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VariQuest Blog

The VariQuest Visual and Kinesthetic Learning Suite Blog contains resources on classroom ideas, lesson plans, industry news, events, and offers throughout education.

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Lessons/Activities/Templates | Student Engagement | Grade Level: Secondary (7-12) | Grade Level: Intermediate (3-6) | Featured Topics: Classroom Celebrations/Holidays | Academic Subject: Interdisciplinary | Featured Topics: Lessons and Activities | Academic Subject: Mathematics

[Lesson Plan] Pi Day Activities for Upper-Elementary and Middle School Students

By: VariQuest Visual and Kinesthetic Learning Suite
March 11th, 2024

Circumference, diameter, radius, apple, cherry, rhubarb?! "Pi Day" is celebrated annually on March 14th (Get it - 3.14?!) and we're here to help you celebrate! According to piday.org, the concept of celebrating Pi Day on March 14th was started by physicist Larry Shaw at San Francisco’s Exploratorium science museum in 1988, earning him the title "The Prince of Pi!" Every year there since, a circular parade features each person participating holding one digit in the number pi. In 2009, Congress passed Resolution 224, which designated March 14th as Pi Day hoping to cultivate a higher level of enthusiasm for math and science among American students. In this lesson plan, designed for students in upper-elementary and middle school grades and customizable for the needs of your classroom, students will work through activities coupled with printables to explore the concept of Pi. Created in partnership with Cathy Henry, educator and founder of The Curriculum Corner and Free Word Work, you'll explore common terms and discussion questions related to circles and spheres (and if-you-so-choose, tasty bakery treats!)

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Lessons/Activities/Templates | Special Education | English Language Learners (ELL) | Student Engagement | Academic Subject: English Language Arts | Featured Topics: Differentiated Instruction | VariQuest Tools: Perfecta 2400 | Academic Subject: Special Education | VariQuest Tools: Cold Laminator 2510 | Featured Topics: Lessons and Activities | VariQuest Tools: Perfecta 2400STP | VariQuest Tools: Perfecta 3600STP | VariQuest Resource Center | visual learning | classroom management | VariQuest Tools: Perfecta 2400PRO | Engage Every Learner Content

Teaching Visual Learners in Special Education

By: VariQuest Visual and Kinesthetic Learning Suite
February 22nd, 2024

According to Neil Fleming's popular "VARK" model of learning types/styles, there are 4 main learning styles - including visual, auditory, reading/writing, and kinesthetic. Other models list additional types including social, logical, solitary, musical, and combinations of any of these. Visual learners comprehend concepts best when there are visual aids to complement learning. Examples of this could include graphs, symbols, depictions, or otherwise. It's why we decorate our classrooms with vibrant anchor charts, conceptual reminders, and graphic examples! And because neurodivergent students typically learn better with visuals rather than relying on verbal, special education classrooms can benefit greatly from supplemental learning materials that complement teaching a wide range of concepts.

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How to Write a Grant eBook

How to Write a Grant eBook

This helpful guide includes an explanation of the grant process, including a checklist (with samples!), and useful links and resources to find funding!

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Lessons/Activities/Templates | Student Engagement | Grade Level: Intermediate (3-6) | Academic Subject: Interdisciplinary | Featured Topics: Lessons and Activities | Academic Subject: Mathematics | social-emotional learning | classroom management

[Lesson Plan] Menu Math for Grades 3-6

By: VariQuest Visual and Kinesthetic Learning Suite
February 1st, 2024

Real-world-application learning is where learning takes real flight! We're so proud when our students master a concept, but even more proud when they can apply it to their everyday lives. In this lesson plan, designed for students in grades 3-6 and created in partnership with Cathy Henry, educator and founder of The Curriculum Corner and Free Word Work, students will study, plan, and create their own restaurant menus based on their own family foods and cultural traditions - plus create and solve multi-step math problems in "running" their restaurant. They will use creativity, critical thinking, and communication skills - making this a very useful interdisciplinary activity!

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Lessons/Activities/Templates | Academic Subject: English Language Arts | Featured Topics: Classroom Celebrations/Holidays | Featured Topics: Lessons and Activities | Academic Subject: Mathematics

[Lesson Plan] Celebrate the Chinese New Year 2024!

By: VariQuest Visual and Kinesthetic Learning Suite
January 17th, 2024

Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, has been celebrated for thousands of years. It is one of the most important holidays widely celebrated in many Asian countries and territories including Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Korea, Thailand. Usually falling between January 21st and February 20th, this year's start of the 2024 Chinese New Year will occur on Saturday, February 10th, and is the Year of the Dragon. The celebration lasts for about 15 days. Gung Hay Fat Choy is a common Chinese New Year’s greeting in Chinese Cantonese, which means “wishing you great happiness and prosperity.” On Chinese New Year, the themes of happiness, wealth, longevity, luck and good fortune are celebrated. Some of the traditional celebrations include family gatherings, visiting friends and relatives (baai nin), exchanging “lucky money” contained in red envelopes (lai see), decorating homes with paper decorations and scrolls, lion dances, and fireworks. Chinese New Year is a special holiday to celebrate with your class while teaching them others’ cultures and comparing them to American traditions. We have updated our collection of fun, hands-on and Common Core-aligned lessons and activities, classroom decorations, and craft projects for this year's holiday so you can explore and enjoy with your class, and we want to share them with you!

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Lessons/Activities/Templates | Grade Level: Post-secondary (12+) | Grade Level: Primary (PK-2) | Grade Level: Secondary (7-12) | Grade Level: Intermediate (3-6) | Featured Topics: Classroom Celebrations/Holidays | VariQuest Tools: Cold Laminator 2510 | Featured Topics: Lessons and Activities | Featured Topics: Templates for FREE download | VariQuest Tools: Motiva 400 | Engage Every Learner Content

[Free Holiday Printables] You've Been SOCKED!

