Nov. 27, 2024
Each month we will be highlighting a #MashoftheMonth, focusing on a tool or application within the Mash Suite and how it can be used within the classroom to support learning across the curriculum. This month our Mash of the Month is the brand new Builders Tray! If you share how you have used the #MashoftheMonth, you will be entered into a draw to win a 2Simple Goody Bag!
Builders Tray is an online 'messy tray' for children to use to explore, play and experiment with - just like they would with the real thing!
There are many different ways to use Builders Tray, including small world creation, number, grapheme and phoneme recognition, counting, mark making... and so many more.
To make it extra easy, there are 6 ready-made trays for you to start with, that you can select from when you open the app.
Develop children's Literacy and Communication and Language skills with Builders Tray. Builders Tray is a great way to create, tell and retell stories using the different materials and objects. Teachers are also able to set up small worlds linked to their class topic, or the story they are currently reading. This enables children to explore the topic or story at a greater depth.
Children can also practise phoneme and grapheme recognition with the letters provided. Why not create trays for different sounds, just like the preset sounds tray? Another great activity would be upper and lower case letter matching, where children drag the letters to the correct part of the tray, along with an object that starts with that letter. If the material used is paper, they can also copy the letter with pencil, pen or chalk.
In maths, there are many activities that could be set up. Use the custard or shaving foam as fun ways for children to practise their number writing - this can be done using a touchscreen, tablet pencil, trackpad or even a mouse!
One of the preset activities is counting, where children place the correct amount of counters under the number. This could also be reversed, with the counters already present, and children needing to find the number - a great activity for subitising.
Number bonds can also be practised by splitting the tray in two, adding counters (or other objects) on one side, and asking children to put the amount of counters on the other side that would equal ten.
Another of the presets is pattern making, and of course many different patterns can be created with the different objects.
Builders Tray encourages children to explore the different textures of materials and the objects in different ways. Children have the opportunity to name and draw animals, plants and other natural objects - the Under the Sea preset tray is great for this, but there are other materials and objects you can use to set up your own.