RAFT Hands-On Education

Did you know that each year on December 4 th in the United States people observe National Dice Day?  Many games use dice as a way to add random challenges by generating numbers from a toss of the dice. The value of the toss is determined by the uppermost face of the die after it has come to rest.             Dice are used as  gambling  devices for games like Craps and are also used in non-gambling  tabletop games. Dice are often used in board games to decide the distance a playing piece will move on the board.  Backgammon and Monopoly are two such board games that use dice.           A traditional die is a  cube , with each of its six faces showing a different number of dots ( pips ) from 1 to 6. When thrown or rolled, the die comes to rest showing on its upper surface a random integer from one to six, each value being equally likely. A variety of similar ...

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and this is an excellent time in the school year to take a moment and reflect on the teachers and students for whom you are grateful! Thanksgiving is a holiday that reminds us to stop and think about the people in our lives who have made a significant impression, who have inspired us to go further, and who have helped you embrace new challenges without fear of failure! In many ways, these people are the teachers and students we’ve met in our lives, which includes YOU, our devoted RAFT educators! Take time to think about this: who are the teachers and students you’re grateful for? To me, in a way, we are all teachers in some capacity when we care about another person and want to help them positively learn something. I remember my kinder teacher, Ms. Lamb, and my second-grade teacher, Mrs. Turturici, who encouraged a timid little girl to be whatever she wanted to be. And that little girl was me! I thank them for their patience and persistence...

What do math and music have in common?  Numbers tell us a lot about music! Math explains why notes sound higher than others, why instruments look the way they  are, and why some sounds are more pleasing to the ear than others. Math and music  are universal languages and use patterns to convey meaning! On November 3rd, at this year’s Marion Cilker Conference at SJSU, RAFT’s  Education Team’s Jeanne Lazzarini and Dianne Hurvitz co-presented “Harmonizing  with STEAM Standards” on that very subject in front of enthusiastic SJSU students!  Participants tackled a Design Challenge creating music collaboratively out of recycled  materials and making connections with mathematics! This challenge also introduced  other opportunities for cross-disciplinary STEAM lessons in literature, technology,  engineering, and science! How can you generate curiosity about music and math Watch this fantastic YouTube video with your students : Landfill Harmon...

By Betty Klem  I'd like to share some of my favorite basic recipes for sensory activities that explore materials and the way they behave and react.  All of these are tried and true.  There are many newer recipes for potions and doughs. Playdough This is the standard for playdough and should be available in all early childhood settings.  The basic recipe is: ·          4 C flour ·          2 C salt ·          8 Tbsp. Cream of Tartar ·          4 Tbsp oil ·          4 C warm Water Mix ingredients in a large pot.  The mixture will be runny.  Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, at medium heat until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan and is the consistency you want.  Knead.  There are many variations on playdough.  T...

By Jeanne Lazzarini, RAFT Math Activity Developer & Mentor, and the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics, NCTM Create a classroom that engages you and your kids. Make your room a place that you like be in.  Some suggestions include: Fill your classroom with examples of the real world. Dedicate a bulletin board to certain topics. Include a “Problem of the Week.” Create a center including puzzles, thinking games, and manipulatives that could be explored by students. Develop a plan to connect with parents. Provide parents with a welcome letter followed by monthly newsletters that include a brief overview of topics their children will be learning about in the coming month. For the younger grades, a take-home “manipulative of the month” made out of sheets of craft foam or other inexpensive material could also be shared. Suggest activities for parents to do at home to reinforce the concepts and activities that the students are investigating in...

Twelve STEAM Innovation Leaders from the Campbell Unified School District (CUSD) came to RAFT earlier this month to create new motivational activities for the start of the school year!  They met in grade-level teams with our RAFT Education staff to generate new ideas using RAFT materials that will motivate, challenge, and inspire their students. Each team was given a RAFT Makerspace-in-a-Box containing a wide variety of upcycled materials. They were asked to create a Design Challenge that directed students to solve the instructor’s challenge with the materials from the box. The Design Challenges addressed an engineering standard appropriate for each grade level and could include standards from other subjects. Here are some of their exciting back-to-school ideas: ************************************************************************************* Grades TK – 2 Engineering Standard: K-2-ETS1-1:  Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situa...

RAFT does not carry these glasses, but you do not need to look at the sun to enjoy the experience of a solar eclipse. As you may know the Bay Area will see about 75% of the eclipse on Monday, August 21. The eclipse will be at its fullest at approximately 10:15 that morning. We are hoping there will not be any cloud cover! Even if there are overcast skies, students will be able to observe the darkening effect in the sky. If the sun is shining, you can do activities with your students such as observing the rays cast by the sun on a plain surface, holding up a piece of peg board, a colander, or anything with round holes in it. Students will see tiny images of the eclipsed sun without having to look up into the sky. They can also observe other shadows and images of the sun’s rays coming through leaves on a tree or shrub, or even used their own hands, fingers splayed and over-crossed, to observe these images. If possible, have your students do the same activities at the same time of day ...