Education Resources Blog

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 | 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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Student Engagement | VariQuest Tools: Cutout Maker 1800 | VariQuest Tools: Perfecta 2400STP | VariQuest Tools: Perfecta 3600STP | visual learning | VariQuest Tools: Perfecta 2400PRO

Benefits of Visualization Tools in Learning

By: VariQuest Visual and Kinesthetic Learning Suite
April 18th, 2023

Through the use of various digital tools that promote the process of visual learning, teachers are changing the way knowledge is conveyed to students. This type of learning makes the delivery of knowledge a truly fun and engaging experience for the learner. At VariQuest, we offer visual machine learning tools that are able to change the way your educational and learning environment operates.

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Lessons/Activities/Templates | Student Engagement | Grade Level: Primary (PK-2) | Grade Level: Intermediate (3-6) | Featured Topics: Classroom Celebrations/Holidays | Featured Topics: Lessons and Activities | classroom management

[Download] 100th Day of School Activities for Elementary Teachers

By: VariQuest Visual and Kinesthetic Learning Suite
January 27th, 2023

As an elementary teacher, when you reach that 100th Day of School, you may be thinking about it being the halfway point in the year, as well as a good time to reevaluate and set new goals for the remainder of the classroom days with your current students. But reaching that halfway point - also deserves a celebration! Often students will be asked to bring 100 of something, complete a scavenger hunt, make shirts, or otherwise to commemorate the event - but because we at VariQuest want you to have endless options in your toolbox, we've come up with a few more ideas - and we'd like to share them with you.

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Lessons/Activities/Templates | Special Education | Student Engagement | Grade Level: Primary (PK-2) | VariQuest Tools: Cutout Maker 1800 | Featured Topics: Student Engagement | Academic Subject: Special Education | Featured Topics: Lessons and Activities | VariQuest Tools: Motiva 400 | VariQuest Tools: Perfecta 2400STP | VariQuest Tools: Perfecta 3600STP

[Download] Sensory Path for Elementary Students: Dinosaur Discovery

By: VariQuest Visual and Kinesthetic Learning Suite
January 18th, 2023

Whether students are learning by doing or learning while doing, keeping them engaged during a lesson provides for maximum learning potential. And what kid doesn't love learning about dinosaurs? Enter our latest sensory path for elementary students: Dinosaur Discovery. Designed for grades K-3 and special education, this sensory path combines learning about dinosaurs with writing and reading activities to incorporate English Language Arts (ELA) with science for a truly engaging and fun activity. Increased focus and expended energy are just two of the benefits of a sensory path - but they can also be a great break from traditional instruction. Using this free downloadable activity kit, you'll have all the resources, printables, and tips you'll need to carry out and try this lesson in your classroom!

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

[Lesson Plan] How Big is My Problem? A Lesson Plan for Elementary Teachers

By: VariQuest Visual and Kinesthetic Learning Suite
December 8th, 2022

Reflecting on, and regulating emotions is a life-long learning process. Even as adults in the age of discussing the "Karens" - we all need to remember to take a moment to stop and think about how we're going to react to a problem, before our reaction becomes the problem. In an elementary classroom with lots of different personalities and energy levels, students may be working on the lines between "tattle-tale", needing an adult to help, or critical thinking to calmly solve problems on their own. In this realm of social-emotional learning, we've once again partnered with Cathy Henry, educator and founder of The Curriculum Corner and Free Word Work, to create this How Big is My Problem? lesson plan for elementary teachers to help students look at problems and regulate how they would (or should) react. By encouraging thoughtful reflection and practicing scenarios, students can begin to see how things might upset themselves and others, and how they can find their own solutions to many everyday issues.

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