Edstrom Educational Consulting

After the launch of the infamous and much heralded iPad last week, I set to my humble blog in order to comment on some reasons I felt that the current functionality of the iPad was not compelling enough for widespread educational use at this moment.   I discovered quickly that there are two highly outspoken groups…those that firmly believe that the iPad is a waste of time and those that believe that it is the answer to a lone educator’s prayers (if only it could do parent-teacher conferences).  Thank you to all that chose to enter the discussion and weigh in on this exciting topic.  I was delighted to find such passionate educators on both sides of the iPad divide…if only we could get this excited about differentiated instruction and communicating with parents, perhaps we wouldn’t need large, unwieldy government standardized testing programs (you know who you are, Nickleby!)

This week we are back to our discussion of reading.  In my efforts to give you tips that you can use in your classroom tomorrow and for those of you that are not able to participate in one of our instructional seminars, I am going to discuss a low-tech, high-functioning type of pad that can be used very effectively in your classroom.

(Drumroll please)

The Post-It Pad

Yes, the Post-It Pad or sticky note pad (since we are not a sponsored site, I will not recommend that you go the name brand route–3M, CALL ME!)  is something that I DO encourage you to invest in for every single one of your students.  And unlike a classroom set of iPads, it will not break your classroom budget.

I can see you rubbing your heads asking, why on earth should something as prosaic and frankly, boring, as a sticky-note pad be worth purchasing for your students (or blogging about for that matter)?   After all, there are environmental issues, both globally and also with the potential littering of a classroom floor.  Not to mention the embarrassing possibility of notes being stuck to a teacher’s back unexpectedly.    These pressing concerns aside, sticky-notes are great ways for students to flexibly call out things that, well, need to be called out.

Imagine, if you will, a fourth grader who is reading “Stone Fox” by John Reynolds Gardiner.  You as an instructor are hoping to develop a student’s ability to analyze character traits, both because your district/state implores you to do so, but also because it is an important thing to do as a reading instructor.   Try this way of practicing this skill:

Hand out to each student a word that describes the main character, Little Willy.  Some examples might be “determined” or “naive”  You will probably need to make sure that all of your students actually know what these words mean, but this is a wonderful opportunity for vocabulary expansion.  Once you have collectively defined the vocabulary, tell students that they will need to find 3 textual examples or clues that prove that Little Willy has this characteristic.  In my experience, any time that students get to prove ANYTHING gets them excited.  Fourth graders really, really like to be right.   Here is where the ubiquitous sticky-note comes in.  Students use the sticky note to mark the text that proves their point. On the note they write down why it proves their point.

It seems simple and it is simple.  Here is why it works.  It sends students  into the texts looking for proof.  It allows them to find their proof, mark it, and write an explanation all in one place.  Believe it or not, but the act of simply transferring that information from the novel to a worksheet can be a true obstacle for some students.  I have found that as students become more and more techno-savvy, the act of handwriting and transferring information seems more laborious to students.   The sticky-note allows them to easily collect and defend their thoughts.  After a few times with this exercise, have them record it in a journal or on a worksheet.  You will find that their written explanations are a lot more thorough and well-organized, because the sticky-notes have acted as a mobile, flexible graphic-organizer.

This is but one application of the nifty little sticky-pad.  I have used them to help students make timelines, graphs, and create outlines for essays.  There are a million ways students can use them effectively, and I haven’t thought of them all.  If you are not ready to invest the $499 in a iPad, I do suggest you try the $.50 to $1.99 sticky-note pad in the meantime.

How are you using the sticky-note in your classroom?

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 at 12:50 pm and is filed under technology, Tips for Teachers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.