Classroom Organization: Table Supply Tubs!

Yes! We color and cut in a high school Geometry class!

I use color and cutting techniques in my class fairly often for things such as: coded notes, color by numbers, cut & sort activities, etc. Instead of having individual supply containers for such things, I put together table tubs for my students. They have been a HUGE help. I store the tubs on my air conditioning unit. When we are doing an activity that requires any of the materials in the tubs, I send someone from each table to grab a tub for their group. At the completion of the activity, the tubs are to go back on the air conditioning unit.

I used to keep the supply tubs on the tables at all times, but I find that keeping them on the air conditioning unit keeps the tables looking cleaner...which makes my OCD heart go pitter-pat! ❤

Tubs include the following materials:

-Colored pencils
-Markers
-Crayons
-Glue sticks
-Scissors
-Mini staplers
-Staple refills
-2 personal pencil sharpeners

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3 Teacher Memes That Currently Sum Up My Life...

And to think...it's only Tuesday!

Student Incentives: Brag Tags in the High School Classroom

For those that don't know, brag tags are an incentive-based program that promotes positive behavior and interactions amongst students. These are typically seen in an elementary school classroom, but I have found a way to use them in my high school classroom! Instead of brag tags, I call the student coupons, but the idea is the same. If I see a positive behavior in my classroom, I will allow the student to choose a student coupon from my stack.

For instance, there was a mess made by a previous class left on the tables for the incoming block. A student from that class, without prompting, cleaned up the mess for me. I was, of course, so happy that he had done that for me...but even happier that he would do that for someone without even being asked to do so. I wanted him to know how much I appreciated it, so I let him choose a student coupon. It was the first time I had awarded one of the coupons. I can't even begin to tell you how excited the receiving student was to choose his reward. He chose his coupon in front of his classmates, and boy were they jealous. I explained to them why he was getting the coupon and from then on out you better believe if they did anything they thought would be considered an act of kindness, they would let me know to see if they would get a coupon. Now, I don't give them away willy nilly. I only give the coupons out when they are deserved and something isn't being done JUST to reap the reward. However, I have noticed that my system definitely promotes and encourages positive behaviors. Not to mention it is a fun way to do so!

My "coupons" consist of the following:

• Stand at the door 2 minutes before the bell for a week (I do NOT allow this otherwise...huge pet peeve)
• Homework pass
• A "walk-through" of one problem on a test/quiz of choice with me
• Listen to your music during classwork
• 5 points extra credit on test of choice for current 9 weeks
• 10 points extra credit on quiz of choice for current 9 weeks
• Soda pass (when a student uses this one, I ask their favorite and pick it up before work the next morning)
• Popcorn pass (I pop the student a whole bag of popcorn in the teacher's lounge)
• Test/Quiz re-take
• Sit in the adirondack chair for the day (the chair has a huge comfy pillow and a lap desk to use...see my previous post for a picture!)
• Snack pass (when a student uses this one, I ask for their fav snack and pick it up before work the next morning...given that it is price appropriate, of course!)

Long story short...I love these coupons! Download them here in case you would like to use them too! I print, laminate, then cut them out. When a student wants to use their coupon, they give it back to me. I like that I can use them over and over again!

Classroom Decor: Back to School 2017!

Today is the 1st day of the new 2017-2018 school year...wait for it....my 11th year of teaching! I can't even believe that 11 years ago I taught my first lesson with my first class. Hundreds of kids and lessons later, many things have changed...including my classroom decor! Check out my new digs for the school year!

My absent station is still kicking (of course!) and I've added a re-charge station for the year for cell phones. I can't wait to see what this new school year brings!

Fun in the High School Math Classroom!

Today, my kids are doing one of my absolute favorite activities...an I Love Lucy worksheet. I Love Lucy is my all-time favorite show on the planet. It is SUCH a classic. I have loved it since I was a little girl. I have made it one of my missions in life to have Lucille Ball's legacy live on...in my students. In order to incorporate it into my class, I had to relate it to math in some form, and that is how an I Love Lucy worksheet came to be.

Students answer 8 multiple choice math questions related to our current topic (ours being surface area and volume ratios/changing dimensions). Each correct multiple choice answer ALSO answers a question about a certain episode of the show. See the image below, the I Love Lucy currently being done in my classroom at this very moment:

Now, here is the best part: I don't go over the answers when the students are done. Instead, we watch the episode that goes along with the worksheet and they check the answers based on what happens in the show. After the episode ends, we then go over correct answers and I go over any problems requested. My students are constantly asking for I Love Lucy worksheets, and believe it or not, they actually find a black and white television show funny!

There are a few caveats to this activity, however. I make SURE that each student shows work for each problem, or else they are NOT ALLOWED to watch the episode. I will not accept just circled answers. I also only do I Love Lucy worksheets once a month. It gives my students something to look forward to, but also I don't want to take too much time out of class to be watching something that could be deemed "not math-related" by some.

Click here for the entire worksheet!

Classroom Organization: Binders for unit storage? SOO last year!

Last week was our Spring Break. It was needed more than EVER this year, in my opinion! I went to NYC to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on Broadway. It was a great show, although Wicked will forever be my favorite!

Now, I'm back to the grindstone at school, which is always SO hard the week after a break...I know all teacher-folk will agree!

I am ALWAYS looking for classroom organization tips/tricks/ideas...do you guys use binders to store all of your unit notes, activities, etc? I used to...until I stumbled upon these babies: scrapbook cases!

I LOVE these guys! I used to love the heck out of my binders too, but I would occasionally forget an activity that I had for certain concepts, because some things just don't fit nicely into a binder (task cards, match-ups, etc). And some of those forgotten activities were great ones! These scrapbook cases work perfect for me. I keep all of my answer keys, bellworks, and activities all in one spot. PERFECTION! :)














Michael's had a great sale on the scrapbook cases a couple of weeks ago...3 for $10, so I grabbed some up and ran like a bandit to the checkout line before they realized the incredible deal they were offering!