Musics Effects On The Brain Music Essay

Musics Effects On The Brain Music Essay Music is a world renowned language that all can understand. From Australia to the deepest jungles of Africa, music is associated in peoples everyday lives. Music can be heard anywhere and everywhere: the grocery store, the gym, in the car, at work, at school, on the television, etc. Not only is music applied for entertainment but it can also be used for story telling, learning, religious rituals and medical therapy. Today, it is not uncommon for music to be used as a medicine for Parkinsons, Alzheimers, depression, anxiety, stroke-victim recovery, stress, memory loss, and mental well-being. Musics effect on the brain is a very profound and mysterious topic. It is said that music influences the process of thinking and analyzing, making work more enjoyable and efficient. Studies have shown that music increases the amount of endorphins (a chemical released in the brain to reduce pain and provide a good feeling state) in the brain, initially, jump-starting the bodies healing process. As it distracts the attention from pain, it concurrently generates chemical behaviors that promote healing. Along with physical healing and mental effects, music impacts human emotions. Often, someone will listen to music when they are distraught, happy, need to focus, exercising, etc. Experiments show that music in a major key will cause a person to be happy, while the music in a minor key will bring sadder, depressed emotions. This paper will discuss how the music of major and minor keys differently effect human emotions. Emotions Throughout an average day, humans will experience one emotion after the other: sadness, happiness, frustration, anger, guilt, remorse, etc. But when one is asked the question what is an emotion? most find themselves dumbfounded. The answer to what is an emotion is not an easy one to answer. For centuries great minds have studied to answer this question but have yet to receive a definite answer. There are many reasons for this state of affairs. One reason is that emotions are difficult to define and measure. (Juslin and Sloboda 73). To be able to define emotions, theorists must know where emotions come from and how they are detectable. From a scientific perspective, emotions can be concluded from three types of evidence: self reports, expressive behavior and physiological development (Juslin and Sloboda 74). Self reports are a variety of surveys people will take to measure their emotions. Although this method is a first hand account of emotions, it still includes many problems such as the imperfect relationship between emotions and words that denote emotions, and the problem of choosing which words to include on checklists or scales (Juslin and Sloboda 74). The second type of evidence is expressive behavior which is the study of peoples emotion by their facial expression, vocalizations or body language (Juslin and Sloboda 74). The difficulty with this procedure is that not all emotions are visible by expressive features. The third type of evidence used to decipher emotions is physiological kinds of measurement; this includes measuring heart rate, blood pressure, muscle tension and much more. Many theorists have suggested definitions of emotions based off the previous three types of evidence. Based on a review of these definitions they proposed the following consensual definition (Kleinginna Kleinginna 1981, p. 355): Emotion is a complex set on interactions among subjective and objective factors, mediated by neural/hormonal systems, which can (a) give rise to affective experiences such as feelings of arousal, pleasure/displeasure; (b) generate cognitive processes such as perceptually relevant effects, appraisals, labeling processes; (c) activate widespread physiological adjustments to the arousing conditions; and (d) lead to behavior that is often, but not always, expressive, goal-directed and adaptive (Juslin and Sloboda 75). As seen in the previous definition, it is almost impossible to define emotions simplistically or even in one sentence. Tonality Like emotion, tonality is not an easy concept to grasp. For one, it is used in many different senses and areas of music. Also, tonality has been widely discussed amongst theorist as to what it is and its significance in Western music. One simple definition of tonality is a system for interpreting pitches or chords through their relationship to a reference pitch, dubbed the tonic. Once the tonic is established the relationship of this pitch to other pitches can be designated using scale-degree names or numbers (Huron 143). In other words, tonality is the organization of pitch. Referring to Western theorists, there are two types of tonalities: major and minor. The theory and use of major and minor tonality dominated Western culture between 1650 and 1900 (Forney 20). The tonality of a piece of music is determined by the scale used for the foundation of the music (Forney). A scale is a series of tones in ascending or descending order; may present the notes of a key (Forney A20). Because of the combination of intervals between notes in a scale, each scale has a special and unique sound. Major scales promote a feeling of happiness and cheerfulness while minor tones sound sad and dark A composer would not be likely to choose a minor key for a triumphal march, nor a major key for a lament (Forney 21). As stated earlier, the first note of the scale, the tonic, is used as a starting place Affects of Major Tonality on Human Emotions Musics effect on humans has been a hidden phenomenon for thousands of years. The emotional experience one has with music has always been enticing and misunderstood. Still, it is probably true that most people experience music-somehow, somewhere-everyday of their lives, often with an accompanying affective response of some sort (e.g. nostalgic recognition of a favourite song on the radio while driving a car, frustration directed at the music at the shops, joy while listening to an excellent performance at an evening concert, a sad mood created by the soundtrack of a late night movie) (Juslin and Sloboda 3). The goal of this section is to describe how the music from major tonalities influence human emotions. To sum up the affects of major tonality on human emotions is the results of David Hurons, author of Sweet Anticipation, experiment on the feeling evoked from listening to major scale degrees. Huron conducted his experiment by asking ten experienced Western-cultured musicians to describe the emotions they incorporate with different scale degrees from the major key. All ten musicians were given the following instructions: For each of the following scale degrees describe as best you can the distinctive quality or character of that tone. Describe how the tone makes you feel in as much detail as possible. Imagine the tones for the major key only. Please think of pitches rather than chords (Huron 144). The table below is the result of Hurons responses as displayed in his book Sweet Anticipation. Scale Tone Common Descriptors Sample Responses Tonic Stable, pleasure, home, contentment Stable, extremely satisfying, centered, foundational, solid, resolved, strong Raised tonic Strong, upward, bold Edgy, unstable, uncertain, upwardly, mobile, mildly precarious Lowered supertonic Surprise, abruptness, pause Somewhat dark, a sense of almost inevitable further descent, murky, unexpected richness, mild surprise Supertonic Solid, movement, resolve Hanging, dangling, transitory, moderate expectancy of more to come, part of a flow Raised supertonic Longing, unstable Needling, moderately harsh, jarring, unstable, off balance Mediant Bright, love, warmth, beauty Light, lifted, bright, point of many possible departures, yet also strongly restful, peaceful and calm Subdominant descending Akward, tentative, strong sense of being unfinished, Now what? no clear expectation of future, hanging feeling, would be happy to fall by half step Raised subdominant Intentional, motivated Moderately anxious, interrupted flow to dominant, somewhat curious about possibilities, fluidity, transitory Dominant Strong, muscular, balance, possibility, pleasant Strong, towering, height, sense of looking down from a tall building and being comfortable, but knowing youll eventually take to elevator back to the street level Raised dominant Leading, aspiring Leading to something, sense of implication, unfinished, leaning, mildly uncomfortable Submediant Balance, open, lightness Airy and open, temporary suspendedness, neutral, evokes mild curiosity in regard to direction Subtonic Falling, lightness, drifting downward, shifting Heavy, like walking with a limp, unexpected, open new possibilities, sheds a new light on things Leading tone Unstable, pointing, restless Sense of inevitably, highly unstable, uncomfortable, squirmy, itching, restless Hurons table provides direct and professional examples of emotions accompanied by scale degrees in the major key, now the question is what links these emotions to these particular scale degrees? Huron clusters the results into seven categories of the responses he received, certainty/ uncertainty, tendency, completion, mobility, stability, power and emotion (Huron 163). The certainty/ uncertainty category is the easiest to explain through statistical properties of music. Two scale tones were described as unexpected, surprising or abrupt- the lowered supertonic and the subtonic pitches (Huron 163). Because the supertonic and subtonic pitches appear the least out of all the scale tones the feeling of surprise or abruptness is normal. The category tendency describes the scale tones level of continuation, in other words, the tones ability to carry on with the melody or song at hand. The raised dominant and the leading tone were both described with words associated with tending or leading, -both tones that are statistically limited in their possible