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!!

An InLinkz Link-up