Skip to main content

It's a Mystery!

By



I strongly believe a Mystery Box is an essential item for any teacher teaching kids and teens. It can probably even be used for adults. I might just try it this semester since I do have an adult group on Saturdays. 
There are so many ways you can use this box that's why it's so useful. It can be used to introduce vocabulary or sentences on slips, for example, place words in the box that are connected to the unit topic, have each student come and with their eyes closed pick a word, read it aloud, and try to guess what the unit is about. You can write their guesses on the board and then see how close they got to the correct answer. You can place different objects in the box and slowly show parts of the object for students to guess. The answer to a question can be placed in the box and at the end of the class a student can read the answer to see if students answered correctly. People always love a little mystery so this box is a great way to engage students and bring an unexpected twist to your lesson plan.
Before I open the box, I always like to sing the Mystery Box song from Super Simple Songs and even use the box to beat the rhythm of the song.
I used a shoebox to make the Mystery Box in the picture but you can use any box and then just let your creativity run free.


 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Eggs, Easter, and Mr. Rabbit's Portrait

By
 It's chocolate time again! In Brazil, Easter means chocolate Easter eggs. Easter also brings to mind bunnies. Since we're still basically at home waiting to get vaccinated here, an Easter craft has to be made with something kids have at home, so egg cartons it is. Saw this with a range of different animals on Pinterest and thought I'd use it for a bunny Easter craft, so here's Mr. Rabbit's portrait. One of the good things about an egg carton is that it has some curves to it, which you can use for the rabbit's ears. I cut up a cereal box to use as the base, which is another thing kids will most likely have at home, of course, it can be any cardboard. I used markers to decorate the frame-like base. Let kids get creative here. I used hot glue just because I wanted everything to dry faster. I then painted the bunny white, waited for it to dry, and added the details with a black pen. The pink on the ears is also paint. I used a little bit of red and when it mixed wi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Easter Part 2

By
Here's one more craft I did with my 4th-graders. They dipped their fingers in paint to make the little bunnies or eggs. We did the paint one day and the next day after the paint was completely dry, they added the details and wrote "Happy Easter"!  We folded half of a craft paper in half so it could stand up on a table. I had told them they could use it to decorate their houses for the holiday. This was fast and easy.  
Post a Comment
Read more

My Best Shot

By
Back to school for our second semester. Of course, we talked about what the kids did on their vacation. We brainstormed everything people do while on vacation and put all their ideas on the board. Next, I asked them to think of one of their best moments and imagine they had taken a photo of it. Then, we folded half of a white sheet in half, they drew their cameras and on the inside they had to draw their "photo" and write a sentence about it using the past. The sentence had to start with, on my vacation I_____. Last, we added string to their cameras so they could hang it around their neck like a real photographer and each student got to present their work to the class.  
Post a Comment
Read more