Toronto Teacher Mom: How To

How to Fold an 8-Page Mini Book

A few weeks ago, I created an 8-page mini book for Christmas that my French students illustrated before the holidays. It was a real hit among all of my classes and many of my students put great effort into their drawings and colouring. Because of this, I plan on creating more in the future and yes, I will be sure to share! In the meantime, I have put together a little tutorial on how to fold and cut so that you can turn the letter size sheet into an 8-page mini book without glue or staples.

Here are few things to keep in mind:

A hotdog fold consists of folding the sheet on the middle of its widest part, similar to a long bun that folds over a hotdog.
A hamburger fold, in contrast, consists of folding the sheet on the middle of its shortest part.
Ensure that the folds are as precise as possible and crease the folds firmly.
It is recommended that you fold your paper so that the printed side is always visible. I find this makes it easier to fold it into a book in the final step since it reduces the number of folds you will have to reverse.

How to Fold an 8-Page Mini Book

Step 1: Fold your paper in half using a hotdog fold.

Step 2: Unfold the paper, turn it 90 degrees and fold it in half again using a hamburger fold.

8-page mini book - Step 2: hamburger fold.

Step 3: While still folded, fold it again using the hotdog fold.

Step 4: Unfold the hotdog so it is back in the hamburger fold, as in Step 2, and cut along the centre line/fold halfway up. Important: Be sure you start cutting from the folded edge, not the open edge. The dotted line on my livret de Noël indicates the cut line.

8-page mini book - Step 4: cut along dotted line

Step 5: Unfold the paper completely. You will notice the cut is in the centre of the paper. Now return to the original hotdog fold in Step 1.

Step 6: Begin folding your paper into a book by holding either ends of the hotdog and pushing them towards each other. You should notice that the centre will open up to form a diamond shape.

Step 7: Continue pushing the two ends together until the pages begin to lay on top of each other. Look for the book cover and fold the last page back by reversing the fold. This is the tricky part but it gets easier with practise.

I hope to have a generic template posted soon if anyone wishes to have students write and illustrate their own stories. Welcome back et bonne année!

Monday, January 07, 2019
3 Comments

Make Your Own Dimoitou Hand Puppet

Dimoitou

When my daughter was in nursery school, I remember her teacher sending home a teddy bear one weekend along with a journal to record our activities together. It was such a great idea and we really enjoyed reading the journal entries recorded by other families that this year I am going to try something similar in my French class. Our grade one program is Dimoitou and it includes a cute puppet that the students adore. I thought about sending the puppet home with the kids but seeing as it is irreplaceable and for fear of having it misplaced or ruined, I decided to make a simpler version instead. Using felt, I made my first ever hand puppet.

After sketching out a rough design, I used green, red, yellow and black felt to cut out the body, mouth, eyes and nose. Then came the hard part: sewing all the pieces together. I don't own a sewing machine so I resorted to the needle-and-thread method. You know, the one where I prick myself at least ~~once~~ ~~twice~~ thrice. While my stitching technique could use much improvement, I feel the Dimoitou puppet turned out just fine.

Dimoitou Hand Puppet - Dimoitou chez nous

I am putting together three sets of Dimoitou chez nous take-home bags, one for each of my grade 1 classes, which will contain a Dimoitou puppet, a Dimoitou chez nous journal, a pencil, a pack of pencil crayons to illustrate an activity, a book to read, a contents checklist and instructions for the parents as well as a vocabulary reference sheet should they want to attempt writing out a sentence. I am hopeful that students will be enthusiastic in sharing what they are learning with their families while caring for Dimoitou. If you'd like to make your own Dimoitou puppet, I have included my template for you below. (Click on the thumbnail to download a PDF copy.)

Monday, November 10, 2014
18 Comments

How to Search for Apps in the Windows Store

How To

While participating in the HP Canada Brain Training Challenge, I needed to download some apps from the Windows Store and couldn't for the life of me figure out how to search for a specific app. I looked and looked for a search bar but couldn't find one. Until I searched online, that is. At which point I felt the palm of my hand connect with my forehead. It's that easy.

