Classroom Ideas

 

This section of Teacher's Zine is dedicated to ideas which will help us in the classroom. From starting a class library to organizing your class. If you have any ideas please send them in to share with fellow educators.

 

Every household uses products which come in great containers. Even junk mail promotional CDs can be recycled. These containers can be very useful to teachers in the classroom! I have gathered many ideas send in and I hope you find at least one of these ideas useful. Students are always willing to bring in the containers from home.

 

Parmesan cheese container - bug zoo! Clear plastic Parmesan or Romano Cheese containers make wonderful bug boxes. Remove the label and wash out the jar and lid. Scavenge a piece of old fiberglass window screen (metal will work, but is likely to scratch kids) and cut a circle of screen to fit snug inside the top of the lid with just a tiny extra margin – so the screen will be held in place when the lid is screwed down onto the jar. When the kids catch a bug, they can put it in the jar with some leaves and twigs, flip up one or both of the lid tops to allow for air flow, and see the bug very clearly through the plastic jar. One old window screen will make screen tops for over a dozen bug boxes. My Cub Scouts loved these. Of course, I lectured them on their duty to release the bug once they were through observing it.

FREE promotional CDs can be used to draw perfect circles for pie graphs and art projects.

 

Hall Passes can be made from promotional CDs. Glue 2 CDs together with shiny side facing out. Use a permanent marker, stickers or craft paints to label the CD with the words "Hall Pass" and your room number. You can even make a hall pass for each destination such as restroom, library, office, nurse, etc. Don't forget to tie a string through the hole so students can hold on to it.

Students can make their own percussion instrument by adding a few dried beans, or sand, or rice, or stones to empty prescription drug containers, film canisters, any plastic jar or container that will fit in their hand (use larger coffee cans for drums). Just add a few noisy items, glue the lid on with a hot glue gun, and have the students decorate the outside as an art project. Provide them with a variety of misc. leftover gift wrap, ribbons, colorful cellophane, construction paper, sand paper, aluminum foil, contact paper, . . . the ideas are limitless! Extra tips: ribbed cardboard can be glued to the outside as yet another percussion instrument. Just rub your finger/fingernail across the ribs for a new sound. -Diane Upstate NY

 

I am an art teacher in Hamilton, New Jersey. I do a printing project and hot glue the lidded end of the canister to a piece of cardboard as the handle. The cardboard is 3x3 and decorated with pipe cleaners glued to it and then painted for stamping. This size is perfect for 9x12 or 12x18 paper. They create patterns by sharing others stamps. After the project is complete, I remove the lid and next year I'll glue the bottom of the canister to the cardboard. ~Maggie Thompson shared this idea.

 

Order your Teacher Supplies here!

 

Teachers in my school use empty Pringles cans as paper stands by the computers. Put something inside for weight and then cover it in construction paper. Hot glue one side of a clothespin to the top to grab the paper. ~Katie from Illinois

 

Pringles cans are also great to store art paint brushes. Remember to put in with brushes up.

Use film canisters to store number tiles 0-9. Great for storing and ready for your next group activity. Call your local photo store/developer, they will gladly help you out. This ideas shared by Mrs. Linda Bernal, South Texas

 

Parmesan Cheese or rectanglar Mayo containers are great as marker /highlighter holders. The hinge lib is an excellent way to take out marker(s) needed.

 

Both veteran and beginning teachers will appreciate these simple and unique ideas to spice up daily routines! Activities cover motivation, review, management, and parent involvement and are general enough to use any time, with all ages and abilities.

Small Crystal Light plastic tubs make fantastic organizers for group activities. Adhere 4 or 5 tubs on a heavy duty paper plate using Super Glue, rubber cement or a hot glue gun. Use for group projects when students share beans, beads, colored rice etc. The plate catches any spills.

My favorite empty containers to use are baby wipe containers. I label the end with what's inside, and then use them to store all sorts of things: markers, crayons, colored pencils, staples, paper clips, tape, thumb tacks, ink cartridges, binder clips, book cards, book pockets, index cards, note pads, sticky notes, post cards, glue sticks, scissors, pencils, pens, sharpies, pencil erasers, pencil grips, file labels.... Well, I think you get the idea. The containers stack easily. My colleagues and students laughed at me at first, but some are jealous of how organized my supplies are kept. The only problem is that my youngest is now 4. So I buy baby wipes for the classroom, and then use the empty containers.~~ Kim Steele

 

Frosting containers without the lib can be attached to the corner of each student's desk with Velcro. The students can use the handy container to hold pencils, highlighter, scissors, erasers, etc... Students love them. As an art project students will add their own decor to their container.

 

I save burned CDs (they are not re-usable) to use in my geometry class. When we learn about circles and pi, we use round things to measure. They realize after a few different cases that the ratio of circumference (distance around the outside) is always the same to the diameter (distance across), regardless of how large or small the round thing is. The CDs give me another example of round things to use. I also use old C or D sized batteries and canned goods. sent by Paula in Texas

 

Kool-Aid, Crystal Light and frosting canisters are great to store classroom supplies such as rubber bands, paper clips, crayons for kids (crayon boxes usually tear and/or fall apart before September), number dices for games etc.. Students can even decorate and personalize the canisters.

 

Film plastic containers can be used to keep students' loose change for cafeteria, goodie sales, etc...

Film containers are the perfect size for 8 crayons, you can even place a pencil in the center of the crayons. The pencil makes it easier to pick up. This idea is great for group work or to be used in centers.

 

Household items are also very useful in the classroom, items such as boxes with dividers (like tackle boxes) is great for organizing anything that needs to be sorted - magnetic letters, manipulatives, etc.

 

Picnic utensil holders - have four small sides for forks, knives, etc and one big side for napkins. These can be used as supply caddies - the small spaces work great for crayons, map colors, scissors, etc and the large side for bottles of glue.

 

Plastic baskets are useful for sorting books in the library center.

 

Magnetic clips (like the ones that go on refrigerators to hold papers) are great to hold things on the whiteboard (which is magnetic) and to the sides of file cabinets.

 

Pant hangers (the kind with clips to hold the pants) are perfect for holding posters - several fit on one and you can put whichever poster you need in the front. 3M Command clips - the adhesive comes right off when you are done. If you have a closet you can also store bulletin board materials this way using the pant hangers. ~Ideas sent in by Elizabeth Blair

 

"Students Cheating?" glue two legal sized manila folders together and laminate. Students can use them to create a hubby area where other students can't copy off of them.

 

Looking for a way to get organized?

Classroom Ideas: Organizing

 

If you have any ideas for canister uses please email them to : Teacher's Zine