Ten Amazing Ways to Use Sticky Notes (with Freebies): Part 3

Looking for ways to save time, engage students, and stay organized?  
Sticky notes can help with that.  
In my last two posts, I shared 5 ways to use sticky notes in writing instruction for genres, six traits, rubrics, read alouds, and novel studies.  
This post is devoted to classroom organization.  

Charts and Walls

6.  Boggle Boards

http://clutterfreeclassroom.blogspot.com/

How many of you have a Boogle Board?  Or maybe you add point values and it's more of a Scrabble Board?  Either way, instead of printing the letters and then cutting them out (perfectly, because if it's not, it will bug you all year), you can just print the letters on sticky notes.  The added advantage is that you can also change the point value when you print again.  You could start the year with single digit points, moving up to double digit, and ending with equations, such as A= 2 x 2.  

I have been addicted to loving Jodi's website, Clutter-Free Classroom, for years.  She's amazing at what she does and you have probably seen her work, if you don't already have her designs in your room already.  Click here for her Boggle Board ideas.  

7.  Anchor Charts

http://readingandwritingproject.com/

Even if you don't have a Boggle/Scrabble Board, chances are you do have anchor charts. all. over. your. walls.  There's nothing new with using sticky notes for students to record their thinking on anchor charts.  But, what about the teacher using pre-printed sticky notes?  

Look at the picture above (from The Reading and Writing Project).  Once you have taught your students how to "burst with curiosity", you could stack those pre-printed sticky notes on that spot.  When students set a purpose for reading, they could approach the anchor chart and select the sticky notes they will use that day.  

8.  Classroom Jobs

http://ayearofmanyfirsts.blogspot.com/

Show me an organized classroom and I'll show you a teacher who utilizes "classroom jobs".  Teachers typically use staples or push pins to keep the names and jobs on the wall.  But what about the teachers who have brick walls?  Or a crazy textured wall on which nothing will stick?  (oh, that was just me)  Sticky notes to the rescue.  Pre-printed sticky notes help those teachers who can't use staples or push pins.  In fact, sticky notes could help them with most bulletin boards, not just classroom jobs.  Lyndsey has super cute printables on her blog here.  

Notes

9.  Homework

http://www.livinglocurto.com/

Do you tend to give the same feedback on homework?  You could make a sticky note for that.  This website is super cute with printables for homework and home organization.  

10.  Notes for Students

http://www.bloglovin.com/

I don't know about you, but I love giving my kiddos encouraging notes.  I have gone through the stamping phase but I still struggle to find the right sentiments.  Here's an idea: write your own!  You can write that catch phrase that you always say to the kids.  You can personalize it with their names.  Or, you can just use this super cute (free) template.  EnJOY!

Ten Amazing Ways to Use Sticky Notes (with Freebies) is a 3 part series.  

Part 1: Writing 

Part 2: Reading

Part 3: Charts, Walls, and Organization

Sticky Note How-To:

1. Print the blank template.  If you are printing a pre-made printable, move on to the next step.  If you are creating your own printable, type directly into the squares on the word document.  **Before you print, remove the box outlines for the squares.
2. Place your blank sticky notes on the squares.
3. Place your sticky note paper into the printer (manual feed tray works best).
4. Print, remove, and bask in the beauty of your amazing sticky notes!

As a life-long learner, I am constantly looking at new ways to take instruction to the next level.  How have you used sticky-notes in the classroom?

Ten Amazing Ways to Use Sticky Notes (with Freebies): Part 2

Looking for ways to save time, engage students, and stay organized?  Sticky notes can help with that.  In my last post, I shared 3 ways to use sticky notes in writing instruction for genres, six traits, and rubrics.  This post is devoted to reading instruction.  You will find something for you whether your students read novels or you read aloud to them.

Reading

4.  Novel Studies

http://bainbridgeclass.blogspot.com/

We have been teaching students to look for text-to-self, text-to-world, and text-to-text connections for years.  What about giving them pre-printed sticky notes to place in the book when they made those connections?  I really like Christina's use of sticky notes on her website.  She has some for tricky words also.  Once you know how to set up a sticky note printable, you can change out the text.  I have seen sticky notes for "this is the exciting part because", "I think", "I feel", "this part is funny because", "this part is surprising because". Notice all those were sentence starters.  They encourage the readers to engage with the text, make connections, and respond to it.  

