Friday, February 22, 2013

Jot Spots and Response Cards

Happy Friday!!

This week was L.O.N.G. but a lot of fun. Why is it that four-day weeks with the kiddos always seem to drag on FOREVER?!

On Monday we had a staff development that addressed engagement strategies. One of the strategies discussed was the use of response cards.

I can't believe I have gone this long without making something like this! It is such a simple idea, but oh-so-wonderful!The cards I created are simply yes/no cards- yes on one end, no on the other. I made these super quickly using 4x6 card stock and 2x4 shipping labels. I printed the labels, stuck them on, laminated them, and done!




The cards provide a simple and quick way to use up those precious minutes before lunch, dismissal, or any other awkward time between activities. The kids love them and they are a great way for me get a quick assessment. We store them in our name tag holders- those holders are so versatile! I honestly don't know how I have lived this long without response cards! If you would like the labels for yourself, you can get them using the links below. Maybe one day I'll get ambitious and make some other kinds of response cards.... :) For now, these are working just fine!



Moving on... Amanda Nickerson over at One Extra Degree came up with yet another brilliant idea a few weeks ago and I finally had the perfect opportunity to implement it! Have I mentioned how much I love this girl?! Sticky Note Jot Spots are the perfect way to get students excited about responding to their reading and keep it organized! I am in love with this activity and the kids were, too!!

If you have ever tried using sticky notes in the past, you might have experienced some frustration- I sure did!! Those little boogers can make their way to the floor, inside desks, or somehow magically grow wings and travel across the room! The jot spots provide a perfect nesting place for all those sticky friends, and at the same time provide those students who need some scaffolding a way to get started with their response. Each page of the jot spots focuses on a particular skill and provides a sentence starter- beautiful!

This week we focused mainly on expository texts, so the jot spot pages we used targeted the topics of determining importance, asking questions, and text features. I was very impressed with the thoughts the students recorded. I forgot (as usual) to take pictures of several students' work. We were reading about one of the Mars rovers and they came up with some interesting questions and had some amazing discussions!  I did think to grab the camera right when we started. I used the chart to introduce the activity to the kiddos and then set them free. I gave them the EXACT number of sticky notes they would need to complete the activity- no more! Because the kids had an organized place to put their notes, there was no way for those little notes to escape!




Of course, Amanda can explain her wonderful creation in much greater detail than I can! Head on over to
her blog right now and check it out for yourself! Or, you can click on the picture below to go straight to her store and pick up your own copy. You won't be disappointed!!



Have a great weekend!!!! Next week is Dr. Seuss's birthday! Anyone have exciting plans?! If so, please share!!

1 comment:

  1. Oh my goodness, Kelly! Thank you so much for sharing my jot spots in this post! I LOVE the chart you created to show them how to utilize the resource. I totally saved it so I can remember to do that with my next batch of kiddos. I love the visual modeling. I am so happy to read that it has been working well for your students. My own kiddos LOVE them, and it's nice to know that other students are benefitting from them too! Have a great weekend!

    Best,
    Amanda

    ReplyDelete

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