continuation tones (Huron 163). The completion category can also be described using statistical properties of music with relevance to the tonic and mediant pitches. Both pitches were described as restful indicating the pitches connection to the end or closure of musical phrases, allowing the listener to feel at rest or home-like. The fourth category, mobility, involves the supertonic and subtonic pitch. The supertonic was depicted as modern expectancy of more to come and the subtonic as like walking with a limp. Both pitches portray the act of moving but do not hold the same leading value as the tonic. The category of power, however, can not be easily described through the statistical properties of music. The raised tonic and dominant pitches were connected with words like jarring and harsh, creating the effect of power to the listener. The last category Huron describes is emotion. Terms like pleasure, beauty, and warmth, love, bright and pleasant are used to describe the tonic, mediant and dominant pitches. Negative hedonic terms like harsh, jarring, uncomfortable, and anxious were applied to tones such as the raised supertonic, the raised subdominant and the raised dominant (Huron 164). As made apparent from the table, positive emotions seem connected to frequently occurring tones with closure (Huron 164). A peculiar fact about tonality is that different tones can suggest different and specific emotions. Even a tone in one given context can have a completely different effect in another context. There are several factors attributed to why scale degrees in the major scale cause the listener to feel a variety of emotions, one of them being the predictability of a tone. When a tone has a high rate of predictability, the experience for the listener is more positive The most predictable tones and tone sequences tend to be experienced as the most pleasant- especially if listeners are not consciously aware of the high predictability (Huron 173). The most predictable structural feature in music is cadences. Cadences are the place of rest in a musical phrase. A cadence can either end in the middle of a melody, called an inconclusive cadence, causing the ending to feel dissonant. Meanwhile, a cadence can also end at the end of a melody, creating a consonant ending call a conclusive cadence. Music theorists have long observed that cadences tend to be organized in a stereotypical fashion. It is not simply the final note of the cadence that is predictable; the final note is often approached in a characteristic of formulaic manner (Huron 154). Cadences, however are not the only feature that increase the feeling of uncertainty Another feature is the increase in uncertainty that commonly follows after the closure point (Huron 156). So not only is there high predictability before the cadence but after as well. Listeners are more apt to forebode predictability with points of disruption or closure. Music in Silent Movies (To be changed) Silent Movies In todays movies there is barely ever a silent moment. For example, while actors are walking down the street multiple sounds can be heard: the actors dialogue, the sound of footsteps, cars screeching down the road, birds chirping, etc. There is constant noise in current movies, never allowing for one second of silence. In 1890s to the late 1920s silent films were prominent among towns and cities in the United States. Although they are called silent movies, they are far from silent. Characteristics of silent films include: little or no dialogue (if there was dialogue it was written in pamphlets and given to the audience), usually black and white, live orchestras and sometimes live narrators or actors. Because there was no recorded dialogue, silent films relied heavily on the acting of actors and the music to set the mood and tone for the film. Most actors were required to over act to be able to convey the emotions across the camera without verbal help. Actors like Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Clara Bow, and Blanche Sweet were all prominent in silent films and were used to portray the emotions the audience longed for. Genres of silent films include comedies, westerns, horror, science fiction, documentaries, series, animates, epics and experimental films. Like the actors in silent films, music played an essential role in this movie era, As silent cinema developed, and especially after c.1912, music came to play a crucial role in shaping and conditioning the viewers response to moving pictures (Cooke 5). Musicians were needed to write scores for the films that would effect peoples emotions the same way words would. The music was needed to take the audience through the story emotionally, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..music, by its very physical presence, created a sense of three-dimensionality singularly lacking in the projected image: while the film was projected from the rear of the hall to the screen at the front, so