How to use sticky notes for teaching!

Picture Credit: Magoosh

I first got attracted to sticky notes when I saw them in a stationery shop. They were wrapped neatly. I was pulled to them due to the colours. I like neon colours.

I bought my stack not knowing what use to put it to. Being in a leadership position, there was a constant need of sending notes to people as reminders for the work to be done.

The staff members liked my colourful approach. Often I would also draw and make the note more interesting and attractive.

(Actually the colours brought out the creative side of me.)

“Sticky notes are like colourful reminders-you love to do the work which comes through them.”

(I tried to look for quotes related to sticky notes and could not find any so I made a few of my own.)

Yes, they are a waste of paper but the colour combinations are good to lure the brain into positive thinking. Colours after all have a positive impact on the way people work.

I cross correct bundles of notebooks on some days. Then on errors and for appreciations I use colourful tags. Though the colourful tags have negative as well as positive comments, the teachers look forward to only the positive comments.

As one of my staff members stated that she rummaged through the tags to look for the positive comments first. And then later on she turned towards the errors which were pointed out.  In this way the gnawing feeling was less and the euphoria over appreciation was more.

These colourful chits when placed carefully indicate good organisation skills.

I had a colleague who later on became an inseparable friend. She used to meticulously tag her workstation with notes and chits. The pile of books to be distributed would be kept under different tags, the notebooks to be received would be tagged according to priority, the submissions to the principal would be tagged differently, etc.

This made her workstation look neat and pretty. It also looked organised and smartly arranged. In other words it was much better than anyone else.

(She actually overpowered us with her organisational skills!)

Sticky notes can be used to organise your workplace and they are wonderful as a teaching aid. I will discuss both the ways which will make your workplace more colourful and teaching more interesting.

Stick ons to organise a teacher’s workload-

Prioritise your to do list-

It is well said that there should be only three priorities in your life and your day. Write the three priorities on three different colour stick ons. The bright colour will be pointing out to you the entire day and urging you to complete the tasks which you had set for yourself for the day.

Over thinking kills us. To avoid it and to push yourself into doing the most important things first, these colourful reminders help a lot. Putting them up every day states that you are focused towards achieving or completing whatever was very important.

Helps to eat the frog-

This splash of colour helps you to eat your frogs for breakfast or whenever that you are desired to eat.

The difficult or the worst tasks when written on these colour strips with a smiley or a cartoon cuts down the starkness of the task. The task seems less dreaded because the mind returns to the task again and again. This is due to the reminder which the colours throw at you.

It is suggested that you must eat the frog for breakfast. I highly recommend you eat them using these colourful strips of paper. You won’t have to force the frog down your throat because the colour would mellow down its taste.

Motivation:  

The fuel of self motivation helps us in living our life and crossing boundaries to achieve success after success. Motivation is generally thought to be external but the ones who are fast moving ahead are found to be working on self motivation. There are only a few people who derive their motivation from someone else. The best of the lot works upon their own thoughts and self learning material to gain motivation in day to day life.

The coloured strips are beneficial in self motivation. Quotes and points which are mentioned on these and pinned up on the board give a constant reminder to the brain.

Your goals can be written on these and displayed on a board in the bedroom or on a board at your workstation. Reading these while coming and going keeps you in track of your progress.

Inspiration for others:

Yes, it is true. These slips pinned on boards or stuck on doors and walls are also an inspiration for others. They get to know how to organise the workplace and your professional life.

The quotes or steps to work out the problem help others also.

Making people part of the journey lessens the load.

The way you use these notes for organising, similarly you can these for teaching in the classroom.

Reading:

Great help! Sticky notes are really helpful in reading. There are many different ways to use them.

ü Ask the students to write difficult words on the slips which they can later put up on the class board.

ü Antonyms and synonyms can be written while reading is going on.

ü The teacher can put up simple questions. So the students can answer them on the sticky notes and put up on the board or run up to the teacher for a reward.

ü The students can be asked to write the extra questions based on the text and post the notes in the book.

ü Vocabulary words can be written and the notes to be put up on the word wall.

ü The names of the books that the students have read can be written on them.

ü Their favourite authors can also be written.

ü A story map or a story web can also be made.

Classroom Management:

Picture Credit: Organised classroom

 

ü Use them as rewards for students by drawing stars or smileys.

ü Classroom instructions like collection of notebooks, keeping the classroom clean, etc. can be written and displayed.

ü Student qualities can be put up.

ü A kudos for the classroom can be written.

ü Classroom goals or rules can be written and displayed.

Math:

ü Long and short division can be done easily.

ü Multiplication facts can be written.

ü Bar Graphs can be made.

ü Fractions can be taught using sticky notes.

Environmental Sciences:

Image courtesy: Teach Starter

 

ü Difference between two topics can be well illustrated.

ü Places or facts can be marked on the map using these sticky notes.

ü Exit and Entry tickets for a lesson can be planned.

Sticky notes are wonderful teaching aids. There is no end to its use.

Use Innovative ideas and implement them in your teaching.

The author develops and publishes content related to Education and students.

You can follow/like and share my blog: www.wonderfulteachertips.blogspot.com

Disclaimer