https://www.lakeshorelearning.

com
https://www.doe.in.gov/standards

Colored mold and play sensory sand can be bought via the Lakeshore website and you
could have it shipped to wherever you live. Or you could pick up the sand at a Lakeshore
Learning store near you. The sand is $29.99, and it comes in four different colors: green, blue,
purple, and pink. You could make art with the sand because you could mold it into different
structures. Since the mold and play sensory sand is so bright and colorful, it could stimulate
children’s imaginations and also their senses. The mold and play sensory sand sticks together
and it never dries out unlike play doe. When you purchase the sand, it is five pounds and is very
soft to the touch. If I have this in my future classroom, I think it would do really well with my
future students if I made sure to set boundaries when using the sand. Since the sand is so soft and
molds so easily, I think this would do really well with some students who have disabilities
because it could be like a sensory object. The sand could help them focus and if they are upset it
could maybe even calm them down. There are many different lessons or activities the sand could
be used for and depending on what kind of disability the child has it could work very well for
them.
There are some important evidence-based practices that would be great when using the
sand. First off, when we are using the colored mold and play sensory sand, it is important that
there are clear lesson goals. It is super important that I am clear with what I want my students to
learn during the lesson using the sand. Clear lesson goals not only help you focus on each aspect
of the lesson, but it also helps your students to focus all of the aspects of the lesson. Show and
tell could also be a great evidence-based teaching practice for the sand. I could share knowledge
about the sand and show them a model on how to make the sand or make different art sculptures
depending on what the lesson is for the day. Another great evidence-based teaching practice is
questioning for understanding. It is crucial to check for understanding before moving onto the
next part of the lesson because I do not want my students to be confused. If I moved onto the
next part of the lesson without asking my students questions and they were confused, I could
make them even more confused. There are many different ways to check for understanding and a
great one is to turn and talk to a neighbor and see if you understand what is going on in the
lesson. Your neighbor could help you if you are lost or confused about what they are supposed to
be doing with the sand or what even is the sand etc. A great evidence-based practice is
summarizing new learning in a graphical way, so they could summarize what they learned about
the sensory sand. Graphic outlines are very helpful for students when they are learning
something new because a lot of times it guides them on what to do. Some examples of graphic
outlines are mind maps, flow-charts, and Venn diagrams. These could be used to help students
summarize what they have just learned, and it could also help them understand what they
learned. The last evidence-based practice I am going to talk about, regarding the sand, is provide
your students with feedback. This one is really important because it lets students know how they
are doing and how they have performed. It also tells them what they can improve on if there is
any room for improvement. It is good to give your students praise every so often but giving them
feedback gives the students a tangible understanding of what they did well, where they are
currently at, and how they can improve to do better. All of these evidence-based practices are
super important for students and the colored mold and play sensory sand. Also, like I stated
earlier, the sand would be great to use as a sensory object because it is so fun to play with and so
soft to the touch. The sand could be super beneficial for ELN students, specifically students who
have ADHD because it could help them focus during class. The sense of touch is also super
important for children because that is one of the first senses they develop. Students who have
disabilities would be able to use the sand just like other students, but they might need a little bit
of extra help.

I chose Indian Academic standards for K-2nd grade because that is where I believe the
sand would fit best. The first standard is from the Indiana Social-Emotional Learning
Competencies. “1. Sensory Motor Integration: 1A. Students demonstrate an understanding of
body awareness and sensations in the body” (IDOE). This is great for the sand because the sand
is a sensory tool and could help children. It could help stimulate their imaginations. Also, the
sensory sand could help stimulate their five senses which is really important for ELN students
because they might have some trouble with that. Another great standard that is also from the
Indiana Social-Emotional Learning Competencies is, “4. Collaboration: 4A. Student demonstrate
communication skills” (IDOE). If the students work together in groups while using the sand, they
will need to use their communication skills. Also, if there is not enough sand for each child to
have their own, they could work in groups and learn to share the sand and they would have to do
so by communicating with each other. Another standard is, “3. Regulation: 3A. Students
demonstrate self-control” (IDOE). This is really important for ELN students specifically students
with ADHD or students who have control issues. They will need to make sure they can control
their actions and feelings when using the sensory sand. If they are using the sensory sand in
groups, they will need to make sure they are regulating their actions and feelings. This could be
hard for children who have disabilities because it might be harder for them to control their
actions and manage their feelings, so they might need a little bit of extra help. They could still
use the sand, but they might need certain accommodations to help them be successful. Another
standard that would work with the sand is from Indiana Academic Mathematics Standards:
Grade 1, “Geometry 1.G.1: Identify objects as two-dimensional or three-dimensional. Classify
and sort two-dimensional and three-dimensional objects by shape, size, roundness and other
attributes. Describe how two-dimensional shapes make up the faces of three-dimensional
objects” (IDOE). The students could use the sand as a tool to make three-dimensional objects
and could then say what objects they are and what shapes. This would be a good project to do
with other students in the class and so they could work in groups. The colored mold and play
sensory sand sticks together very well and would be a great tool for making different kinds of
shapes and would be an awesome manipulative to use during math class. Students with
disabilities could also use the sand and participate in this group work. Depending on what the
disability is, the students might just need a little bit of extra help when using the sand. The last
standard that would work well is also from Indiana Academic Mathematics Standards: Grade 1,
“1.G.2 Distinguish between defining attributes of two- and three-dimensional shapes (e.g.,
triangles are closed and three-sided) versus non-defining attributes (e.g., color, orientation,
overall size). Create and draw two-dimensional shapes with defining attributes” (IDOE). The
sensory sand is perfect for this math standard because the students could determine what is a 2-D
shape and what is a 3-D shape. They could make 3-D shapes out of the sand and then they could
draw some 2-D shapes and determine which is which. The sand works perfectly for this and the
children could also work in groups and this would help the students with disabilities because
their classmates could help them. The sand would be great for students with disabilities because
it could help them focus and the sense of touch is great for them.