The Cricut Expressions die cut machine is a favorite “if only I could get one” classroom tool for teachers. Manufactured by Provo Craft, the die cut machine is typically used for scrapbooking and other crafts with its numerous features and accessories. In particular, the Classmate educational cartridges could help with the teaching job, and conserve money for schools in the long run.
Case in point would be the bulletin board usually found in the classroom. To enhance the boards, and draw student attention and awareness, the teachers typically have to buy expensive die cut decorations, or spend time carefully cutting out letters and pictures with scissors. With the Cricut Expression, the teachers can cut letters and many shapes in an array of sizes from a quarter of an inch to nearly twenty-four inches. The school bulletin board can be decorative and attention grabbing using colored paper or card stock, and the Cricut Expression.
The Classmate cartridges by Provo Craft are a marketing tool directed at educators. The Expression cuts basic letters and shape but with the addition of specific Classmate cartridges, teachers, especially teachers of younger children, have a new tool to assist with diverse subjects such as social studies, cursive writing, language, and phonics.
For instance, there is a 50 states cartridge with which teachers can do a cutout of each state. While nice for demonstration, using the shapes for students to “puzzle” together the United States turns it into a fun lesson for geography and social studies.
Another item in the Classmates line is the Word Builders cartridge. The teacher created puzzles from this cartridge can help teach phonetics, spelling and language. Students put the pieces together correctly to make words.
And this is just two examples of how the Cricut personal cutter could be used expressly to help teach. Teachers can let their own creativity dictate whether to use puzzles or some other type children’s game, adapted for classroom use, as the teaching aid for any particular subject. And teachers may choose to make prizes for the students, like stickers or bookmarks. The usefulness of the Cricut personal cutter in the classroom is only limited by the imagination.
Tags: craft cricut, die cut cricut