EdTech Insider

I am constantly seeking new methods to elevate the educational experience for my students. That’s why I invested in the Silhouette Vinyl Cutter, a versatile device that can cut intricate designs from a broad range of materials such as cardstock, vinyl, and fabric. I once had an opportunity to explore laser cutting, but found that a vinyl cutter may be a more practical tool for classroom use.

There aren’t too many resources available for educators using the Silouette Vinyl Cutter to enhance their instructional design – but there is a ton of potential! This situation presented an opportunity to create something new, something that not only cultivates critical writing skills, but also puts the Silouette Vinyl Cutter to practical use in an imaginative and entertaining way.

Taking inspiration from the teachings of Barbara Mariconda, an educator and author who developed the “Empowering Writers” program, I set out to construct a narrative writing unit focused on “Elaborative Detail.” I developed a lesson/writing warm-up task that involves 20-sided dice, printed on cardstock, folded, and glued by my grade 6 students. They use these to randomly generate elements of their stories. By providing boundaries and structure, I was able to guide my students towards greater focus on their writing, fostering their imagination and creativity.

An image of the dice are below, as well as the cut files from Silhouette Studio. They could be used as a station to explore descriptive writing, or as a simple way to provide creative constraints. I’ve also used them as a whole-class writing warm-up by having students roll them under the document camera. I’m on a mission to find more ways to use these dice. Let me know if you’ve got any ideas, and I’ll build some more cut files!

Here is a link to the cut files!

Material: Cardstock

Settings I used: Cut by line. Brown line first, set to Score. Red line second (outside of net) set to “cut”, leave the black lines be as they are the typing.