By: VariQuest Visual and Kinesthetic Learning Suite
December 5th, 2023

While everyone has different holiday traditions and celebrates this time of year in different ways - we can all agree that spreading kindness and joy is one of the best! We've put together some printables to do just that! Maybe you remember a time of doing "Secret Santa" - or maybe you've done "You've been BOO'd" during the fall months - this fun holiday activity for your classroom or school building is appropriately called, "You've been SOCKED!" For this activity, you'll put together door hangers and a fun little Christmas surprise (made more fun if it's an actual sock ;) ) and secretly deliver them to another classroom to hang on a door, or you can have students gift them amongst each other on lockers, cubbies, or desks. Inside the sock or delivered bag can be treats, prizes, or simply a hand-drawn card or picture - anything to spread a little cheer!

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Lessons/Activities/Templates | Featured Topics: Classroom Celebrations/Holidays | VariQuest Tools: Cold Laminator 2510 | Featured Topics: Lessons and Activities | VariQuest Tools: Motiva 400 | VariQuest Tools: Perfecta 2400STP | VariQuest Tools: Perfecta 3600STP | VariQuest Tools: Perfecta 2400PRO

[Downloads] Classroom Coloring Activities for Fall Holidays

By: VariQuest Visual and Kinesthetic Learning Suite
September 28th, 2023

When the season of fall arrives, you're celebrating being done with the first few weeks of the school year, and outside the colors of the environment are changing. What better way to celebrate the new season and fall holidays - than with coloring inside the classroom as well? We've put together some fun classroom activities for the fall season and holidays, to be used as class or group discussions, hallway displays, or just as coloring pages for bell-ringers or brain breaks. Download them free and put them in your calming corner or use them in your lessons - the possibilities are endless!

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Lessons/Activities/Templates | Special Education | English Language Learners (ELL) | Student Engagement | Grade Level: Primary (PK-2) | Academic Subject: English Language Arts | VariQuest Tools: Cutout Maker 1800 | Featured Topics: Student Engagement | Academic Subject: Science | Featured Topics: Lessons and Activities | Featured Topics: Templates for FREE download | Kinesthetic Learning

Printable Sensory Paths for Elementary Education

By: VariQuest Visual and Kinesthetic Learning Suite
August 30th, 2023

Sensory paths are not only fun for elementary education because they help get the wiggles out, but they help with learning too! At VariQuest®, we feel passionately about visual and kinesthetic learning - and a sensory path is a great way to get "a-movin' and a-groovin'" while learning something too! In partnership with Cathy Henry of The Curriculum Corner, we've put together not only printables to build your own sensory path(s) on your school floors, but paired them with lesson plan activities to teach common curriculum-based concepts. Check out and download these great booklets, featured below!

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Lessons/Activities/Templates | Student Engagement | Grade Level: Primary (PK-2) | Grade Level: Secondary (7-12) | Grade Level: Intermediate (3-6) | Featured Topics: Lessons and Activities | social-emotional learning | classroom management

[Lesson Plan] Building Community With Kindness

By: VariQuest Visual and Kinesthetic Learning Suite
August 16th, 2023

In the 1960s, The Beach Boys scored a hit with the song, Be True to Your School about being proud of the school you go to and defending it to others. Are you proud of the school you represent? School pride might come from belonging to a group, or defending your choice to go there, but pride can run deep within the culture. When you build a culture of kindness, you're building a community of pride stemming from everyone feeling safe, involved, and supported. With this in mind, we partnered with Cathy Henry, educator and founder of The Curriculum Corner and Free Word Work, to create this Building Community With Kindness Lesson Plan for K-8 teachers. It is designed to help students and staff work together to build classrooms of individuals that strive to help others and spread kindness throughout their schools and communities.

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Lessons/Activities/Templates | Perfecta | Student Engagement | Academic Subject: English Language Arts | Grade Level: Secondary (7-12) | Grade Level: Intermediate (3-6) | Featured Topics: Industry News and Trends | VariQuest Tools: Design Center Software | Featured Topics: Student Engagement | Featured Topics: Lessons and Activities | VariQuest Tools: Perfecta 2400STP | VariQuest Tools: Perfecta 3600STP | VariQuest Tools: Perfecta 2400PRO | Engage Every Learner Content

Writing Prompts for Students: Using ChatGPT

By: VariQuest Visual and Kinesthetic Learning Suite
June 22nd, 2023

You can't escape reading about Artificial Intelligence (AI) advancements and how they are changing the world every day. From self-driving cars to robotics to digital assistants and language processing tools, technology is quickly infiltrating every aspect of our lives that our minds used to control themselves. How long can you go without utilizing the technology to ease tasks in your day? "Hey Google, ______" And this means that our children and students are using the technology, too - and are probably better at it! Growing up with the instant gratification of using a search engine to find an answer and asking Alexa to play any song in the world, it's no wonder they're using the tools in their immediate toolbox to "learn" and get things in the quickest and easiest ways. BUT...what does that mean in terms of cultivating critical thinking in the classroom?

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Lessons/Activities/Templates | Featured Topics: Lessons and Activities | VariQuest Tools: Motiva 400 | social-emotional learning | free posters | classroom management

[Printable] Don't Keep it Bottled Up Compliment Cards

By: VariQuest Visual and Kinesthetic Learning Suite
May 17th, 2023

What does a compliment cost? Nothing! When you give someone a compliment, not only are you making them feel better, you get a little happiness boost from the good deed as well. Teaching our students about spreading kindness is an invaluable life lesson, and this activity is an easy, fun way to do it!

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