If any of you are like me, at this time of year your budget is depleted and you are cleaning out your classroom and purging any items you no longer need. While I was purging and putting away new office supplies for next year, I came across some items that I thought would be great for independent work tasks.
My students love mini M & M's! And I love the container they come in! They are perfect to recycle and use for a simple put in task. For this one, I used pom poms.
For this task, I used the plastic tray that some paper clips came in. Perfect for sorting big and little items!
For these tasks, I used all of my empty Altoid tins. I have a slight addiction to these mints and saved the tins, thinking I could use them for something! To make these, I made some matching templates, printed them on sticker paper and adhered them to the tins. Then I put the magnets on the lid and voila! Simple matching activities!
There you have it! Simple independent work tasks using recyclable items from your classroom!
As a bonus I have to share these colour sorting tasks using shot glasses! Yes, you heard me, shot glasses! With all the summer parties that will be happening, the Dollar Tree has these fun coloured shot glasses to help you with your entertaining needs. Now, most people will buy these with alcohol in mind, but when I saw them, I immediately thought of sorting colours! I know, I know, what a nerd!!! But seriously, they come with 24 cups in a package, which means I can make 24 separate sorting tasks for around $5!!!
Why would I want 24 colour sorting tasks? Well, because my classroom model is based on success in the inclusive classroom, I have many students come to my classroom for only a short period of time. When they leave, they take teaching materials with them, including independent work tasks. Which means, I need to have a lot of materials to make these. So, I love it when I find items like this! It stretches my budgets and my students get the benefit of having them when they transition to their home schools!
Well, that's it! I hope that these tasks have inspired you to keep some of your recyclables and use them to make teaching materials rather than put them in the recycle box! Have you made any teaching items from recyclables? I'd love to hear from you! And you are looking for more ideas on independent work tasks, head over to the Autism Classroom News blog!
Until next time,
Thanks so much for linking up!
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