Wednesday, January 7, 2015

3 Favorite Classroom Items

The ladies over at the Teaching Trio have encouraged me to share three favorite things with you for their Favorite Things linky.

http://teachingtrio.blogspot.com/2015/01/favorite-things-linky-classroom.html

Today I am going to tell you about three of my favorite classroom items.  These are three things that I use in my classroom every day.

My colorful Expo markers

 

 I write on my board so much during the day that it gets pretty full.  I like to use different colors to help students differentiate between various things on the board.  I use different colors for different subjects.  
I also use the colors to emphasize different parts of an exercise.  For example, when I teach the parts of sentences, I might use red to underline the verb, blue for the subject, green for prepositional phrases, and so on.  Sometimes, I even let the students use colored pencils to follow the same pattern on their own papers. 
The color choices also come in handy during math.  I write problems on the board in black usually, but I use the other colors to show the steps students will take to solve a problem.  This is especially useful in teaching multiplication and division.

http://www.jandmranch.com/2013/02/09/teaching-three-digit-multiplication-to-my-aspergers-daughter/

 
My plug-in wax warmer


I love having my classroom smell wonderful while I am teaching.  {And when you teach in the upper elementary, a classroom doesn't always smell that pleasant - especially after recess!)


My teaching binder


I started using my own teaching binder last year instead of a traditional grade book.  This was definitely one of the best decisions I have made as a teacher.  I love having everything I need in one binder - lesson plans, grades, student information, monthly calendars, reading plans, and more.  I made my own lesson plan sheets to print out, but I did download the awesome cover and calendar pages from Brandi Miller,  grade recording pages from Tracee Orman, and editable teacher planner pages from Haley O'Conner.  Not only is my binder useful in so many ways, but it is now super cute as well!

 What things do you use in your classroom everyday that you wouldn't be able to live without?
Posted by at
Labels: , , ,

4 comments:

  1. SuzanneJanuary 7, 2015 at 11:51 AM

    I love the idea of color coding on your white board! Thanks for sharing.

    Krazy Town

    ReplyDelete
  2. fishyrobbJanuary 7, 2015 at 4:24 PM

    Oh, I love those wax warmers! We aren't allowed to have them at school but I use them all the time at home.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Funky in FourthJanuary 8, 2015 at 10:04 PM

    I am obsessed with whiteboard markers. I have a huge drawer of them in this little roller cart that I keep right by the board! They just make the whiteboard looks so much more pleasant. I wish I could have a wax warmer in my classroom! I love the smell... but then again anything would be better than 4th grade boys sweat. Haha

    Cassie
    Funky in Fourth

    ReplyDelete
  4. The Fabulous Life of an Elementary TeacherJanuary 13, 2015 at 2:27 PM

    I understand the smells - ugh! I used to always use a Scentsy warmer, but now I diffuse essential oils to help with the smells AND the germs :) I'm also OBSESSED with colored Expo markers - they're so fun!

    Lacey
    The Fabulous Life of an Elementary Teacher

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)