For the love of...

Page protectors!  Yes, you heard me right:)  Page protectors are not just for keeping pages in a binder anymore.  (Although sometimes they are!)


Recently I purchased Let's Label Beginning of School by First Grade Blue Skies.  I love the labeling pages, but always try to conserve a tree (when possible) and my precious color ink (my dear hubby worries about!).  I printed them in color on card stock and inserted them into page protectors.  The kids love using dry erase markers (in their favorite colors of course!) to write the words to label each picture.  Since then, Jen has added black and white copies to the unit for your copying ease! 


We also have timed math fact tests at our school.  I think at times we need to get back to the basics and sometimes kids just need to memorize things!  Please don't throw things at me!! Don't get me wrong, we do lots of modeling and practicing with concrete objects, we learn new strategies, and then they must memorize their facts.  I LOVE the One Minute Math Program because after the weeks with  +0 and +1 facts, they only get one new fact a week.  That's all and part of the test is review.  So, I insert a page with 30 problems into a page protector and the kids practice with their dry erase markers!  I set the timer for a minute and practice daily.  I also send home another page in a page protector in their homework folder for nightly practice.  They test on Friday and are able to retest the following week if needed.  One new fact goes home every other week and we cover addition up to 10.

 Sometimes, I see a need  in the middle of the day and make a quick activity and don't have time to laminate it.  I slide it in a page protector and it keeps until I laminate it or it makes its way out the following year because I stuck it in its folder with every intention of making a new one... Don't judge!


And last but not least, I use them to organize papers!  Imagine that:)  My latest binder is for my common core. We have to post our strandard, the objective, the essential question and a ticket out (a one-two minute  activity to assess if the students comprehend what has been taught).  So, I purchased Deanna Jump's Common Core Standards and Anna Brantly's Common Core First Grade Essential Questions to help me out with this.


 


So now, I just need to type the standards and the ticket outs.  Does anyone else have a common board that includes all of this plus the date and homework?