"HANDY" IDEAS

Okeedookee!  This is the last day I'm going to talk about graphic organizers, but I hope you've gleaned a few ways to use them to put "pictures" in your students' brains and to use them instead of a worksheet.  

What child doesn't like to have you trace around their hand?  But did you realize that children's hands could also be used as learning tools?

Hand of Thought 
Children trace around their hand. They put the main idea of the story on the hand with supporting details on the fingers.

Children write the title of the story on the hand with “Who?” “What?” “Where?” “When?” “Why?” on the fingers.

Children write a number on the palm and things that equal that amount on the fingers.

Children write their name in the middle and 5 tasks they need to complete that day.

“Five”ness and “Ten”ness
Trace around children’s hands on cardstock and cut out. Glue the palm to another sheet of paper so the fingers can bend up and down as shown.
*Let younger children use five fingers to count or do finger plays.

*Older children can use two hands for addition and subtraction.

*Do you know how to multiply by nine using fingers?  The fingers on the right will represent tens and the ones on the right will represent ones.
1 x 9 = 9  (Put down left pinky and 9 ones will remain.)
2 x 9 = 18  (Put down second finger on left and you'll have one ten and eight ones.)
3 x 9 = 27  (Put down third finger and you'll have two tens and seven ones.)