Subtraction strip board
description: View item in the U of T Libraries catalogue The Subtraction strip board provides a way to practice using equations of the subtraction tables 1-18. Natural wooden strips corresponding in length to the squares 1-18 are used to indicate the number to subtract from (minuend) and 1 set of blue strips used to subtract with (subtrahend). A set of red strips is included for further explorations.
identifier: CR 513.212 S942

Large bead frame
description: View item in the U of T Libraries catalogue The Large bead frame is used for the decimal system exercises of multiplication.
identifier: CR 513.213 L322

Sorting rings
description: View item in the U of T Libraries catalogue Collapsible rings measure 51 cm (20 in) in diameter when expanded. Set contains two red, two blue, and two yellow rings.
identifier: CR 511.32 S715 OVERSIZE

Power of two cube
description: View item in the U of T Libraries catalogue "This material demonstrates the Power Of Two by its component parts of cubes and prisms, each a progression of squaring the previous piece. It is contained in a hinged wooden box with lid."--Vendor's website.
identifier: CR 512.922 P887

Binomial cube
description: View item in the U of T Libraries catalogue "The Binomial Cube is a concrete representation of the algebraic formula (a + b)³. The factors of the equation are represented by cubes and prisms. The elementary Montessori child uses the Binomial Cube as an activity of algebraic exploration. Contained in a hinged wooden box with lid."--Vendor website.
identifier: CR 512 B614

Small square root board
description: View item in the U of T Libraries catalogue The Small Square Root Board is used by the children to build squares and to extract square roots. The wooden board contains 225 indentations for working square roots. Included with the board is a box of 100 each green, blue and red beads
identifier: CR 513.23 S635

Manipulative kit for light table
description: View item in the U of T Libraries catalogue Transforms the light table into a learning center for children to sort, pattern, graph, estimate, create words and more. Alphabet overhead tiles are colour-coded and are compatible with Reading Rods. Set includes one, custom-designed clear vinyl tray complete with 10 vinyl work mats and 257 translucent/transparent manipulative components and teacher guide entitled "Math and literacy activities for light table work mats."
identifier: CR 510 M278 OVERSIZE

Replogle lunar globe
description: View item in the U of T Libraries catalogue Throughout history, humans have been fascinated by the moon, the Earth’s only permanent natural satellite. They have tried to understand the moon through literature, astronomy, philosophy, mathematics, and religion. The Replogle Lunar Globe offers students a chance to learn about the moon by looking closely at its craters, mountain ranges, and seas. These geographical features are shaded in order to depict the relief of the moon’s surface. The names of the lunar features are based on research and mapping carried out by researchers at the American Space Agency, NASA. The 12” globe rests on a clear plastic cradle, making it ideal for in-class presentations. It can easily be removed from the cradle, enabling students to study its features and important locations such as landing sites in greater detail. The lunar globe is an ideal teaching resource for science classes.
identifier: CR 523.30223 R425

Prism set: equilateral prisms 6"
description: View item in the U of T Libraries catalogue Why not take advantage of a bright sunny day to teach your students about the way light travels, refracts, and reflects? Using the United Prism Set you can easily create classroom activities that are as beautiful as they are scientific and informative. The Prism Set contains six acrylic prisms in five different shapes, including an equilateral prism, a rectangular block, a semi-circular block, as well as concave and convex lenses. The accompanying teaching guide gives sample activities as well as a short history on the study of light to aid in your lessons. Using the prism set, ask your students to make inferences about how a double concave lens refracts light, to hypothesize what path light will take traveling through a rectangular prism, and to investigate what happens during magnification with a rounded prism. Through classroom discussion of the operations of geometry, the changes in density, and the nature of light, your students will learn the science behind their magical interactions with the colourful rays. These prisms are a great addition to grade 4 science classrooms, when properties of light are introduced, as well as in grade 10 classes, where optics is explored in greater depth. If you’re interested in finding more ways to use these prisms, the OISE Library has several books of experiments. Consider checking out The Optics Book: Fun Experiments with Light, Vision & Colour, Making Light Work: The Science of Optics, or Physics for Kids: 49 Easy Experiments with Optics for a wealth of innovative ideas. The Prism Set is currently on display on the ground floor of the OISE Library, next to the Circulation Desk. Looking for more kits about physics? You can search our collections in the OISE Library K-12 Manipulatives Database! For more activity kits about light, colour, and optics, check out the Colour & Light Discovery Kit, the Light and Illusion Interactive Guide to Optical Tricks, and the United Prism Set. Cautio…
identifier: CR 535.324 P959

