Summer Clearance Items for Back to School!!!!

Well hello there!!!
I hope everyone is having an enjoyable summer!
Summer is a time for teachers to refresh, relax and reboot.
Unfortunately, July is time for Back to School merchandise to hit the store floors.
Yes. July. And it's still summer.😑

Yeah. I know. It's a bit of a bummer to see all of the summer items placed in a clearance pile so that stores can make room for all of the back to school merchandise. But that summer clearance pile can benefit you and your students!!!!

Here are a few items to keep an eye out for that are useful in the classroom and can save you money. 😉


#1
Keep an eye out for these sturdy plastic plates. I bought these on clearance for 25¢ at "Wally World". But you can find them anywhere from dollar stores to grocery stores at great prices during this time since they are trying to make room for the back to school merchandise.

Just add a dry erase marker and...TA-DA!!!!!  You have a set of colorful dry erase boards! At four to a pack, these are great for stations or small group instruction. It's also a great way to add color to your classroom.

Here's a bonus tip! Use a felt square to create erasers to go with these.

Just cut up a felt square into fourths and BAM! You have four erasers to go with your four dry erase boards(plates)! The good news? Felt squares only cost about 25¢. I "felt" that I needed to share this idea.  😁

Just wipe the plate clean using the felt square and it's good as new!

Here's another idea!

These round plastic plates would be great to show students parts of a fraction. Use the dry erase marker to show what a half looks like. You can have students draw a line down the center and shade one half of the circle. Continue the lesson with thirds, fourths, etc. What a great visual and tactile activity! 👍

#2
Straw dispensers make GREAT pencil dispensers!!!

Keep an eye out for these plastic straw dispensers that are available in bright colors.

Just fill it up with pencils and lift the lid when you need one. Great way to organize your pencils.

Hey! How about two of them? One for sharpened pencils and one for dull pencils.

Just get kiddos to place them in the correct container and have them sharpen the dull pencils as needed.

#3

This is the last straw! Seriously. 

Straws are going to be a big clearance item soon.

I got these neon straws for 10¢ a box a few summers ago.

Yes. You read that right. If you saw them for 10¢ a box, you might buy as many as I did too. 😜

Anywhooooo!

All you need is a box of straws, scissors, a ruler and pipe cleaners to create a math center.

Just cut them up in various lengths and you can have students use the straw pieces with the pipe cleaners to create polygons. I cut them up into three different lengths so it would be easier to match up congruent pieces needed for certain polygons, including regular polygons.

First I cut off the small section above the expandable piece.  It's measurement was 1.75 inches.

I then cut the rest into 2 inch and 2.5 inch sections.  No, I didn't cut up ALL of the straws. Just enough needed per group or station.

Here's a tip! 

When cutting the straw pieces, aim the tip of the straw into a plastic cup so that they don't go flying all over the place. I only used this glass mason jar so that you could see through it.  LOL

You could even have your students practice their measuring skills and have them cut up the straws to given dimensions if you have time in class.

Now for the fun! Have students create polygons by inserting the pipe cleaners into the straws as shown below. Just have them twist the pipe cleaner once. Just in case they need to adjust their polygon.

Here's a rectangle! 

Students can easily alter that same rectangle to create a parallelogram.

This is a great way for students to explore the attributes of polygons. Imagine the discussions! Most importantly, imagine the learning!

I'm more than sure that there are many other "Summer Clearance" items that are useful in the classroom. All you need to do is think outside the box!

I hope these ideas are helpful.

Please let me know what ideas you come up with for some of those clearance items!

Thanks for reading !  Enjoy the rest of your summer. I hope it's peaceful.

😉

Picking Up the Pieces!

It happens.  So much time spent on creating, making, and preparing math stations.  The typing.  The printing.  The cutting. The laminating, then re-cutting!  Trying to keep stations organized and neat but it's inevitable!  One piece goes missing and the station just isn't the same anymore!

Doesn't it make you just want to GRRRRRRRRR!?!?!?!?!?!

Well, I finally came up with a solution that works in my classroom. I just wanted to share it with you!

Here it is!

I printed out a sign and taped it to the back of a clear plastic envelope pocket.  I then stapled the envelope to a bulletin board located at the front of the classroom where everyone can see it.

It has made a HUGE difference!

One class uses the math stations and before you know it, the bell rings.  They put stations away, but sometimes can be careless.  When the next class enters, if they find anything on the floor that belongs to a station (card, number cube, game piece, etc.), they pick it up and place it in the envelope.  When it's time for stations and something is missing, they know exactly where to look!  They usually know when something is missing because I include the number of cards or other items in the directions for the station.

I hope this was a helpful tip!  Please let me know by clicking "helpful" at the bottom of my post.

Thanks and have a great day!!!

:D

Tired of "No Name"?

This song is an oldie but goodie, but when sung with these words, it helps solve the "No Name" problem!  Even though it was released way back when my 7th grade students were about 3 or 4 years old, they are still familiar with it.  

When it's time to turn in an assignment, I project this image on the screen.  Believe it or not, some students actually sing it out loud.  Yes!  They sing the words on the image!  I'm okay with that, because they are reminding everyone else to make sure they wrote their name on their paper.

When I forget, they remind me to show it to the class.  

The results are great!  Now when assignments are turned in, I rarely get "No Name" papers. 

Click HERE, download and print if you would like to try it out in your classroom!  It's FREE!!!

Hope this is helpful!

Permanent Marker Hack!

If you like to number your desks but hate it when students start peeling off the sticker or tape that the number is written on, THIS HACK IS FOR YOU!

 1.  Use permanent marker to write numbers on your desks. I have done this and the numbers stay on for quite a while. Longer than numbers taped to the desks!  That's for sure!

2.  When it's time to change, erase, or redo numbers, just grab a dry erase marker! I find that a black dry erase marker works best.

3.  Use the dry erase marker to completely cover the number written in permanent marker. Let it dry completely.

4.  Wipe off the dry erase marker.   

4.  Voila! It's all gone!

But wait! There's more!  

This trick works on laminated materials also!

If you accidentally wrote on a dry erase board with a permanent marker, this trick will fix that too!

Who knew? Permanent doesn't always have to be permanent.

Please let me know if this was "Funny", "Interesting", "Cool" or "Helpful" in the reaction boxes below!