherwise be lost time. Designed for You by Tree Top Secret Education www.treetopsecret.com DIY Learning Cubes 4 All Rights Reserved ©2014 Tree top Secret How To DIY Learning Cubes … Cubes: 1-inch foam cubes are ideal for your learning activities. They are quiet, inexpensive, smooth, easy to write on, sealable, small enough to store, portable, and easy to use. Some of our DIY Learning Cube activities recommend the use of two to three colors, but you can use a variety of colors if you do not have enough of one color to make a set. We have foam cubes available on our website www.treetopsecret.com . You can also find them in teacher supply stores, some craft and hobby shops, and online. You can also create paper cubes from card stock and a template (Appendices A1 and A2 have templates for 1” and 1½ ” cubes). You can use white or colored card stock. You will want to add the letters, numbers, or words before you make the copies. You will be able to form the cubes with a little tape or school glue. Creating these paper cubes may be a little cheaper, but they do take a little time to make. The main drawback to paper cubes is they can easily be dented, bent, or even flattened. Add stability to the cubes by covering them in clear packing tape or Mod Podge ™. Preparing Foam Cubes You can use pens and even pencils to add information on the foam learning cubes. However, the darkest and most durable option is to use permanent marker. Use a thinner tip marker if you are writing phrases or long words. The permanent marker ink will need a few minutes (or longer) to dry. If you find the ink is smearing, then you can apply a coat of sealer like Mod Podge ™ or Collage Pauge™ . You can purchase these in craft and hobby shops, discount stores, or online. Consider creating larger cubes or rows of cubes by gluing individual cubes together. A small dot of hot glue in the center of a cube should do the trick. Be careful not to use too much glue, because it can create a mess as it spreads over the edge and may burn your fingers. Test your brand of hot glue on two cubes to make sure it adheres. Check the adhesion after a few hours to make sure the glue is holding. Designed for You by Tree Top Secret Education www.treetopsecret.com DIY Learning Cubes 5 All Rights Reserved ©2014 Tree top Secret How To DIY Learning Cubes Continued… Containers: Let your imagination soar when considering how you will display and store your containers. In most cases you will want to use opaque containers, but there are no hard and fast rules here. If you have some clear items on hand, then save your money and use those. Some activities work best when students don’t peek… they should close their eyes or look away as they remove a cube from a clear bag/container. Here are a few ideas: • Cereal Boxes • Chip Canisters •Cinch Sacks •Cleaning Wipes Canisters •Coffee Cans •Cups •File Folders (taped sides) • Food Boxes • Food Storage Boxes •Gift Bags •Glasses •Hats or Caps •Laundry Detergent Canister •Lunch Boxes or Bags • Old Handbags • Paint Canisters (small) •Paper Bags •Pillow Cases •Plastic Flower Pots •Re-sealable Plastic Bags •Sand Pails • Scarf (tied to form a bag) • School Boxes •Shipping Envelopes • Shoe Boxes •Small Cardboard Boxes •Socks •Supply Caddies •Tissue Boxes •Totes Designed for You by Tree Top Secret Education www.treetopsecret.com DIY Learning Cubes 6 All Rights Reserved ©2014 Tree top Secret How To DIY Learning Cubes Continued… Classroom Use: The DIY Learning Cube activities in this resource are designed to help students with various learning standards. Review the objectives for each activity and decide which are appropriate for your grade level. Follow the DIY instructions for all the activities you will be using. Store each activity in one box, bag, or container. • Add the DIY Learning Cubes to your lesson plan. Use them to introduce an objective, practice a newly taught concept, reinforce a new idea, or review for a formative or summative assessment. • Place the DIY Learning Cubes in strategic places around the room. For example: By the classroom door where students wait for lunch, P.E., or other class changes. Place a few by your desk or whiteboard. Reach for them to add some spontaneity to a lesson, ease the stress of complex or tedious instruction, or to transition into another subject. • Place the DIY Learning Cube activities on an easy-to-reach shelf. Students can use them whenever there is a little time available. This could be in the morning before lessons begin, when they finish an assignment before others, during a subject or class transition, or while waiting on you or other teachers and students. • If you use stations as a part of your instructional approach, then each DIY Learning Cube activity can be used as a stand-alone station. Simply add the activity as a new station to any rotation system you are already using. • Integrate the DIY Learning Cubes into an existing station. For example, if you already have a station which focuses on place value, then add the Place Value DIY Learning Cubes to the activities for that station. • Prepare sets of DIY Learning Cubes for students who are struggling with a learning objective. These can take the place