QR code treasure hunt

Last year, I discovered a tool that brought novelty to my classes. The QR codes. They are an optical label that has information about anything you want. These codes lead you to a video link, or a website, or a photo, text message, even Google Maps... That is, the options are various! So, as a teacher looking for an adventure, I decided to create a treasure hunt using these codes. 

One class before, I asked my students to download a free app named QR Reader, 

which is a scanner that reads the information on the code, on their own devices and asked them to bring their gadgets to class. Having done that, I had to create the codes. Easy! Using the same app, I created the codes with the information I wanted them to follow. For example, the information on the first code was: Go upstairs. Talk to Maria. So, if they followed my instructions, they would find the next hint and so on. 

Needless to say they had fun!

I also created a kind of vocabulary search. I created codes with definitions and spread them around the class. The codes had definitions for the lesson target vocabulary. Students had to write the word that was defined.

Did you like it? Lots of preparation, but lots of fun too!

Earth Day

Another beautiful project that I took from Pinterest...  Coffee filter, markers and water spray... Some sentences like: " Protect the Earth", "Save water"... And this was our bulletin board for the Earth Day...

Calendar

I've had this calendar forever and I had never thought of a practical and effective use for it in my classroom besides the  decoration. But then, giving it a second look, I noticed how useful this can be for a teacher in need of a project!

To start with, the days and months are pieces that you can put where they are more convenient for you... I wanted my second and my fifth graders to learn how to say the dates in English. So, I started the class by having all students sit down in a circle. Then, I gave the students the months of the year and asked them to put them in order. As a follow-up, I asked students when their birthdays were. The only information I needed at that stage of the lesson  was the month. After this, I gave them the numbers and started calling them out, so students had to put the numbers in the correct place. Back to the circle, I repeated my question : When is your birthday? Now, I wanted them to give me the complete answer. For further practice, I gave them a piece of paper to ask when their classmates birthdays were and take notes. To wrap up, they had to memorize their classmates birthday to play a memory game. This class lasted 1:30. 

I hope you have enjoyed it!

P.S: I bought this calendar at Trend. The site is www.trendbm.com.br

Parts of the body and shapes

This project I called production. I asked each of my students to bring a shoe box to make a robot. I wanted to practice not only parts of the body, but also shapes, a content that they had previously learnt. Before the class, I cut circles, squares, triangles, rectangles and ovals so that they could be the  parts of the robot's body. We practiced the vocabulary and they started making their robots. When they finished, they were to write the parts of their robots.

Parts of the body II

Still practicing the parts of the body...

My second graders drew a monster...

I took a picture of the monsters they drew using my iPad. Then, I projected the images on the board so that they could present their monsters... They had to say:

This is my monster. His / her name is... He /she has... heads, ears...

 

They loved seeing their monsters on the big screen!

Simple and very effective!

Mr. Potato Head

I had to teach parts of the body for my second graders... I started searching for projects  on Pinterest,where I saw a post in which the teacher drew the parts of the famous mister and used it to review for the parts of the body. Using my magic trick ( I used a magic trick of mine, which is project the image on the board and just trace it on a hard sheet of paper and cut. Here is the result...

After some drilling, I gave the students the parts of the Potato Head so that they had to come and put them in the correct place... Students simply loved it!

Counting high with "Up"

I'm very proud of this project!

I was teaching my second and third grades to count from 1 up to 100 by ones and by twos. I wanted a project which helped them to visualize the numbers and their multiples. Searching on Pinterest, I came across a similar project and that's where my inspiration came from. 

The first step was to draw a house similar to the movie "Up!". If you are as talented as I am, you'll love this trick I got from a friend. I projected the image I wanted on the board and then I simply copied it. That is the result...

Having done this, I was ready to start my project.

Part 1

I made one as an example and posted it on the white board.

I taught the numbers for my second grade and revised them with my third. 

For recognition, I asked them the following questions:

What color is number twelve? 

After doing this for a while, I played a memory game with them. I said the number, they were to tell me the color of the balloon the number was written on.

Part 2

The second part is the work to be done!

I have 12 students, so I divided them into 4 groups. Each group had one poster to color.

I asked them to color the house the way they wanted.

Part 3

After coloring, it's time to blow the balloons and use scotch tape to attach them to the posters. But before this step we agreed on a few things.

They could only speak English, that is, if they spoke Portuguese, they would be invited to sit down.

I had one student counting the balloons, another writing on them and another one attaching them to the poster. I was very strict with Portuguese.

They practiced a lot... Not only the numbers but also the sequencing!

Follow-up

I kept on practicing the numbers and sequencing and multiples the following classes using the material they produced... It was a really nice project!

Toy Store

 Hi there!

As it is the first post, we'd like it to be a very nice one! The topic of my class was toy store and how to deal with money, so I decided to make it more meaningful for my students. For this very reason, I took an old cardboard box I found on the street,  wrapped it in some cloth and scrap paper, bought the toys in a  $ 1,99 store and this is the result.

The objective of the class was to work with the vocabulary related to toys in a toy store, practice the numbers through prices and solve simple math problems. 

After having exhaustively worked with the vocabulary (dolls, bike, skateboard, yo-yo, jump rope, cars and balls), students were to label the toys and solve some related math problems. As a follow-up, students will bring some fake money to class and will practice buying and selling toys. I hope you enjoyed this project!