This blog entry is directed to my fellow TEFL Peace Corps Volunteers who have little resources to use in their classroom other than a textbook and workbook. Others are more than welcome to read it if so inclined.
One day when I could no longer fit another one in my kitchen drawer, I finally decided to put to use the beer, soda, and juice container discarded bottle caps (DBC’s) I had been saving (TEFL PCV’s rarely discard anything that may someday prove useful in a resource-less classroom).
To help some of the struggling students who were having trouble with the Latin alphabet, I took 26 of the DBC’s and drew one letter on each. The students thoroughly enjoyed the task of putting them in order while singing the Alphabet Song, or not, and they became somewhat proficient in the sounds of each letter.
This one small success led me to come up with a myriad of uses for the DCB’s. Of course I needed to renew my supply, so I conducted a contest among the 2 fifth and 2 sixth grade classes - the class that collected the most caps in one week would receive a batch of my famous homemade cookies. That alone inspired them to collect over 1400 multi-colored caps. Plus we had a lot of fun competing.
But rather than go on here and describe other ways I found to use the DBC’s in the classroom, at the top of this page, click on to My Photo Albums and open the album “Bottle Caps” where you will find annotated photos describing some of the ways we use the DCB’s with the students to reinforce what they have learned. I am sure you will find many more.
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