I'm always looking for some cheap alternatives to whiteboards. I love using individual whiteboards to do Learning Target reviews and appreciate them for their novelty. They do tend to run on the expensive side. We have tried using the shower board cut into squares and although these work, they tend to get really grungy because they aren't whiteboards. After another night wasting endless amounts of time I could be doing something productive on Pinterest I saw this:
You have to be kidding me! Fifteen years in this profession and I didn't know this cheap solution?
So I tried it, it worked and the kids loooooooved it! Best part....when the sheet protector gets grungy you throw it away. It cost about 4 cents. I put colored card stock on the inside, bought some thin dry erase markers, put the markers in a tray and put a couple of Kleenex in a cup. Even better: I store them next to my desk in a BINDER! Can you say EASY STORAGE? Their favorite part was after we did a Learning Target check and I rewarded them with bonus tickets for knowledge gained, I gave them five minutes to just draw. Who knew so many 8th grade boys like to draw pictures of their cat?
My hubby is going to use these in his math class but he's going to put graph paper in his sheet protectors. How fancy is that?
I just discovered this idea in my classroom this year when one of my kids asked permission to mark a reading passage inside a sheet protector. I thought, holy cow; that's brilliant! I am really excited that I can have graphic organizers and "math mats" that are interchangeable to slip inside. One tip... I found that the cheap, matte finish pages are even better because of having no reflection.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this blog, by the way! I am the techie person at my school and really appreciate the resources you've shared. You are inspiring me :)
Too funny huh? Under our noses the whole time. I'm glad my activities are inspirational. Blogging has really made me see my classroom in a totally different way:)
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