5.  Read Aloud Prompts

Ever finish a read-aloud and then realize you forgot to ask half of your questions?  How about the prompts your curriculum provided?  Forget it!  It's too hard to switch back and forth between the teacher manual and the big book.  Imagine this: what if your curriculum provided the prompts on sticky notes?  What if the prompts were upside down so you could read them (right side up), while reading the picture book aloud to the class?  Wait no longer.  Click here for a free printable of Read Aloud Prompts for the popular children's book Cactus Hotel.  

Ten Amazing Ways to Use Sticky Notes (with Freebies) is a 3 part series.  

Part 1: Writing 

Part 2: Reading

Part 3: Charts, Walls, and Organization

Sticky Note How-To:

1. Print the blank template.  If you are printing a pre-made printable, move on to the next step.  If you are creating your own printable, type directly into the squares on the word document.  **Before you print, remove the box outlines for the squares.
2. Place your blank sticky notes on the squares.
3. Place your sticky note paper into the printer (manual feed tray works best).
4. Print, remove, and bask in the beauty of your amazing sticky notes!

As a life-long learner, I am constantly looking at new ways to take instruction to the next level.  How have you used sticky-notes in the classroom?

Ten Amazing Ways to Use Sticky Notes (with Freebies): Part 1

Every once in awhile, I stumble on something that works.  Really works.  

Sticky notes work.

On one particular lesson, I wanted the students to read a section of their books and jot down the main idea.  Our dry-erase markers were drying out in my classroom and I didn't want to waste a whole piece of paper for just a sentence or two.  I brought out my yellow sticky notes.  I handed one note to each student.  Then, the magic happened.  

They wrote the main idea.  In perfect, whole sentences.  And then they wanted another sticky note, to do the next section.  And the next.  I have struggled with main idea for years, and now this simple, little piece of sticky paper made the lesson so engaging.  

It wasn't long before they started asking for more sticky notes to write down the major characters and their traits.  It also wasn't long before I used up my supply of boring, yellow sticky notes.  I had cute, shape sticky notes saved for special occasions.  Don't ask me which special occasions, because I never used them.  Seriously.  I had cupcake shaped sticky notes for 2 years that I had never used.  Every once in awhile, a family member sends me sticky notes in the shape of a school house or a bus.  I had pink, purple, green, blue, you name it!  I tentatively put them in a cute basket at my guided reading table.  What do you think happened?  The kids came running to guided reading and couldn't wait to find out what they would be writing about today!  Really?!  Told you, sticky notes work. 

Well, sticky notes work for teachers too.  My last 2 years in the classroom were amazing with an ever-expanding use of sticky-notes.  Just because I am now out of the classroom and writing curriculum doesn't mean that I have given up my affinity for sticky notes.  Nope.  I'm all about bringing new uses of the sticky notes to teachers.  Below, I list 10 of my favorite uses to help save time, engage students, stay organized, etc.  

Writing  

1.  Genre Writing Checklist

http://writingfix.com/

You might have a writing checklist on a poster on your walls.  Or you might give each student a checklist to attach to their writing project.  Instead, imagine giving your students a sticky note to slap right onto their project.  I like this template best because the author, Corbett Harrison, includes a line for the students to rank themselves.  Notice the verb "rank"; not "rate".  That's taking Bloom's up a level.  His website is GREAT and has templates for many different genres, professional development opportunities, and 6 Traits (see below).  

2.  6 Traits

http://writingfix.com/

Once again, a brilliant way to use a checklist/ranking system with students.  Buy a pack of sticky notes in various colors.  Print each trait in a different color.  Place them in your Writing Center.  Viola!  Again, notice the "rank".  If you haven't had any formal training in the 6 Traits or want some new inspiration, Harrison's website is full of exemplar texts and examples (and free 6 Trait sticky note templates).  

3.  Rubrics!

http://everybodyisageniusblog.blogspot.com/

One thing that I really like about the direction education is going is the increased use of rubrics.  Oh, teachers have been using rubrics for years to grade their students' work.  But now, there is more emphasis on the students using the rubrics to grade themselves, and.....wait for it.....self-correct before turning it in.  Boom.  Yes!  That is what we wanted all along.  