music played at the front was projected backwards over the audience and through a kind of transference or slippage between sound and image, the depth created by the sound is transferred to the flat surface image (Kalinak 1992, 44). (Cooke 6). Silent films were seen as an art form that had never been tried before. It was new technology that everyone was fascinated in learning and perfecting The silent era was a period of immense creativity, and there seems to be no end to its surprises (Brownlow XI). Silent films have been and will be longed cherished as timeless classics. Unfortunately, ninety percent of the films made during the silent era have disintegrated due to the use of nitrate film (Scorsese IX). Organizations like the National Film Registry and the Library of Congress work to preserve these movies and prevent any further losses. Charlie Chaplin As stated previously, Charlie Chaplin was a famous actor and director of silent films. Charlie Chaplin was born on April 16, 1889 in London, England. Charlie was born into fame, both his parents being renowned vocalists and actors. Appearing in small rolls for films like The Eight Lancashire Kids and Sherlock Holmes, Chaplin began his career before the age of fourteen I went home on the bus dazed with happiness, and began to get the full realization of what happened to me. I had suddenly left behind a like of poverty and was entering a long desired dream-a dream my mother had often spoken about, had reveled in. I was to become an actor! (Chaplin 78). Chaplin continued his career through vaudeville, which brought him to the United States where in 1913 he signed with the Keystone Film Company, making thirty-five films. From 1915 on, Chaplin directed his own movies and the popularity of his baggy-trousered tramp character earned him a million-dollar contract with First National in 1917 (Cooke 27). While working under First National, Chaplin made the films Shoulder Arms in 1918, The Kid in 1921 and The Pilgrim in 1923. In his later years, Chaplin focused away from directing and dabbled in music, sports and writing. Charlie Chaplin was a self-taught musician and wrote music for many of his films, for example Sing a Song, Eternally and With You Dear in Bombay. Chaplin also authored four books: My Autobiography, My Trip Abroad, A Comedian Sees the World and My Life in Pictures. Charlie Chaplin died Christmas day in 1977 at the age of seventy-eight. Over Charlie Chaplins career he was able to convey to the audience any character he wished Chaplins range of characters was extraordinary: he could be a waiter, a down-and-outer turned cop, a hapless immigrant, a vagrant violinist, a soldier- all with equal conviction (Kobel 59). Being the chameleon that Chaplin was, he spoke to the audience through his characters; appealing to peoples emotions and desires. (More sources and information to be added) How Major Tonalitys Effect on Human Emotion is used in Chaplins Movie

Nursing code of ethics

Ethics refers to the adherence to practices and processes, which are morally acceptable.   Ethical issues are what shape public opinion about an organization. In addition, a code of ethics serves as the benchmark for decision-making. In nursing and healthcare, the issue of culture is more pronounced than anywhere else. In deed, it is in the understanding of the need for a more diversified an ready to serve call that led the University of phoenix to develop a code of conduct for students which guides the nursing students and indeed a the whole university community into understanding how best to deal with the issues of professional relations . The fact that nurses are required to serve many people from various ethnic, religious, racial and cultural backgrounds who come forth to hospitals and healthcare centres in search of health solutions means that, the conduct of nurses must be guided by a common concept which in this case is the code of ethics. Due to these cultural disparities, patients often fail to receive quality services because of practices that are lacking in cultural competence. As a result, the American Association of Nursing has in place a code of ethics which aims at offering guidelines for nurses in the course of service. A code of ethics for nurses and indeed for nursing students is aimed at making sure that, nurses offer service with competence and in an efficient manner in a cross-cultural setting thus enhancing the system’s or institution’s capacity to function in effective ways. The American nursing code of ethics emphasizes on integrity, honesty, care giving, and accountability. Under the provisions in the American code of ethics, nurses are required to strictly act in accordance with the guidelines so as to ensure a smooth running of health care provision in the United States of America. The code of ethics for both nurses and students at the University of Phoenix is aimed at ensuring that, in their professional growth, professional attain qualities which influences the individual’s values, perceptions, beliefs and opinions in corresponding to the professional standards expected of nursing professionals. The US is comprised of the most culturally diverse population.   