Five Class Manipulatives from The Dollar Store

More often than not, it happens to me than when I visit the Dollar Store, I see tons of class manipulative ideas there. Around Thanksgiving time, we were invited to a “friends-giving” by our Colombian friends. I went to the Dollar store to pick up a few things to bring to the gathering, and my teacher brain made me buy  more items for the classroom than for the actual “fiends-giving.”

Let me begin by saying that this is not a sponsored post full of affiliates links. This is just an article that contains great ideas to do in your classroom with items from the Dollar store.

PVC Whisper phones

I bought these PVC elbows a while back when I was still teaching first grade. I use these PVC whisper phones during guided reading. As all students read their book and I confer with other readers, these come in handy for those students who cannot read silently yet.

Comprehension Gloves

These retelling gloves are perfect for guided reading as well. I made these a while ago, but now that I teach 2nd grade I would add a section for the lesson in the story, and character point of view.

I have them for non fiction too.

The kids really love wearing  these ones, they go back into the text to find evidence to support their answers, and to practice their reading strategies. They also give me a chance to model, model, model.

Book Talk Flowers

 

My students do a book talk when they finish reading a book and record themselves using Seesaw. These pinwheels flowers come from the Dollar Store as well. I put them, fiction and nonfiction, in a vase. They use the flowers to answer the standards-based question each petal, my favorite petal? Book recommendations.

The students pick a flower and answer the questions on the petals as they record themselves using our classroom iPads.

 

Circular Trays

These were the actual trays that I went to get from The Dollar Store for the “fiends-giving.”  When I was in line to pay at the register, I realized that they are perfect for sorting… but I also realized that they could be used as a learning map.

I have been using these trays for place value and number sense during BUILD math centers time. My students take a picture of their finished trays and send it to me via Seesaw. Easy Peasy!

They are so great to use during strategy groups time since we have been analyzing characters. Despereaux has been our favorite so far!

 

Cafeteria Lunch Trays

 

These lunch trays did not actually come from the convenience store. They are from my school cafeteria. However, you can find plastic ones at the store which are actually more practical because you can write on them using dry erase markers. My students really LOVE these hands-on number sense activities, they also get to practice many different standards while they are at it.

I surely do hope that you found some great manipulative ideas for your classroom. If you think about it, all of these activities can be adapted to your grade level standards.

Until next time!