Some rubrics are lengthy and have many criteria.  They don't all have to be that way.  Look at the example above.  Sarah uses these sticky notes in her class and doesn't let the students turn in the paper until all the criteria are met.  It's a good example of the real-world.  She includes a free template on her site as well, so you can get started writing your own rubrics. 

Ten Amazing Ways to Use Sticky Notes (with Freebies) is a 3 part series.  

Part 1: Writing 

Part 2: Reading

Part 3: Charts, Walls, and Organization

Sticky Note How-To:

1. Print the blank template.  If you are printing a pre-made printable, move on to the next step.  If you are creating your own printable, type directly into the squares on the word document.  **Before you print, remove the box outlines for the squares.
2. Place your blank sticky notes on the squares.
3. Place your sticky note paper into the printer (manual feed tray works best).
4. Print, remove, and bask in the beauty of your amazing sticky notes!

As a life-long learner, I am constantly looking at new ways to take instruction to the next level.  How have you used sticky-notes in the classroom?

Monsoon: Blessing or Curse? A STEM PBL Project

http://www.cap-az.com

The day begins like any other; hot.  Residents get their chores and errands done early, to beat the heat of the sun.  Yet, at about 3:00 in the afternoon, something changes.  The wind starts whipping up.  Clouds start to build.  White and puffy at first, but quickly growing darker and heavier.  Off in the distance, one can hear the roll of thunder.  What's happening in this desert?  A monsoon is brewing.

Monsoons are a change in the wind pattern that draw moisture up from the Pacific Ocean, Gulf of California, and Gulf of Mexico into Arizona and surrounding areas.  This change is marked with heavy rainfall.  It is this heavy rainfall that can be a blessing or a curse.

This year especially, the American Southwest is in a severe drought.  The rains are much needed.  The land is parched, vegetation is dry, and lakes/reservoirs are low.  One would think the added moisture is a blessing.  And it is.  When it comes nice and steady.  The only problem with monsoons is that they usually release a lot of moisture in a short amount of time.  How short?  Well, the local joke is that if you don't like the weather, wait 15 minutes and it'll change.  Inches and inches of water are released within 30 minutes or less.  This causes flooding annually.  Cars are swept away, people are rescued by helicopters, and landscapes change instantly.  This deluge can be especially troublesome in areas recently affected by wildfires.  The roots of plants and trees helps to hold the soil  on mountain slopes.  After a fire, those roots no longer abate the soil and runoff.  Mudslides cause thousands of dollars of damage every year.

Watch this amateur video, capturing a monsoon last summer.  Watch how the rain comes down in sheets.

But, what can be done?  Monsoon: Blessing or Curse is a STEM PBL project where students work to solve a real-world problem.  Since monsoons typically occur July - August, Monsoon: Blessing or Curse is a perfect STEM project for students to do at home with their parents.  Possible engineering activities include harnessing the power of the monsoon, collecting rain water, and distributing the rain water.  Students can view videos of how fast flood waters rise and how meteorologists use radar to track the storms.  If parents want to include an element of history, students can read about how the ancient Native American tribes were able to harness the rain water to water their crops in the arid climate of what is now Phoenix.

Illustration by Rebecca Leer

What if you don't live in the American Southwest and don't get monsoons?  You can alter the activity to be used with any rainstorm.  Don't have rain in the forecast?  A hose can always double for mother nature.

The Arizona Geographic Alliance also has great lesson plans for those who prefer a more structured lesson.

1. Monsoon Days

Description: In this lesson students will gain a deeper understanding of Arizona’s monsoon season. They will learn what causes this yearly phenomenon and how to act safely in monsoon storms. This lesson uses the children’s book Hip, Hip, Hooray It’s a Monsoon Day
Author: Gale Ekiss
Grade Range: 4
Duration: 3 class periods

2. Mapping the Monsoon

Description: In this lesson students will gain a better understanding of a monsoon and Arizona weather. They will look at world maps to see how seasonal wind changes happen all over the world, layering the transparencies to learn how information can be compared using maps.
Author: 
Karen Guerrero
Grade Range: 
1-2
Duration: 
2 class periods

Questions?  Comments?  Pictures of your engineering projects?  I would love to hear from you at STEAMingAheadWithSusan@gmail.com