expr:class='"loading" + data:blog.mobileClass'>

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Tried It Tuesdays {Post Its!} and Giveaways!

Wahoo! Monday has come and gone and...
It's Time for Tried It Tuesday! 
What have you tried recently at school or home?
My Tried It:
Post Its!
Sometimes I wonder how I ever taught without post-it notes! Having post-it notes (of various sizes and colors, of course!) makes learning so much more fun! :) I keep a stack of regular sized Post-Its and a pack of mini Post-Its in the supply caddies for each group.
We use post-it notes in many ways in the classroom, but one of my favorite ways to use them is with Post-Its graphic organizers by the amazing POST-IT NOTE QUEEN (and my BBB!), Joanne, at Head Over Heels for Teaching!
We have been working on Cause and Effect in my 4th grade classes. The Reading Non-Fiction with Post-Its pack includes three variations of Cause and Effect graphic organizers with Post-Its.
For this lesson, I used the "Frogs at Risk" nonfiction article from Read Works.

First, we read the first two paragraphs together and underlined any cause and effect relationships. Then, partners finished reading the passages and underlined more cause and effect relationships that they found.
The group discussed which cause and effect relationships were essential to understanding and summarizing the passage and recorded them on mini Post-Its.
The enthusiasm is always up a notch when we use Post-It notes with lessons! 
Oh, the power of a little sticky note! :)


I love how students could move the Post-Its if they had it stuck under the wrong column.
For example, many sentences listed the cause first but this sentence stumped some groups:
Their habitat is being destroyed as loggers cut down trees to make room for farms and roads.



For this lesson, I used this pack from Head Over Heels for Teaching. It is jammed packed with 33 pages of graphic organizers for so many skills!
Check out these other resources using Post-It note graphic organizers if you are a junkie! :)
Click on the pictures to see these products in Joanne's TPT Store!

Have you seen these BIG PAD Post-Its? I didn't know about these until Joanne gave me this when I visited her in sunny Florida! She truly is the Post-It note queen and gave me so many other Post-It note products that I am LOVING! I feel so spoiled. Are teachers the only people that get so excited over office supplies? :)
The Big Pad has super super sticky edges and a strip in the middle for sticking! It's amazing. They measure 11in x 11in. I am using these bad boys for an interactive cause and effect activity tomorrow involving If You Give a Cat a Cupcake. I will post pictures about how it turns out later this week. 

Before you check out other link ups, here are a few giveaways to check out:
My BBB, Diane, at Fifth in the Middle is hosting a March Madness giveaway (no basketball knowledge necessary to win!). Stop by to enter the contest and earn chances to win!
 Another BBB, Nick, at Sweet Rhyme & Pure Reason is celebrating his One Year Blogiversary! Check back at his blog beginning March 8th for a giveaway with many prizes!
Have you stopped by I'm Lovin' Lit's Follower Appreciation Week! OH MY!!! There are amazing prizes being given away each day until March 14th!!

6 comments:

  1. I love the post-it idea - especially the part where they can change their thinking by moving the post-it around instead of having to erase! Thank you for the linky as well - I get so many great ideas!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love, love, love...I have pinned, pinned, pinned. I get giddy over Post-Its too and I just love when Joanne shares something new and innovative involving Post-Its. Do you think we should write to Post-It and tell them that she should be their spokesperson? We need to contact Dollar Tree also. Then she could get us all the supplies we ever needed. No wait....we can be her managers and travel the world with her. I might be on to something here.
    Alison
    Rockin' and Lovin' Learnin'

    ReplyDelete
  3. Long live post-its! I use them for everything! Have you seen the chart paper size post-its? Oh yeah!!!

    Angela

    ReplyDelete
  4. Awww, this is the nicest shout out ever Holly! I think I'll have you write my product descriptions from here on out! :) I'm so glad your students loved using Post-Its! I think I'll be stealing that cause & effect lesson for next week! LOL I have more Post-Its if you come back to visit me! xoxo
    Joanne
    Head Over Heels For Teaching

    ReplyDelete
  5. I just got a copy of Joanne's Non-Fiction Post-It resource and I can not wait to use it. Thanks for sharing the samples of your students' work - sometimes it really helps me to see what is happening in other classrooms - it is like recipe books, I need pictures to know what I am aiming for : ) Can't wait to hear about the cat and the cupcake - that book makes me want a cupcake too!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Joanne has such great products! My students love using post-it notes for reading! It's become a great strategy in our classroom. Plus, I might be a little bit post-it note obsessed myself! Glad the lessons turned out so great! I can't wait to incorporate some more post-its into my nonfiction unit next year!

    I'm a little jealous of your super-huge post-its! Can't wait to see what you do with them :)

    Amanda
    My Shoe String Life

    ReplyDelete