http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?

id=3751901
Hands-On Is Minds-On
Want to Engage Every Student? Break out the Old-Fashioned Scissors and Glue
By Samantha Cleaver
PRINTEMAIL


Second-grade teacher Becky Hicks has learned that there is no substitute for activities that
require kids to use their hands as well as their minds. During literacy hour in Hicks's class at
Blanchard Elementary School in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, students pair up and head to one of
16 "corners," or centers, to tackle hands-on vocabulary, reading, and math activities. In the
ABC corner, students thumb through clues to find mystery words. In the math corner, students
stack buttons, plastic fruit, and toy bugs to create graphs. And in the spelling corner, they
manipulate alphabet puzzle shapes to piece together vocabulary words.
In corners, Hicks's students practice what they know by playing teacher. "Look closely at the
clock's hands," one student says to her partner in her best teacher voice. "Which one shows
the hour, and which one shows the minutes?" Some explain their work to other students by
showing them how to move, group, or assemble objects. Concepts are explained through
tactile procedures, and skills are bolstered as children practice new ideas and test out theories.
Over the years, Hicks has noticed that her students are more engaged and focused when
they're working on hands-on projectseven those who fidget during large-group lessons. In
her classroom, Hicks has figured out what research has revealed: The best way to engage kids'
brains is by having them move their hands.

Busy Hands, Busy Brains
As students put projects together, create crafts, or use familiar materials in new ways, they're
constructing meaning. "Kids learn through all their senses," says Ben Mardell, PhD, a
researcher with Project Zero at Harvard University, "and they like to touch and manipulate
things." But more than simply moving materials around, hands-on activities activate kids'
brains. According to Cindy Middendorf, educational consultant and author of The Scholastic
Differentiated Instruction Plan Book (Scholastic, 2009), between the ages of four and seven,
the right side of the brain is developing and learning comes easily through visual and spatial
activities. The left hemisphere of the brainthe side that's involved in more analytical and
language skillsdevelops later, around ages 10 and 11.
When you combine activities that require movement, talking, and listening, it activates
multiple areas of the brain. "The more parts of your brain you use, the more likely you are to
retain information," says Judy Dodge, author of 25 Quick Formative Assessments for a
Differentiated Classroom (Scholastic, 2009). "If you're only listening, you're only activating one
part of the brain," she says, "but if you're drawing and explaining to a peer, then you're
making connections in the brain."
Multitasking in the classroom is not a negative when it comes to hands-on activities such as
coloring, scribbling, or cutting with scissors. Indeed, even adults benefit from the "busy hands,
busy brain" phenomenon: Recent research has shown that people who doodle during business
meetings have better memory recall. A report in the journal Applied Cognitive Psychology
demonstrated that volunteers who doodled during a dull verbal message were 29 percent
better at recalling details from the message. Researchers suggest that engaging in a simple
hands-on task, such as cutting out a shape with scissors, can help prevent daydreaming and
restlessness during a learning experience. If adults in business settings can benefit from
mnemonic tricks such as doodling, then students should certainly be encouraged to try these
strategies.

The Hands-On Classroom
Terri LaChance, a kindergarten teacher at Darcey School in Cheshire, Connecticut, uses hands-
on activities all day, every day, to let all her students shine. Currently, LaChance is teaching a
student who is a gifted artist but has poor language skills. He fidgets during large-group
activities but can spend hours drawing or building. LaChance nurtures his interest and talent
by allowing him to make projects; she recalls one day when he carefully constructed bird
beaks out of recycled materials, then gave them to other kids to wear in class. Through art
projects and play, LaChance has seen the student's language skills improve as he answers
questions about his creations and illustrations.
We know our students learn in many different ways: visual, auditory, tactile, kinesthetic, and
social. Still, says Dodge, most of us teach the way we're most comfortable, and that's not
necessarily the way our students learn. "It's a missed opportunity if we don't use the way that
a child learns best to hook them and get them excited about learning," says Dodge.
Hands-on projects obviously engage kids who are tactile or kinesthetic learners, who need
movement to learn best. They also engage students who are auditory learners, who talk about
what they're doing, and visual learners, who have the opportunity to see what everyone else is
creating. For social learners, the time spent in small group conversation will strengthen their
knowledge. Just as Hicks has found in her classroom, hands-on activities let students become
teachers. "When students explain and demonstrate skills to each other," says Sheldon
Horowitz, EdD, director of professional services for the National Center for Learning
Disabilities, "they are validating their understanding of the material being learned and, often in
ways that adults are less successful, helping their peers to build and master new skills.
Hands-on activities also lend themselves to authentic assessment and observation, says
Lanise Jacoby, a 2nd grade teacher at Pierce School in Arlington, Massachusetts, who observes
how well her students follow directions and use fine motor skills during center time. Next time
your students are working on a craft project or in centers, ask each student to quickly explain
what they're doing and why, as well as what they're learning along the way.

Endless Benefits
Using tools such as markers, scissors, and glue in hands-on projects also builds the fine motor
skills that children will need to use for functional activities throughout their lives. Simple tasks
such as buttoning, tying shoes, and using a key to open a lock all require manual precision. The
best way to build that precision is, of course, through practice.
Yet practice need not be dull and repetitive. Activities such as constructing a miniature city
out of recycled materials, or crafting a butterfly's life cycle using fabric scraps, not only help
kids strengthen their hands and minds -- they are also fun and engaging. The more arts and
crafts that teachers can bring into the classroom, the more opportunity they have to reach
every child in the room, from kids with sensory difficulties to those who need an extra
challenge in order to stay focused. Hands-on, creative, and artistic activities help students to
focus and retain knowledge, and at the same time emphasize the importance of beauty and
design in our world.

TIPS FOR USING TACTILE LEARNING
Here are more ways to increase the amount of time your students spend with their hands and
minds in motion:

Provide self-check materials: Hands-on activities naturally lend themselves to differentiation,
but Cindy Middendorf suggests adding in tools, such as number charts, for kids to use at each
center to help them work independently.
Include assessment: In addition to observing and asking students to talk about what they've
learned, teacher Becky Hicks has students record their center work and what they learned on
individual accountability sheets. Judy Dodge suggests creating flip books with a page for each
center so children can record what they learn at each station.
Keep kids moving: Dodge suggests using rotation stations that change every few minutes.
Some examples: an observation station where students peer at objects under a microscope;
an exploration station where students explore materials that you've just introduced; a
visualization station where students draw what they've learned; a collaboration station where
students talk about what they've learned; and a "ketchup and mustard" (catch-up and must-
do) station where students can make up work they didn't get to.
Move the materials: If you can't handle all the movement of center rotations, Dodge suggests
putting each activity and the necessary supplies in a basket. Then pass the baskets from table
to table instead of moving the students.
Group students by interest: Grouping students according to what they're interested in can
increase their engagement. "When you're in a small group, you have more air time," says Ben
Mardell, PhD, with Project Zero at Harvard University. "Kids can talk more and if you put a
group together based on interest, then you have kids who share a passion and they're more
involved in being there." Small groups also build accountability, as each child has to attend to
the activity for the product to come together.
Incorporate language: As students move into third grade and beyond, the amount of language
used in class will increase. Prepare them by incorporating speaking skills into your assessment
of tactile activities: Ask students to explain what they're doing and end some units with oral
presentations.
Adjust expectations: Kindergarten teacher Terri LaChance admits that during hands-on
activities, her classroom is louder. To manage the volume level, LaChance limits the number of
students in each activity to two