Prevent Summer Learning Loss with a 'Retro' Flash Card Flipper • TeachKidsArt

‘Summer Learning Loss’, or ‘Summer Slide’ as it’s also known, is not just an issue for ‘at risk’ students. All students need to practice their academic skills to keep from falling behind over summer vacation.

The year I taught 2nd grade I experienced firsthand how much students can forget over the summer. We wasted much valuable time that fall doing remedial work…. re-learning the reading and math skills they once knew but had forgotten. My students didn’t realize the ‘use it or lose it’ nature of what they thought they had memorized. And many saw their reading and math levels drop in September as a result.

Reading can be easy for parents to encourage when kids have extra time on their hands. But fact-based memorization (like math computation) often ends up taking a hit over the summer months. Without practice, these facts can be easily forgotten, yet they’re foundational to future success.

Kids need ways to practice their academic skills that feel more like play than work. After all, this is summer vacation!

So the folks at Elmer’s sent me some supplies and asked me to come up with a project that would help keep summer learning loss at bay.

Right away, this “old school” Flash Card Flipper came to mind. Does anyone else remember using one of these as a kid? They’re easy to make, fun to use, and kids can decorate them however they like. A Flash Card Flipper is perfect for practicing math facts, spelling, parts of speech, state capitols…. the sky’s the limit! Just feed in a flash card and check your answer as the Flash Card Flipper magically returns the card to you with the answer facing up! (Savvy teachers can have students make these the last week of school to ensure they’ll be ready for grade level work when the next school year begins!)

You’ll Need:

Empty (cube-shaped) tissue box
X-acto craft knife (for adult use)
Elmer’s X-treme School Glue Stick (The Elmer’s X-treme School Glue Stick is my new favorite glue stick because of how well it sticks!)
1 piece 12×18 (white) construction paper (cut to 18” x 5”, 4.5” x 7”, and 4” x 9”)
Elmer’s Paintastic Painters Washable Paint Brush Pens (or other markers for decorating)
3×5 index cards (unruled)
crayons (for making flash cards)

Directions: (note: Kids should have adult help with the cutting!)

Flash Card Flipper Supplies — 1. Gather your supplies.

Flash Card Flipper, step 2 — 2. Remove the plastic film around the opening of your tissue box. The side with this opening will now be on the bottom.

Flash Card Flipper, step 3 — 3. On the flat side (the only side with no overlapping flaps), use an X-acto knife to cut a rectangular opening across the upper edge, about 1/2” deep. You can use a ruler or just ‘eyeball it’.

Flash Card Flipper, step 4 — 4. Now cut a similar opening across the lower edge. The side with the two rectangles cut into it will be the “front”.

Flash Card Flipper, step 5 — 5. Fold the two ends of your 4” x 9” paper inward about an inch or so.

Flash Card Flipper, step 6 — 6. Feed the folded paper through the upper opening. Glue about an inch both left and right of the fold and press well to the top of the box, adhering the paper to both the inside and outside of the box.

Flash Card Flipper, step 7 — 7. Reach in and pull the other folded end through the lower opening and glue the flap to the bottom of the box, on the outside only.

Flash Card Flipper, step 8 — 8. Cover the top of the box and about an inch down the sides (not the front and back) with glue.

Flash Card Flipper, step 9 — 9. Lay the 4.5” x 7” paper over the top of the box, folding the edges down over the sides. Press well. (Make sure you don’t cover the openings on the front!)

Flash Card Flipper, step 10 — 10. Fold the 18” x 5” paper in half lengthwise, then in half again.

Flash Card Flipper, step 11 — 11. Cover the front, back, and sides of your box with glue.

Flash Card Flipper, step 12 — 12. Wrap the folded paper all around your box, pressing well. You can rub over the box with the cap of your glue stick to help the paper stick.

Flash Card Flipper, step 13 — 13. After giving the glue a minute or two to dry, use your X-acto knife to cut away the paper covering the two openings on the front. (It might be helpful to use a fresh blade for these cuts!)

Flash Card Flipper, step 14 — 14. For a fun art connection, use paint brush pens or markers to decorate your Flash Card Flipper in the style of a famous artist! (Dutch artist Piet Mondrian’s style is featured in our example here!)

Flash Card Flipper, step 15 — 15. Finally, use 3×5 index cards cut in half (to 3” x 2.5”) to make your flash cards. Use a crayon to write the question or problem on one side and flip the card over (vertically) to write the answer. (Make one flash card and test it out before you make a whole set to be sure you’re flipping them the right way as you make them!)

Flash Card Flipper, step 16 — 16. Setting your Flash Card Flipper on a book will help the cards to fly out faster!

This post was sponsored by Elmer’s and uses affiliate links.

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