Monday Made It - Part 4

Hello All! I'm linking with Tara at 4th Grade Frolics again for another Monday Made It!

The last weeks of summer are flying by. And not at jet plane speed, either. That I could handle... But this lighting speed crud?? Come on!! Didn't I JUST say good-bye to twenty-four 4th graders?? Anyway, this week's Monday Made It contains a lot of "made its'. And I'm including a Freebie! Yay!

First up, my out-of-classroom-passes & sign for my sharp/unsharp pencils.

Last year I made REALLY cute passes (they were lost) and bought REALLY cute passes (they were also lost) so this year I QUICKLY made a-ok passes. I totally realize I will need to make more toward the end of the year. Last year I would just hand random objects to my students when they left the room... Paper flowers, a Native American talking stick, rubber bands-- Basically, whatever I grabbed. I got my super cute broken pencils / sharpened pencil printables from The First Grade Derby HERE!

Next up, classroom manager positions! While in college at the University of Houston (GO COOGS!), I attended an inservice called Consistency Management and Cooperative Discipline. As described on the website, CMCD is "is an innovative school-wide (preK-12th grade) research based, classroom-tested classroom management reform program that builds on shared responsibility for learning and classroom organization between teachers and students." Summed up: it's great. One of the points was having classroom "managers" with legit jobs that help the classroom function. Did I mention there needs to be a job for EVERY student?? Yes, that means I created 24 manager positions... As you can see from the pic, one is "Classroom Detective". Job Description? Helping me find items when I've lost them... hehehe! Also, my students will interview for their positions. I'll rotate them out every month or so to make sure everyone gets to manage their area of choice. FUN! Last year, my students took their jobs VERY seriously (and came up with the CUTEST interview answers) and it truly did make the classroom a functioning, cooperative place!

And now to my new system of turning papers in... Magnets! While at CAMT, I attended a session by Nikki Bitzer. She has a set of numbered magnets in her classroom and when students complete their assignment, they get their number magnet and use it to secure their paper to the board. The numbers are assigned in alphabetical order-- and students keep them in the correct number order on the board-- so when you collect the papers, THEY'RE IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER! Gradebook WIN! Also, it's super easy to see who hasn't turned their work in. Love this idea! 

Lastly, I pinned an awesome "STOP: Please stop what you're doing and make a better choice" sign weeks ago. When I finally got around to following the the blog link, I was taken to Ms. M's Blog. Great blog- but I could not find the sign anywhere. So I made my own little guys. I think these are an awesome and discreet way of redirecting a kiddo while teaching. Just walk up to the student and place one on their desk and they'll get the hint! I'm always circling the room so other students wouldn't even realize what's happening. Awesome! Want some? I've uploaded mine HERE. 



Well, colleagues, I hope your summers have been fantastic. Enjoy these last lazy moments!