It's a Linky Party! Link up & share links that have changed your life in your classroom!

The Pins That Changed My Life!

Have you ever came across a Pin on Pinterest  & wondered why on Earth you didn't think of this sooner? I have found a few pins that have made my life SO much easier as a teacher. I think it will be helpful to all of us to share these ideas so everyone can benefit! 

If I had to pick 1 pin that made the biggest difference in my classroom this is it! This simple pin saved my sanity & so much wasted class time. I came across this pin 2 years ago. I'd tried everything else from checklists, folders, rewards, punishments, but nothing helped the problem of students forgetting to put their names on their papers. This always created havoc in my classroom. I'd have dishonest students who would try to claim a paper that wasn't theirs, students who wouldn't claim their own paper because it had a bad grade on it etc. It took up too much of my time. This simple pin changed my life! Now, I simply have a little bucket (Dollar Spot at Target) and the sign taped to it right beside my "Turn in Papers" tray. I instruct students 1 time what to do & that's it! They are so excited about getting to use a highlighter at first that they can't wait to do it. Later on, I find that as students go to turn it in & they don't have their name on it, they will grab a nearby pencil & write their name or write their name with a highlighter and then turn it in. Either way...I don't care because I don't have to track the owners down. in TWO years I've only had 1 no namer paper & that was when I had a substitute & she picked the papers up instead of having students turn them on. 

I LOVE this pin! I am an ADD teacher, sounds distract me. I hate the sound of desks moving on the floor. Ugh! I am also very anal & I like my desks to be neat & in the specific place they are supposed to be in. I found this pin & was so excited. I've used it for several years & even the custodians at my school comment on how it has made their job easier! I went to Lowes & bought a large package of the longer Zip Ties. Once I have my desks where I want them, I zip tie the desk legs together. I keeps my U shaped arrangement looking good!

 

As I mentioned, I am anal. I like things to be a certain way. I can't stand torn up crayon boxes. I don't like finding crayons on the floor or in desks either. I especially hate when we are doing a project & students have lost the specific colors we need. I found this pin last summer & it made a HUGE difference. I went to Wal-Mart and purchased 24 travel soap containers. I then wrote student numbers on the top of them in permanent marker. On the first day I had students open up their brand new crayon boxes & empty the contents in the soap holder. (24 crayons fits perfectly!) Many students were sad about throwing away their new box so I told them they could take them home if they wanted. Then I collected the boxes & they were stored in the specific groups area that also stores their scissors, glue, and dry erase markers. In January we replace old supplies. ( I ask for 2 boxes of crayons on the back to school supply list.) This is the first year that the students' crayons were actually still in good condition in January! I didn't have to throw them all away because they were broken or missing colors. Most students just took the old ones home since they were still in good condition.

 

 

This next one I actually didn't find on Pinterest. I did an Internet search & found this website  http://www.technologyrocksseriously.com/2012/04/student-selectors-grouping-tools.html#.U8qOC7HLOSo. 

I then found exactly what I was looking for! Having students partner up in the classroom shouldn't be a time consuming thing! In the past I've used popsicle sticks, Partner Clocks, Partner Phones, you name it. There was always a lot of complaining & always students who "lost" their partner charts because they wanted to be able to join a group instead. It just wasted too much time. I found this random group selector & then Pinned it myself so I wouldn't forget the site. I used it in my classroom last year & LOVED it! You can pick the size of the group to fit the activity you want. So there can be groups of two, three, etc. I project it on my screen & the students get right to work. They don't complain to me because the computer generated it! If I have an odd number of students, then the odd student gets to pick a group. If I have a student absent, then their partner gets to pick a group. If I have 2 students absent then their partners automatically become partners. This has been a wonderful tool in my classroom!

 

 

This final one is one that I plan to try this year! I've used actual erasers & also socks in my classroom for erasers. However, they always end up lost or on the floor. I'm going to try this pin this year to see how it works. However, I think I'm going to try gluing the pom pom to the lid so that when the marker goes dry we can just change the lid out. I'll let you know how it works!

 

Now it's your turn! Link up & share what has changed your life in your classroom!

An InLinkz Link-up