Lip Reader Mask

Posted on by Mrs. Ruhe

DIY instructions on how to make a mask with a window.

Daisy pattern lip reading mask

Materials:

  • 2 pieces of quilter’s cotton 7″ x 9″
  • 4″ square piece of 4-gauge vinyl (can be purchased at fabric stores)
  • Tape
  • Pins
  • marking chalk
  • rotary blade or scissors
  • Iron
  • Sewing machine
  • 60″ of cotton twill tape (cut into 4 equal pieces)

Assembly Steps

  1. Cut your fabric to 7×9 inches. I suggest you use 2 different patterns (a pattern on the outside can hide the seams). Lay both pieces together.
  2. Measure a 3×3 inch square in the center of the fabric. Measure 2 inches from top and bottom, 3 inches from sides. Mark the square with your chalk.

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4. Measure a second square approximately 3/8″ from the inside edge of the larger square. Cut this square with your rotary blade and then make cuts to the corners of the larger square. You should be cutting both layers of fabric.

5. Separate the layer and fold the flaps to the inside of each fabric layer and iron.

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6. Take your 4 inch vinyl square and lay on the inside of the layer that you will be using as your mask liner.

7. Use a small piece of tape to hold the vinyl in place and sew around the seam.

8.  Lay your outer fabric over the liner (face to face) and match up the windows best you can. Pin the pieces together.

9. Place the ties between the layers (it may be easier to do each as you go around) and sew around the entire border of the fabric. Have the ends of the ties come out the open window.

10. Once completed, reverse the mask.

 

11. Match up the windows as closely as you can, keep the flaps inside then pin the mask around the window.

12. Sew around the window to affix both layers together.

 

13. Fold to pleat the mask.

  • Fold the mask in half with the outer layer on the outside
  • Fold back the top of the mask and match the edge of the window to the center fold.
  • Flip over and pin.
  • Pleat the top of the mask down with the fold even with the top of the vinyl window and pin.
  • Pinch and pleat the bottom of the mask and pin.

 

14.  Once the mask is pleated and pinned, sew a seam around the entire edge approx 1/4″ from the egde.

15. Trim any loose threads, remove pins, and tie knots in the end of the ties.

Complete!!

 

I suggest using cat crap or other anti fogging cream/spray on the inside of the mask. Hand wash.

 

 

 

 

 

Adventures in STEM

Posted on by Mrs. Ruhe

Welcome to my blog! I am a Science and Computer teacher in the Hudson Valley Region in New York State.  I have been working with elementary students since 2003.  My background is elementary education, but my passion is science and computers.  Follow me to see lessons, activities, and web tools that I love.

Poetry in Motion: Using Scratch to animate literature

Posted on by Mrs. Ruhe

christmas dog santa codeAs I continue my quest into learning the basics of programming, I found that visual languages are simple to learn and teach. I was fortunate to have my fifth grade students in both the library and in the computer lab this year. When we finished our unit on coding using Code.org, I wanted to be able to give the students an opportunity to take their skills and create something. By using Scratch, they created animations of poems or short stories to share with the class. It was a challenge for some, easy for others, but all ended up with a product they were proud of. It was difficult for me to enforce the deadline because they were so invested in the process! Take a peek in the Sway below to see inside this project.

https://sway.com/s/HllTrPvCJAGVPht4/embed

Why OneNote Class Notebook Creator is a wonderful thing

Posted on by Mrs. Ruhe

Being fortunate enough to have access to Sharepoint and Microsoft 365 at my school hasmany perks. One of my favorite things to use has been the Class Notebook Creator app that is available within Sharepoint. My 5th grade STEM class has 4 periods a week in the science lab and 2 periods a week in the computer room.  The students have access to ipads and laptops on a cart during class, but rarely use them in lab.  In the computer room, each student has a desktop to work on.  I set up a Class Notebook to allow the students to have a workspace to record ideas, research and findings during our mousetrap car project.

Each student was given materials and instructions to build a standard base model for his or her car.  They were then tasked with testing their creations and researching ways to improve upon the base design. Using a tablet to take photos (we do not have cameras on our desktops), I shared the photos with the students using our school server.  This particular student was able to find her shared photo, insert it into her workspace, and use the tools provided in OneNote to make a plan to improve her car.  The screenshot below shows how she was able to use the drawing tool to circle and highlight areas which she wanted to change or modify.  This was all done using a mouse and keyboard.

The flexibility of a Notebook page allows students to use the space how they want to.  Many of my 5th graders prefer to scribble ideas all over the page and use photos to show progress.  The open ended nature of the space provided the opportunity for some of my less traditional learners to demonstrate understanding and progress without having to write a paragraph. I did have a few students who did choose writing over pictures as well!OneNote example - Mousetrap

My favorite part of using the Class Notebook, as opposed to just sharing a notebook with the entire group, is the way it sets up personal, private sections in the Notebook for each student.  Only the teacher and the student can see those tabs.  This allowed me to make comments and suggestions on work that were not visible to peers in the class.

If you have access to Microsoft products, you should start using OneNote.  I have drastically decreased the amount of paper I bring home with me and the students jumped right into using the program with little difficulty.