Teachers in Tiaras

Marilyn Adams

Creative Ways Teachers Can Use Pinterest

Wow! I wish some of my teachers had seen these ideas when I was the shy new kid moving to new schools every year. It is so important to recognize that I have to go out of my way to care for every type of person in my classroom.

A fun way to teach students about inferences.

I fully believe that a bright, colorful, and kid friendly environment is the best way to welcome students (and parents) into the classroom. To break the mold from the typical classroom, how about creating a YOU wall for your students to see on the first day.

Simply pick one wall in your classroom and leave it completely BLANK. If you don’t have room for one whole wall block off a large section with a border, and don’t put anything inside. While the students are checking out the classroom for the first time, their little minds will start to churn about why you left a space of your wall empty (especially if all of your other wall space is as covered as mine is).

For morning work on the first day, have each of the students draw a self portrait. For lower elementary stick to just a drawing, and with the upper grades have them include character traits in their drawing (wings on their feet if they like to run, a large brain inside their head, etc.). At the end of the day, glue each child’s self portrait to the front of a folder. I typical use the basic manila folders and glue the sides shut to create a pocket. Post the folders up on the wall and wait to see the student’s curiosity the next morning!

On the second day, explain to the students that this is their wall. Whenever they complete a special picture, writing, math, or science assignment they can come place it in the folder throughout the school year. At the end of the year, give each student his or her folder to enjoy all the work they are proud of! Most teacher always display students work in and outside of the classroom, but the “You Wall” gives the students a chance to display their favorite work throughout the year. 

To take it a step further, whenever a particular student is the star student go through his or her folder with the class and let everyone see their awesome work!

This lovely first grade teacher has posted tons of back to school freebies on her blog that are perfect for open house! Below is an example of just one of the many cute handouts she has. Check it out!

A fun game to include once a week in your morning work routine is The Perfect Word. My 4th grade teacher Mrs. Spehar used this with us and I remember loving it. I did change the name simply because neither she nor I could remember what is was!

The Perfect Word is a simple game to improve basic addition skills with a little spelling, too. Explain to the students that each letter of the alphabet is equal to a number. The code we always used was A=1, B=2…Y=25, Z=26. Every Tuesday (or any other day)designate time for students to find out how much their spelling words equal, their names, who can find the word with the highest sum, the word with the least sum with X amount of letters, or anything else you can think of. Allow the students to work on it in their free time throughout the week. If doing a competition (greatest, least, etc), have all of the students submit their words and totals in a designated area. Before dismissal on Friday announce the winner!

Also, along with the weekly assignment have a second competition to find the perfect word which could last a 9 weeks, semester, or year long! The perfect words cannot be a proper noun and has a sum of 100. I have to admit after trying for a very long time, I have only found 2 perfect words!

Now Tumblr Teachers, I would love to see how smart you are! Can any of you figure out any of the perfect words?

As I mentioned, leaving tokens on each student’s desk is not always the best for every classroom. Many kiddos do fiddle and they could become a big distraction. 

The teacher could simply tally mark names on a master role. Set up a spreadsheet will all of your students and as many days as you can fit. Still explain the rule to the students, and warn them when they only have one token left.

Another alternative is to find a cheap, sectional craft organizer. Label each of the sections with the students’ names and place 3 tokens in each. Whenever the student uses one of his or her tokens, remove from their section and place in a cup.

**A friend of mine used the latter option, but raised the stakes a little. He had a very quiet class one year and wanted to wake them up. He encouraged all of the students to share by having a lottery at the end of everyday. He labeled all of the tokens with the initials of his students and pulled 1-3 out of the cup based on the prizes he had that day.

At the elementary level, many student ask off-topic questions or make statements that have nothing to do with the lesson. Although it is awesome to address these times (possible teachable moments!), it can interrupt a really great lesson/break another student’s concentration. A great way to cut down on getting off-topic is the token rule!

Give each student a set number of cheap plastic poker chips (100 for $5 at Walmart), which I call tokens. I chose to give everyone 3, but you can do more or less based on your own observations. Have each student place the 3 tokens on the corner of their desk. Explain to the class that during instruction time it is ok to say or ask things that are off-topic, but you only have 3 times to do so each day. Whenever a student does ask/tell a story, walk over and take a token without saying anything. Explain to all of the students that when thinking of a story be sure to think if it is worth one of their three tokens for the day.

Be sure to NOT discourage conversation with the students. I love talking and spending time with my students. I always make it very clear that the token rule only applies to instructional time. Any other time (recess, free time, lunch, etc.) they are welcome to come  and ask or tell me anything!

I am very aware that this system will not work in every classroom, and I have come up with some alternatives I used in the past. I will post these later in the week.

tomesaway asked: Just wondering if this is still a functioning blog. You haven't posted anything in a looooooooong time! You're still an editor on the #education page too. Is everything okay?

Yes! Thank you for asking! I recently started two new jobs, and I’ve been insanely busy. Also, I’ve gone on vacation twice and a few family tragedies have occurred back-to-back. All this craziness has unfortunately hindered my work. This is still a fully functioning blog, and I will get around to new posts very soon. As far as me still being an editor on #education, I know I have not fulfilled my duties whatsoever and I feel terrible! I wish I had more time to browse and post, but there simply aren’t enough hours in the day. Thank you so very much for checking in and I’m going to do my best to drum up some ideas and get to posting. Have a wonderful day! :)

In high school, we made Warm & Fuzzies for each other at the end of every semester in theater class. I ran across these just yesterday and I cherish them just as much as I did years ago! Here is my take on an elementary version.

Materials Needed:

-Construction Paper

-Markers/pencils

Instructions:

1. Allow each student to chose his or her favorite color of construction paper.

2. Have each of them write/draw their name at the top being as creative as they like. Be sure to tell them not to write too big.

3. Pass the papers around the room allowing about 1-2 minutes with each student. Instruct the students to write one positive word about the student whose paper they have. The tricky part is, no word can be repeated on the Warm & Fuzzy so be sure to have your thesaurus handy!

4. When everyone in the class has his or her own paper returned, allow time for reading and sharing.

When doing this activity, be sure to emphasize that compliments only will be accepted. Also, you may chose to make it anonymous or have the students write their initials on each W&F. I always thought the mystery of who wrote what was a huge part of the fun. This could also easily work at the high school level (as it did in my theater class), but just be sure it doesn’t go horribly wrong.