Iron filings
description: View item in the U of T Libraries catalogue Demonstrate the principles of magnetic force with iron filings. The Iron Filings activity kit can be a useful addition to physical science instruction that introduces primary-level students to magnetic behaviors such as attraction and repulsion. The extremely fine and smooth iron filings form intricate patterns in response to magnets. The iron filings are encased in five clear plastic blocks so that students can explore magnetism hands-on, without making a mess. Each block is 3” long x 2” wide. The kit does not include magnets. However a number of magnets are available in the OISE Library K-12 Manipulatives collection. Magnet Magic includes bar magnets, ring magnets, and marble magnets. The Magnetic Wand Activity Kit comes with magnetic wands and magnetic marbles. Consider supplementing the Iron Filings kit with elementary-level study and teaching books about magnetism. Magnets includes projects and activities that offer an overview of magnetism. The Science Book of Magnets includes several experiments about magnetism.
identifier: CR 538 I712

Snap circuits Jr.
description: View item in the U of T Libraries catalogue The Snap Circuits Jr. kit by Elenco offers a fun and engaging way to learn the basics of electronics by building electrical circuits. No additional tools or equipment necessary! Each of the kit’s 30 electrical parts snap onto each other as well as the plastic backing sheet to allow you to easily construct working circuits. Use the simple-to-follow directions in the provided manual to build over 100 projects, such as the Flying Saucer, the Pencil Alarm, and the Spinning Rings. After you’ve built all of the provided projects, why not experiment and try creating your own circuits?
identifier: CR 621.3815 S669 OVERSIZE

Motors & generators
description: View item in the U of T Libraries catalogue Ever wondered how electricity is generated? Want to understand how motors work? Interested in building your own hand-crank motor? The Motors & Generators activity kit by Thames & Kosmos contains 25 different experiments to help children learn how simple electric motors and generators work. The Experiment Manual has instructions for building a wide array of electrical devices, including transmissions, circuits and conductors, motors, and generators! Each type of device is accompanied by a section in the manual explaining the hows and whys of the concept. The manual also contains experiments with magnetism and instructions on how to build a compass. This kit would be an excellent addition to science lessons about electricity, such as the grade 6 unit on electricity and electrical devices in the Ontario curriculum.
identifier: CR 621.3192 M919 OVERSIZE

Image reflector geometry
description: View item in the U of T Libraries catalogue Designed to provide students with lessons that use the Image reflector to develop geometric- and spatial-reasoning skills. The book has chapters on images and reflections, congruence, symmetry, image movement, geometric constructions, and area.
identifier: CR 516 W899i OVERSIZE

DNA activity model
description: View item in the U of T Libraries catalogue The DNA Activity Model kit is useful for making learning about the components of DNA hands-on and visual for students from grades 7-12. This 3-D double helix model can be put on display in class for reference throughout lessons on topics such as nucleotide structure, DNA structure, complementary base pairing, and genetic coding. The kit contains 12 base pairs, 2 single DNA strands (rubber straps), a metal base for the model to stand on, and a teacher’s guide. The teacher’s guide provides a brief description of background information on DNA and explains how the model should be assembled. It also provides suggested discussion questions, assessment activities, and cross-curricular connections related to the DNA model. The model and teacher’s guide is a great starting place for teachers to introduce the topic of DNA, and encourage a deeper understanding of its real-world connections. By using this model a teacher can provide their students with a visual reference tool for understanding DNA.
identifier: CR 572.86 D6293 OVERSIZE

Tree biodiversity kit
description: View item in the U of T Libraries catalogue The Tree Biodiversity Kit allows student to get hands on, learning about North American tree species and how climate effects tree growth. The kit includes six tree rounds, consisting of oak, basswood, walnut, ash, white pine, and red pine. Magnifying glasses, rulers, and push pins are also included to aid students in making observations about the tree rounds and identifying the individual tree species. Ideal for use in a secondary school Science or Environmental Science class, the kit includes both teacher and student guides that scaffolds students completion of the tree species identification activity. The kit’s focus on both species identification and climate markers means that it would easily fulfil Ontario Curriculum for Grade 9 and 10 Science which requires students to “analyse different sources of scientific data (e.g., lake cores, tree rings, fossils and preserved organisms, ice cores) for evidence of natural climate change and climate change influenced by human activity.” Teachers and teacher candidates planning lessons about trees and ecology might also be interested in the Conifers of Ontario: Notes for Teachers Identification Keys for Students by W.A. Andrews. Conifers of Ontario offers guidance for designing a conifer tree (commonly know as evergreens) identification activities, book features lessons designed for grade 3-4 students and the grade 10 level. Younger students might benefit from Curriculum Resources books such as Leaf Hunter by Marie-Claire La Flair, A Tree is Growing written by Arthur Dorros and illustrated by S.D. Schindler, and Trees are Terrific! published by the National Wildlife Federation. These works feature information and activities relating to trees, biodiversity, and ecology appropriate for elementary school students.
identifier: CR 582.1603 T786 OVERSIZE

