Quick Win Strategies: 15-Minute Differentiation Tips for Busy Teachers
Differentiation doesn’t have to be difficult As a teacher, your to-do list is endless. From lesson planning to grading and
Welcome to Week 4 of Quaranteaching! We are getting ready to celebrate Easter on Sunday. We should have been making plans to leave our town right after Sunday’s service to head to my dad and step-mom’s house for an Easter meal. But Covid-19 had other plans, so we are staying home. But that didn’t stop them from sending my daughter an Easter basket filled with goodies- including PEEPS.
I need to know: are you team PEEP or not? Apparently, these sweet treats are very divisive; you love them or you hate them. Parker loves them, but they are super sugary, so we don’t let her eat many. What to do with the left overs?
Well, since we are learning at home, I decided to turn them into a science experiment. I’d heard of “marshmallow dough” before, but I’d never tried making it. However, what are peeps other than marshmallows coated in sugar?
We began our experiment by examining the peeps “before.” What did they feel like? Taste like? We squished those little chicks and got sticky marshmallow all over our hands. We tasted them (basically straight up sugar). What did we think would happen when we heated them up to start making our dough? We documented everything and wrote out our hypothesis on our investigation report. Then it was time to experiment.
We heated the marshmallows, added the other ingredients, and combined everything to make a dough that was a consistency somewhere between slime and play dough. We examined the dough again to check out the changes. How did it feel now? How did it TASTE now? We wrote down our new findings and compared the two states of the peeps.
You can download the forms we used from my Teachers Pay Teachers store here!
My daughter loved stretching out the dough and putting it inside the plastic eggs to shape. If it got a little sticky, we just dusted it with a little extra cornstarch. Helpful hint: your hands need to be COMPLETELY DRY to play with this dough. After she was done playing with it, I wasn’t sure how well it would keep. But like the good scientists we now are, we experimented! We put it in a zipper-seal bag in the fridge. The next day, it was very hard, but the more we worked with it and the warmer it got, the more malleable it became. For our next batch, I think we’ll leave the bag on the counter. Since it’s made from marshmallows, it won’t last for very long. But with it being Easter season, especially this close to the end of the season, they are easy to find to make more (especially after Sunday when they go on sale)!
Save the image below for the recipe!
We had the best time experimenting and playing with our food! It’s been so much fun coming up with academic, engaging activities with things we already have at home. And I’m definitely saving this idea to do in the classroom next year! Until then, I’ll soak up every extra moment at home.
Stay safe!
I get it. You’re a busy teacher with a busy life. You know that true instruction isn’t “one-size-fits-all,” but planning a lesson to meet all the needs of your diverse learners seems daunting and time consuming.
I’ve compiled a list of over 25 ways you can start differentiating instruction in your classroom RIGHT NOW. Sign up to download my differentiation checklist and get ready to become a differentiation rock star!
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