A big percentage of the world’s ethnic, religious and cultural groups are represented in this population.   This has created a most unique opportunity as well as challenge to many professionals including nursing professionals.   Nurses are presented with patients with very diverse cultural backgrounds. Culture influences how different people will respond to the different ways of health service delivery, interventions and treatment, as a result, the code of ethics is designed to streamline the actions of the nurses in regard best practice. In deed the American nursing code of ethics is designed to guide the nursing professionals into the future. In more the same way as a business strategy, the code of conduct imparts discipline and control in the nursing profession thus making sure that, the profession is ready to face future challenges. Because of the demographic situation in America service providers are under pressure to provide more culturally correct services.   The nursing profession cannot be left behind and therefore the need to comply with the changing needs is overwhelming.   One ethnical principle that guides nurses in their endeavour to provide culturally appropriate care is the appreciating that everyone regardless of their cultural persuasion is entitled to receive quality health care. Cultural differences can influence the caregiver’s prejudices and bias towards a patient.   In a similar way a patient can misconstrue the caregiver’s actions and words.   This can serve to lower the quality of care given to this particular patient.   Professional ethics require that there be no form of discrimination in the provision of health care but in a situation where there is prejudice on either party, then the quality of care is compromised. Nurses are usually supposed to care for the general well being of a patient, they ought to be able to understand and empathize with the patient inorder to cater for their physical and emotional needs.   On an individual level, a nurse has a responsibility to learn the practices that are in accordance to cultural competence. In the year 2010 more than 45% of all patients in the US will come from minority cultures.   This is due to immigration that is the greatest contributor to the cultural diversity.   The health sector has realized the reality of these facts and medical practitioners are now given incentives to encourage them to take up learning on cultural diversity. The above reasons amongst others are worthy considering in regard to how nur4ses in this country are governed. To achieve the health goals, the American nursing association must constantly address the issues at hand and specifically consider reinforcing high values. This is what the American code of conduct seeks to achieve as well as the University of Phoenix Student Code of conduct and the American code of conduct. University Phoenix student code ethics. American nursing code of ethics. http://www.nursingworld.org/ethics/ecode.htm accessed on 07/05/2007   

What Is the Metabolism Trend in Architectural History

Metabolism is a modern architecture movement originating in Japan and most influential in the 1960s—trending roughly from the late 1950s to the early 1970s. The word metabolism describes the process of maintaining living cells. Young Japanese architects after World War II used this word to describe their beliefs about how buildings and cities should be designed, emulating a living being. The postwar reconstruction of Japans cities spawned new ideas about the future of urban design and public spaces. Metabolist architects and designers believed that cities and buildings are not static entities, but are ever-changing—organic with a metabolism. Postwar structures that accommodated population growth were thought to have a limited lifespan and should be designed and built to be replaced. Metabolically designed architecture is built around a spine-like infrastructure with prefabricated, replaceable cell-like parts—easily attached and readily removable when their lifespan is over. These 1960s avant-garde ideas became known as Metabolism. Best Examples of Metabolist Architecture A well-known example of Metabolism in architecture is Kisho Kurokawas Nakagin Capsule Tower in Tokyo. Over 100 prefabricated cell-capsule-units are individually bolted onto a single concrete shaft—like brussels sprouts on a stalk, although the look is more like a stalk of front-loading washing machines. In North America, the best example of Metabolist architecture is arguably the housing development created for the 1967 Exposition in Montreal, Canada. A young student named Moshe Safdie burst onto the architecture world with his modular design for Habitat 67. Metabolist History The Metabolist