I want to give a full disclaimer that this was not an original idea that I had. It started with one picture that I pinned from the above blog, followed by a super sweet deal on Amazon, and finally ended with the fact that I have a personal laminator in my house and I could not teach today because I have the stomach flu. =(
First, I saw the post from The Princess and the Tot on Pinterest. It showed a couple of different Mr./Mrs. Potato head bodies, a box of parts, and a stack of pictures of completed Potato Heads. It said "Following Picture Directions" and I thought, what a brilliant idea!
So, of course it was about 7am, and I just had to look on Amazon to see if there were any bulk lots of Mr. Potato Head parts I could buy. I did not find any, but I did find something pretty stinking cool.
This kit with carrying case, two mini potato bodies, and 19 other body parts was perfect for just $14.99. I ordered it, and yesterday I had fun playing with my new toy. Today though, it was all business.
If you're wondering how this fits into the Common Core Standards, "technical texts", specifically including directions, are a part of the Reading: Informational Text strand of the language arts standards. While this activity does not require reading, it meets the goals of interpreting directions for students who are not yet literate.
To start this project, you will need to unpackage all of the individually wrapped pieces in your Potato Head kit. If you buy the same kit I did, this takes a while... But I love toys, so I actually had a lot of fun with it!
Then, take your box of pieces and find a nice, clean, hard surface to work on. You want to avoid having too much clutter, because you have to take pictures of your creations!
At last, you get to play with the toys you bought! Make different creations and snap a photo of each one. Then, upload the photos onto your computer.
Once your photos are uploaded, print them and cut them out. I printed mine on 1/4 of a sheet of paper. This makes them big enough to see, but not too big to fit in the carrying case. If you have students with visual impairments or other specific needs, you know that and can plan accordingly!
I ran out of color ink today. =( So, my photos are black and white, but it is still easy to tell which body parts were used for each character.
After cutting out the individual character cards, I laminated them with my personal laminator. This laminator was a gift from some of my friends at church. It's incredible how well my friends know and understand my nerdiness. I really love it.
The final step is to cut out the laminated pictures and store them in the carrying case with all of the pieces.
I think that this is a great activity for the special population that I work with. For students who are not yet literate, or have very limited reading skills, this is a great way to practice using "technical texts" as required in the CCS. Also, this activity makes good independent work for students once they are taught how to use it.
That's all for today! Leave me your comments, and be sure to check out the original article on The Princess and the Tot, as well as the many other incredible learning center ideas she has posted!
-BusyLittleYellowBus
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