Blurt Alert!

I am so excited about my new find!

Do you have those kiddos who just feel the need to share EVERYTHING that pops into their little brains with you- at any point in time? Mid-lesson, walking in the hallway, you get my drift. I have two... ok maybe three ;) babies in mind when I think of interruptions. They have good intentions, they just need a little direction when it comes to learning how to share their thoughts appropriately.

I have struggled with how to handle the interruptions for some time now. It's a delicate balance because I don't want to shut them down and discourage them from sharing- sometimes they have wonderful insights that are great for the whole class to hear! It just sometimes comes at the cost of the other children having the chance to share. I have tried giving the students notebooks so they can write things down-  they got lost. I tried making tally marks on the board... failure as well. On the next thing!

I saw this product and downloaded it for free (yes, free!) on TpT from Fun for Learning. These "Blurt Alert" cards serve as a visual reminder to students that they have blurted out and interrupted.

The file comes with three options of pictures. I liked the first page the best with the zipped mouth. I printed out several pages of that design, laminated them, and drew on my own little border (simplicity, people). I then made a file of labels and stuck them on some Ziploc bags. My idea is to have them stationed all around the room where I would need them (by the board, next to my rocking chair, at my small group table, etc.) I'm still thinking through exactly how I want to use them.... maybe hand one to the student if they interrupt and then develop a system of consequences determined by the number of blurt alerts acquired in one day.... this is still a work in progress!

This is something I am only going to try to implement with a few students. We'll see how it goes! If you are interested in the file, you can get it by clicking HERE. You can also get my labels here HERE. I printed
them on standard 4 x6 shipping labels.

If you have an idea on how I can use the cards or have some great ideas on how to handle interruptions in general, please leave a comment and let me know!!

Have a great week!