Submitted by Louise Eddington, Muncie, Indiana
Idea posted March 15, 2005
I took 12 empty film canisters (the black ones you can't see through) and filled two at a time with the same fillings. I used six different fillings, making a total of six matching pairs. I super-glued them shut and put little stickers on the bottom so I would know quickly and easily which ones matched. This activity was part of a remediation program (see Idea Bank for "Auditory Remediation Program") I did to help kindergartners and first graders who have difficulty responding to auditory cues. The child's job was to find the two canisters that matched until they had all six pairs matched up. Some examples were dead-give-away easy, and some were more difficult. For the fillings I used: a red rubber rectangular eraser cut in half (a nice "clunk" sound), one tiny jingle bell in each for another pair, tiny buttons, tiny screws, rice, beans, or whatever. It was a very good listening exercise, and the kids liked it!