movement filled the void left in 1959 when the Congrà ¨s Internationaux dArchitecture Moderne (CIAM), founded in 1928 by Le Corbusier and other Europeans, disbanded. At the 1960 World Design Conference in Tokyo, the old European ideas about static urbanism were challenged by a group of young Japanese architects. Metabolism 1960: Proposals for a New Urbanism documented the ideas and philosophies of Fumihiko Maki, Masato Otaka, Kiyonari Kikutake, and Kisho Kurokawa. Many Metabolists had studied under Kenzo Tange at Tokyo Universitys Tange Laboratory. Growth of a Movement Some Metabolist urban plans, such as space cities and suspended urban landscape pods, were so futuristic that they were never fully realized. At the World Design Conference in 1960, established architect Kenzo Tange presented his theoretical plan to create a floating city in Tokyo Bay. In 1961, Helix City was Kisho Kurokawas bio-chemical-DNA metabolic solution to urbanism. During this same time period, theoretical architects in the US also were being widely exhibited—American Anne Tyng with her City Tower design and Austrian-born Friedrich St. Florians 300-story Vertical City. The Evolution of Metabolism Its been said that some of the work at the Kenzo Tange Lab was influenced by the architecture of American Louis Kahn. Between 1957 and 1961, Kahn and his associates designed stacked, modular towers for the Richards Medical Research Lab at the University of Pennsylvania. This modern, geometric idea for using space became a model. The world of Metabolism was itself interconnected and organic—Kahn himself was influenced by the work of his partner, Anne Tyng. Likewise, Moshe Safdie, who apprenticed with Kahn, incorporated elements of Metabolism in his breakthrough Habitat 67 in Montreal, Canada. Some would argue that Frank Lloyd Wright started it all with his cantilever design of the 1950 Johnson Wax Research Tower. The End of Metabolism? The 1970 International Exposition in Osaka, Japan was the last collective effort of Metabolist architects. Kenzo Tange is credited with the master plan for the exhibitions at Expo 70. After that, individual architects from the movement became self-driven and more independent in their careers. The ideas of the Metabolist movement, however, are themselves organic—organic architecture was a term used by Frank Lloyd Wright, who was influenced by the ideas of Louis Sullivan, often called 19th century Americas first modern architect. Twenty-first-century ideas about sustainable development are not new ideas—theyve evolved from past ideas. The end is often a new beginning. In the Words of Kisho Kurokawa (1934–2007) From the Age of Machine to the Age of Life - Industrial society was the ideal of Modern Architecture. The steam engine, the train, the automobile, and the airplane freed humanity from labor and permitted it to begin its journey into the realm of unknown....The age of the machine valued models, norms, and ideals. ...The age of the machine was the age of the European spirit, the age of universality. We can say, then, that the twentieth century, the age of the machine, has been an age of Eurocentrism and logos-centrism. Logos-centrism posits that there is only one ultimate truth for all the world....In contrast to the age of the machine, I call the twenty-first century the age of life.....I found the Metabolism movement in 1959. I consciously selected the terms and key concepts of metabolism, metamorphosis, and because they were the vocabulary of life principles. Machines do not grow, change, or metabolize of their accord. Metabolism was indeed an excellent choice for a key word to anno unce the beginning of the age of life....I have chosen metabolism, metamorphosis, and symbiosis as key terms and concepts to express the principle of life.—Each One a Hero: The Philosophy of Symbiosis, Chapter 1 I thought that architecture is not permanent art, something that is completed and fixed, but rather something that grows towards the future, is expanded upon, renovated and developed. This is the concept of metabolism (metabolize, circulate and recycle).—From the Age of Machine to Age of Life, lARCA 219, p. 6 Francis Crick and James Watson announced the double helix structure of DNA between 1956 and 1958. This illustrated that there is a order to the structure of life, and the connections /communication between cells is performed by information. This fact was something that was very shocking to me.—From the Age of Machine to Age of Life, lARCA 219, p. 7 Learn More Project Japan: Metabolism Talks by Rem Koolhaas and Hans-Ulrich Obrist, 2011Buy on AmazonKenzo Tange and the Metabolist Movement: Urban Utopias of Modern Japan by Zhongjie Lin, 2010Buy on AmazonMetabolism in Architecture, Kisho Kurokawa, 1977Buy on AmazonKisho Kurokawa: Metabolism And Symbiosis, 2005Buy on Amazon Source of quoted material: Kisho Kurokawa Architect Associates, copyright 2006 Kisho Kurokawa architect associates. All rights reserved.

