Nailed It!!!

As teachers, there comes a time when we have to do what we have to do to grab our students' attention, right?

Sometimes, you try to point something out to your students and they just don't know what you're pointing at, whether it's on the document camera or during small group instruction. Other times, well, they just aren't looking.

Well, my wonderful friend Sandra, who is an amazing teacher, took it to the next level and she NAILED IT!!!

Check it out!!!

She had her nail tech paint an arrow on the nail of her pointer finger!  What an attention grabber!  I love it!

Here is another angle.  Isn't this creative?

I had to share this amazing idea with everyone.
This will definitely get students "pointed" in the right direction!!!

Thanks for letting me share it Sandra! And thanks for being such a great motivator to your students. They are so lucky to have you as their math teacher!!!

Figure Me out!

Not only is this great to use as a "getting to know you" activity, but it also allows students to review what they learned the previous year about computation and order of operations!

To be fair to my students, I created a Figure Me Out sheet of my own so they could have an example of what was expected.

I allowed my students to work with a partner so that they could discuss, share and remind each other about skills they learned last year. They were also able to use journal notes and resources that were glued into their math journal.

I did find out a whole lot about my students. They are very creative and their drawing skills are very impressive. 

I challenged my students to create a 2-step problem and use the order of operations.

It makes a great display for Meet the Teacher Night or Open House.

This activity also gave me a chance to show my students what I expect when they are working in pairs, with their shoulder partner. As I monitored the classroom, I praised students that were using the correct "volume" when discussing.  Since students learn by example, others took note of this and followed suit.

If you are interested in purchasing this activity, you can find it HERE.

Thanks so much for looking and have a great day!!!

Meet the Teacher Night Idea

Just an idea for your "Meet the Teacher Night" or Open House.

I didn't receive many tissue boxes or sanitizing wipes at the beginning of the year, even though it was requested on the student supply list. Just so you know, these items are only requested for homeroom classes, NOT every teacher.

Anywho!  I came up with this idea very last minute.  I remembered I purchased small sticky notes shaped like a hand at Walmart over the summer, so I came up with this idea!

I wrote items my students needed in the classroom.

I also made a sign so parents could see what the sticky note was for.

Simple, yet effective!  As parents were waiting their turn by the door, they were able take a sticky note as a reminder to bring a box of tissue or canister of disinfecting wipes. I did mention that cold and flu season was right around the corner a few times. Of course it was their choice, and not every single parent took one, but hey, I'll take what I can get!

I have received a few boxes of tissue and only two canisters of disinfecting wipes, but it's only been a couple of days.  I'm hoping I'll get more this coming week. After all, some people do their shopping only on the weekends! (Optimism is your friend!) ;D

I still have quite a few hand shaped sticky notes left.  My original idea was to write down a positive comment or even something like "homework pass" and give them out as "high fives" to students as rewards. I will still be able to do that! The notes were inexpensive and several came in the pack.

I hope these tips were helpful to you! "Stick around" by following me!  I'll be adding more tips and ideas as the year passes.  ;)

I'd also LOVE to hear how you use sticky notes in your classroom!

Thanks for looking and have a great week!!!