The human eye model
description: View item in the U of T Libraries catalogue Have a closer look at what’s inside the human eye. The Human Eye Model is about 5 times life-size for hands-on exploration. It can be disassembled into 6 hand-painted parts: upper and lower half of the sclera, both choroids with iris, a retina, and cornea. The kit also includes a laminated key that identifies 18 numbered parts of the eye. The assembled model can be displayed on a removable base. The human eye model is an ideal teaching tool for students at the early high school level.
identifier: CR 611.84 H918

Human ear model
description: View item in the U of T Libraries catalogue Have you heard about the exciting new activity kit at OISE Library? The Human Ear Model is a great way to introduce your students to the structures of the human body and the study of Audiology. The model offers students the chance to explore the inner structure of the ear in a hands-on, tactile way, while also providing an informative card that explains the different sections of the ear that students are seeing. The ear canal and internal workings of the ear are attached to a model of the outer ear, and the connections between what is on the outside and the inside are made clear. Your students will be all ears for this informative activity kit! This model would be a helpful addition to lessons about the senses and how they work, or a tool for older students studying biology. This kit is one of several here at OISE Library that explores the inner workings of the human body, some of which have been featured in past activity kit posts.
identifier: CR 611.85 H9182 OVERSIZE

The human skeleton : playing cards = Les os du corps humain : Cartes à jouer = Los huesos del cuerpo humano : naipes
description: View item in the U of T Libraries catalogue The human body contains a lot of bones. The Human Skeleton: Playing Cards kit contains a full deck of 52 cards, plus two jokers that act as quick, at-a-glance indexes for the cards. Each card is in full colour and contains a close-up image of the bone’s location as well as a more general location (head, foot, etc). These cards would be an excellent visual aid for teaching students about the human skeleton through play instead of simply pointing at a diagram. Students can play card games such as Go Fish or Crazy Eights and learn about the skeleton as they go. The cards could also be used as flash cards before a quiz. This activity kit is recommended for students in Grade 5 and up as the cards do go into significant detail.
identifier: CR 611.71 H918 2009

Animal track rubbing plates = Pistes d'animaux sur plaques
description: View item in the U of T Libraries catalogue The activity kit contains 16 thin rectangular plastic plates of three various colours (blue, red, and yellow). On each of the plates, there are embossed patterns of one particular animal and the animal’s tracks. The plates feature 16 different kinds of woodland and domestic animals, including: deer, weasel, beaver, bobcat, rabbit, opossum, otter, mountain lion, squirrel, skunk, raccoon, duck, turkey, timber wolf, dog, and cat. The activity kit also contains an information sheet containing a concise set of instructions to use, and interesting facts about each animal in both English and French. In order to use the Animal Track Rubbing Plates, first secure a rubbing plate down on a flat surface using tape or other removable adhesive. Second, lay a sheet of white or coloured paper over the secured plate. Third, using a pencil, pencil crayon, crayon, or chalk, rub over the paper covering the plate until the shape and details of the tracks’ patterning becomes apparent. Aside from using the previously mentioned method, there are also other ways to use the rubbing plates in order to get different results! Try the finger painting method by covering the entire surface of the plate with paint, then press a sheet of paper over the top and pull it off. There are many ways to use and interact with the rubbing plates. Patterns created can be used for arts and crafts purposes, or as prompts to create illustrations and artworks. The rubbing plates not only act as a tool to learn about animal tracks, it also helps to cultivate interests in animal behaviour and habitats. The activity kit can be used for all those ages 5 and above.
identifier: CR 590 A59853

Bean germination
description: View item in the U of T Libraries catalogue Share the wonders of plant growth — and avoid the mess of soil and water — with the Bean Germination kit. Set in a non-toxic plastic case, this kit displays the process of germination. Starting from a tiny seed which expands as it germinates, the tiny sprout develops a taproot and lateral roots before a young stem and first leaves are formed. The kit displays these stages in 6 real examples which can be viewed from all sides for a true to nature experience. Keep this kit handy during your lesson as an illustrative tool for teaching, or have students work independently or in groups to identify the stages of growth. You can also combine the Bean Germination kit with your classroom experiments in planting seeds; use it to describe to students what’s happening under the soil as their seeds germinate. Unlike your real seedlings, the Bean Germination kit will “live” on from year to year!
identifier: CR 571.82 B367