In just two simple steps, you can search for the app you need by simply clicking on the Windows Store tile on your Start page and then start typing. Automatically the search bar will pop up along with any possible matches.

There.

You can remove your hand from your forehead now.

Disclosure: The products to complete the HP Brain Training Challenge activities have been supplied by HP Canada and Creative IQ™. Any opinions expressed in this post are my own.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013
3 Comments

How to Add a Column on TweetDeck.com Using a Twitter List

How To

In case you are new to using TweetDeck, I recently wrote a post on how you can use TweetDeck.com to participate in Twitter parties. One suggestion is to create a column dedicated to a list of all of the moderators and hosts so that you can easily follow their tweets during the duration of the party. Simply click on the + sign to add a column, click on 'Lists' and choose one of your pre-made Twitter lists. If you don't know how to create a Twitter list, you can easily bypass that task and use someone else's list to create a column. Here's how:

While logged on to TweetDeck.com, click on the profile of someone who has already created a list, such as one of the moderators. Then click on the 'Lists' icon located beneath his/her profile.

Select the list that you need and then click on "Add Column." It's as easy as that!

If the party requires an RSVP, you can read my tutorial on How to RSVP for a Twitter Party. Also, check out How to Use TweetDeck.com for Twitter Parties. As always, if you ever have any questions, please feel free to tweet, email, leave me a comment or message me on Facebook. I'm always happy to help!

Thursday, July 18, 2013
6 Comments

How To Use TweetDeck.com for Twitter Parties and Chats

How To

When participating in Twitter parties, I always found it easiest to follow along using TweetGrid. Now that the site is no longer available, I am turning to TweetDeck. I like to use the web version versus the mobile version since it's easier for me to follow on a big screen as compared to my small iPhone. Here I provide a tutorial with six steps on how to use TweetDeck for Twitter parties.

Step 1: Create an account on TweetDeck.com. You will need an email address and will be asked to create a password.

Step 2: Add a Twitter account. I am assuming you already have one. Simply click on the 'Add Twitter account' button.

Step 3: Authorize TweetDeck to use your Twitter account. You will be asked to log on to your Twitter account first. If you're already logged on, you will just need to click on 'Authorize app.'

You will then be redirected to the application.

You will be returned to your settings screen and it will look similar to this:

Your profile will look something like this:

Monday, July 15, 2013
16 Comments

How to RSVP for a Twitter Party

How To

Twitter parties can be tonnes of fun, especially if there are prizes to be won. For those new to Twitter, the idea of a Twitter party may seem entirely foreign but, having participated in and having moderated several Twitter parties and chats over the past few years, I am always open to questions and happy to help Twitter newbies manoeuvre their way through the process. Today, let's begin with a little tutorial on how to RSVP for a Twitter party.

First, you will need to locate the appropriate link that will take you to a link entry form of sorts. I like to use LinkyTools. This is what it would look like.

Step 1: Click on "Click here to enter" to access the linky entry form.

Once you have reached the Linky Entry Form, you may find it a tad confusing. The first field asks for 'Link Title or Blog Title." In the case of a Twitter party, this is where you would type in your Twitter handle (also known as your Twitter username) preceded by the @ symbol. In the second field, you would type in your Twitter URL, or copy and paste the address that appears when you are viewing your Twitter page.

Saturday, January 19, 2013
6 Comments

How to Access Parental Controls for Video Games

How To

Here is a little FYI for Canadian parents. The Entertainment Software Association of Canada has created a video series to guide parents through the ESRB ratings system for video games and on parental controls for video game consoles including the Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3 and the Personal Computer. We have a Nintendo Wii at home and although my daughter is still quite young and only uses it mainly for Wii Fit games, it's good to know about the parental controls available for it. The online videos created by ESAC show you how to use these controls so if you're not terribly comfortable fidgeting with them, these videos will show you how to do it.

You can access the videos here.