Recycling and Reusing Classroom Materials

Teach your students good environmental habits by reusing and recycling classroom items at school. Not only will you be demonstrating how to live an Eco-friendly life, but you will also save a lot of money on classroom supplies. Here are a few ideas for taking your everyday household items and recycling them at school. Cans, Cups, and Containers A cheap and easy way for recycling at school is to ask students to save all of their cans, cups, and containers. You can reuse these everyday household items in the following ways: Crayons cans: Collect small butter and frosting containers and use them for your crayons. Crayon boxes tend to tear easily, and this way students will have a durable crayon container that should last all year long.Paint cups: Ask students to save their yogurt cups and use them as paint cups.Paint containers: Ask your local photo shop to donate their old film containers. You can use these containers for individual painting projects. They are durable enough where they can be used again and again. Cartons, Canisters, and Cardboard Containers Another way for recycling at school is to ask students to save all of their egg cartons, coffee canisters, and cardboard containers to reuse in the following ways: Egg cartons: Egg cartons can be used to sort items, or as a paint holder, planter, or sculpture. It can also be used for a variety of crafts.Coffee canisters: These can be used to store art supplies and make crafts, or they can be used in games.Cardboard containers: Cardboard fast food containers can be used for crafts or special projects. Bottles, Baskets, and Boxes Hair dye or perm bottles, plastic laundry baskets, and boxes are a few other household items you may have around the house. Here are a few ways to reuse them: Hair dye bottles: At the beginning of the school year, ask your students parents to save their hair dye bottles. You can use these bottles as glue containers.Laundry baskets: Use plastic laundry baskets to store stuffed animals, dress-up clothes, and supplies. These baskets are cheap and durable.Laundry boxes: Laundry boxes are an organized teachers dream. Cut the top off of the box and cover with contact paper, now you can use them to store papers. They can also be used for activities and games. You can even label each box according to subject, if you want to be ultra-organized.Baby wipe boxes: Baby wipe plastic boxes can be used to store markers, crayons, dice, pennies, beads, pencils, buttons, pins, shells, stones, buttons, or just about anything.Cereal boxes: These boxes can be cut and used as book covers, as a painting surface, or as tag board. Pawns, Paper Towels, and Plastic Lids The plastic tops of water bottles and the lids off of butter and yogurt are great as game pieces. Here are a few other ways to recycle and reuse plastic lids, and paper towel rolls: Water bottle tops: Water bottle tops can be used for game pieces. Have your students collect and save all of the tops to their water bottles. Color the clear tops different colors and use them as board game pawns.Paper towel rolls: Use paper towel and toilet paper rolls for crafts, such as a stargazer, binoculars, or birdfeeder.Plastic lids: Collect plastic lids from coffee, yogurt, butter, or anything similar to that size and use for crafts or in the learning center. If using in the learning center, clear lids work best for question and answer activities. If using for crafts, lids can be used as coasters, plaques, frames, or Frisbees. Additional Ideas Wrapping paper: Can be used as the backdrop of a bulletin board, for collages, as book covers, or for paper weaving.Shredded paper: Can be used to stuff pillows, bears, or special projects.Hangers: Can be used as mobiles to hang student projects, or as a banner. Reusing and Recycling Paper Do not throw away any of your old papers. Dated calendars can be used to practice number writing, multiplication tables, and learning roman numerals. While extra worksheets and old posters can be distributed to students at free time for them to practice or play school. Old textbooks can be used to practice important skills, such as having students find and circle vocabulary words, verbs, and nouns, or reinforcing grammar and punctuation.