Cubing Strategy: Ways to Make Cubes – For the Teachers

Use cubes for the Cubing instructional strategy and other classroom activities.

1. Buy foam cubes from a teacher-supply or craft score. Use a permanent marker to write on the sides.

  • Advantages:
    • Quiet
    • Come in many colors. Different colors could be used to denote levels of difficulty (ie. the blue cube is more difficult questions, the red is mid-level and the green are simpler, or something like that) to allow for differentiation. Students all do the same activity, each using the cube that is geared toward their level.
    • Can be used over and over
  • Disadvantages:
    • Cost money (not much, but still)
    • Have to be created ahead of time
    • Have to be stored between uses

 

2. Make paper cubes (Blank Cube Template)

  • Advantages:
    • Quiet
    • Cheap
    • Easy for kids to make and personalize themselves
    • Can be printed with the directions/questions/prompts already on the sides – possibly easier to read and allows for images to  be used.
  • Disadvantages:
    • Time needed to make them
    • Don’t last long
    • Don’t roll as easily

 

3. Use dice. Write on the board what each number represents.
(ie. 1 = Compare, 2 = Contrast, etc.)

  • Advantages:
    • Really easy to do – very little prep time needed
    • Same dice can be used repeatedly
  • Disadvantages:
    • Can get loud (It’s worth taking the time to teach
      kids how to roll the dice quietly.)
    • Harder to differentiate

Once you decide the best way to make your cubes, you can use them for all sorts of different things. Here are some of my favorites (many of which I’ve used with adults with as much success as with students).

Cubing Strategy: Ways to Make Cubes
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