I have another Pinterest inspired DIY game for you! One of my most favorite blogs is Classroom DIY…they have so many great ideas! It is a collaborative blog, where several contributors do posts on DIY projects. I even found that they had a similar project for the cereal box files I had seen else where and shown y'all! Well when I pinned their post about DIY Shaker Games, I knew this was a project I wanted to tackle ASAP! It is like a discovery bottle, and students shake rice around to find the words. So here is my version…
Since Classroom DIY did a Synonym Shaker (you can download for free HERE), I wanted to do something different. I have gotten so many comments that from my readers that they are always looking for more irregular verb activities, so that is what I decided to go with! There are a lot of steps involved in this one, but I think it is totally worth it. First thing you need to do is dye the rice….
Gather up rice, vinegar (or alcohol), food coloring and a plastic baggy…I recommend the gallon size baggy! Put rice in the bag, add one tablespoon of vinegar/alcohol, and several drops of food coloring. Squish the bag around until all the rice is covered in color…if you have kids in your house, let them help! My son and I did this part together and we had a great time 🙂
After your rice is the color you want, lay it all out to dry. I let mine stay out overnight!
Then, I got busy on preparing the container… I used this Trop 50 container, which was the suggestion from Classroom DIY. I'm sure it would work with other clear bottles, but Trop 50 just happened to be on sale and this Pomegranate Blueberry juice is totally delicious 🙂 I washed the bottle out, pulled off the labels, and then used Goo Gone to get all the leftover gunk off. I let it dry overnight with the rice.
Next step was to prepare the verbs. I cut out all my words. I printed them in a table, with each word listed twice. I did this so I could fold them over and each card would be double-sided. This way, no matter which direction the word card is facing, your students can see the word cause it's on both sides. I also laminated each one for durability.
I also laminated the bottle labels, then used a glue gun to attach them to the bottle. Then I threw in my word cards and the rice. I recommend using a funnel…otherwise rice will get every where. Been there, done that 🙂 I filled it up about 2/3's of the way, so that there is room for the rice to move around. It was also suggested in the original to hot glue the top on so that you don't have a rice explosion…probably a good idea!
I think there are so many ways this could be used in therapy and I am excited to try it out! The basic principle is the kids can shake the bottle around to find the different words hidden in the rice. Once they find a word, they can:
- identify past or future tenses for each word in the shaker
- use the verb in a sentence in desired tense
- independent activities for sentence writing or verb sorting
You can download this freebie HERE, which includes labels, word cards, and a worksheet to complete with the shaker! Check it out and let me know what you think!
I also am going to make shakers for nouns and adjectives…you could also do articulation shakers, or even include objects in yours! What do you think? How else could you use this in your room?
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I L.O.V.E. this idea!!!! Such a cool way for the kids to learn!
I know right?!?! I tried it out today and they LOVE it!
I absolutely love your blog site, and have needed the “boost in the arm” to rejuvenate myself with some creativity!! You are awesome to share so many fantastic ideas! I am in the process of making this verb shaker–taking awhile for the inside to dry 🙂 but I can’t wait for it to be done. Thank you so much for sharing so much-school starting always leaves so little time to think creative for me 🙁 Julie
Thank you Julie! I am so happy to hear that you are finding it useful 🙂
Very cute! I saw the pin too…love your adaptation!!
Thanks Carrie!
So how does this work?
When I tried it out yesterday, I gave it to the student and he shook the bottle around to find the words (which he really liked!), put them in a sentence, and we talked about how you could change the word based on tense. I think this could be a group activity or independent and it is also very flexible, so you can make it work for you! Basically, just shake the bottle around and find the words!
You are awesome! This is just what I needed…now to go buy some Pomegranate Blueberry. 🙂 Thanks!
Thank you Stefani!!! Have fun with it 🙂
Totally doing this! This is so awesome and so fun!!
Woohoo! Hope your kids like it too 🙂
So I made this today, thank you, by the way! I am going to end up making two, one with pictures in it cause I found out i have some young mod-severe students. BUT, i wanted to share that if you make any more of these, you can bake the rice at 200 degrees so you don’t have to let it dry overnight. I get too excited and don’t want to wait that long. Depending on the size of your batches of rice, it should take like 5-15 minutes (mine took like 5-10 minutes a batch)
I’m so glad!!! I’d love to see it, post it on my FB page if you get a chance! I was also thinking of doing one with pictures…and maybe even objects. Lol, I totally appreciate the tip on the rice, I am also pretty impatient with that kind of thing. Thanks Meagan!!!
OOOH, objects! that would be fun also! I purchased some little bean bag typed things off of etsy a while ago that have a little window with clear-ish beads and little objects mixed in to find. Kind of reminds me of that!
I’ve done a version of this with objects in them and play a variation of “I spy” with it. There are objects like a die, plastic bugs, shell, screw, toy car, etc. I say, “Can you find something with spots? Can you find something you drive? Can you find something sharp?” etc so that I target features, functions, categories. Could also do basic labeling or articulation therapy with it. I like the idea of synonyms and verbs, too!
So I am in a gen. Ed classroom and used your idea with some modifications. I put different types of verbs in the shaker (action, helping etc). I also included a graphic organizer for students to use. They write the verb in the correct spot on the organizer, then they choose several verbs to write in sentences. I’m thinking of making another shaker with past and present tense verbs that students can search for and sort on their organizer. Thanks for the great idea.
L. Hill 4th grade teacher/Goodyear, AZ
I love hearing all the ways people are modifying…great ideas 🙂 Thank you for sharing!
This is awesome for my first graders who are working on irregular past tense! Thanks!
This is so FUN! Making this shaker this weekend!!
Great idea! I used it with adults and loved it. I uaually don´t teach children, but when it comes to fun, adults have lots of it. Thanks again for your great idea!!
I am currently a student in a SLPA program and I have found your techniques extremely helpful. You thoughts and ideas have helped me and I have used your concepts but tweek them into what needs to be focused on in therapy. Thank you!!
This entry has just given me some inspiration on how to conduct my classroom activity! Thank you so much! I wish I was as creative as you are.
good! will definitely try this for my incoming grade 1.. m so excited.. thank you so much!
I am looking foward to using this game with my year 1s.