Using Pouch Tops in the Classroom

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So you have been saving those tops from applesauce or baby food pouches, because, lets face it, you are a teacher and you do not throw ANYTHING away if it MIGHT be useful... right?  So now you have a little collection started and you are wondering, "What in the world can I do with all these colorful pouch tops?!"  This post strives to give you several fun and engaging ideas to use these tops in your classroom.


Counters
These pouch tops make excellent counters for math, especially when learning to count or recognize numbers 1-20.  (Counting Mats 1-10 and Counting Mats 11-20)



Patterns
Create patterns or use pattern cards to complete patterns with these pouch tops!  You can get a set of pattern cards for FREE here ---> Pouch Top Printables



Building A Pyramid



Build A Tower



Color Sorting
Give students different colored tops and have them sort the tops according to color.  You can let them group the tops on their own or give them colored paper or bowls to place the tops on.



Art

Use the pouch tops to create colorful "dot" pictures!  The flower template can be found for FREE in my Pouch Top Activity Packet!  Students can create any picture they like or you can have them make a picture a according to a mat.



Build Letters and Numbers
You can have students build the letters and numbers using pouch tops as well!  You can get letter and number templates in this packet --> Alphabet and Number Mats



Addition/Subtraction Manipulatives
Use these pouch tops to aid students in learning basic addition and subtraction.  Use a number bond mat to place the counters on while solving the problems. The addition cards in the photo can be found here:  Self Checking Addition Cards  You can click HERE is watch a video of this in action!



Graphing

Give the students a set of tops and have them graph the number of each color top they have.






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Comments

  1. juliecSeptember 25, 2018 at 11:01 PM

    We save these too!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anna,January 6, 2023 at 6:58 PM

    When I first saw them.i realise they could be used in the classroom for different purposes so I started my collection. Today I have quite a few bottles filled . The children liked using them too.

    ReplyDelete

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