Cheap and Easy Feedback Ideas

Today's post is devoted to how I provide my kinders with positive feedback and NOT use stickers all of the time. I am not saying, stickers are bad...I LOVE stickers....I just became very tired of stickers becoming the many piece of instant feedback to my students. This summer I began brainstorming of new ways that I could give my students feedback that didn't cost a lot of money, they could take it home to their parents and have various ways to give my kinders some instant positive feedback. These are my top 3 that I has been working in my classroom this year.

 

 

These are my top 3 forms of feedback:

1. Smelly Bracelets: These have to be The Class Favorite! The picture on the right shows a sheet of bracelets and it is quick and easy to tear one off. The picture on the right shows you the size of what the bracelet will look like on your wrist. (I did not connect this bracelet but it has a pieced of adhesive that makes it easy for you or your student to connect themselves!) Each bracelet has a fun saying that I love to read to them but the BEST part is each sticker comes with something to smell! Cookies, muffins, doughnuts, cinnamon, are just a few examples of some smells! They are so proud of their smelly bracelets!

 

I keep these at my guided reading table so they are close by and ready to pass out when the time is appropriate. To keep these bracelets fresh and in high demand, I am very selective about when I pass these out. Sometimes the whole group will receive one, sometimes just a student and sometimes no one earns one. The reason I do this is because I want my students to know when they receive one of these bad boys I am super proud of whatever they just did. They never know when I am going to hand one out...it could be in the hallway, after a great report in activity, a compliment from another teacher, some great thinking on the carpet etc. 

They are 10 times more likely to go home and talk about this bracelet then if everyone received a sticker/stamp.bracelet etc everyday.. If they are talking about this bracelet they are then in turn telling their families why they earned it which is then giving their parents insight into our classroom. These are a HUGE hit! I bought mine at ReallyGoodStuff. I did a quick search and could not find the link for these bracelets but they have these sniff stickers that look like a close comparison! If the kids have something to smell, it makes it 100 times better!

 

 

 

2. Smelly Chapstick: I keep these all over the room. I usually always have one in my pocket, close to the carpet area, near my guided reading table etc. These are great and CHEAP rewards to provide your students. I rub some smelly chapstick  on the top of their hand as a sign that I just noticed something that they did.  My kinders eat (figuratively speaking) this stuff up. It works great when you find a role model, rub in on their hand and then instantly the whole class is quiet.

 

The other day during math talk time one of my students shared that she knew 4+5=9 is because she knows that 4+4=8 and one more is 9. WOAH! She earned herself a smelly for her great thinking brain. This provided her with instant feedback that she was working hard and in turn provided feedback to my other students that I am looking for students that are thinking and sharing. These smellies are great ways to provide instant tangible feedback. You can find these super cheap at the dollar store and after holidays when they mark their holiday smellies way down!

 

3. Brag Certificate: Before I share this certificate I must confess to the blogging world that I was doing a really good job passing these out in the beginning of the year and have slacked off majorly. So today by blogging my goal is to print some of these bad boys out and have ready to go in the classroom when the time comes for some bragging.

 

I have 2 different designs with 2 sizes. One design has a girl displayed and the other design has a boy displayed. I have full page certificates and half page certificates. This is an example of what they look like.

 

I came up with this certificate this summer because I will admit I struggle with providing feedback to the parents of those kids that are just rocking and rolling. You know those kids, the ones that never have behavior issues, always working hard and on or above grade level. So in turn you are not talking to their parents as much as others and therefore you (I) feel like you could improve on some parent/teacher communication.

 

Now these are not just passed out to those types of students but those were the ones in mind when I created these. These Brag Certificates are pre-made and printed on colored cardstock (can you hear the angels singing...colored paper and cardstock!) If a student earns one when working with me at guided reading, I quickly fill out it with them sitting there and then tell them in will be in their folder to take home at the end of the day. If they earn it for fabulous behavior, I quickly pull them aside at the end of the day fill it out with them and then place it in their folder. Kids want to know that their good choices were noticed and parents want to hear good news.

 

You can grab yourself some FREE brag certificates by clicking here!

All I ask is for you to leave some feedback if you use these in your classroom.

 

Now, how do you provide some instant feedback to your students. I would love to learn some new, fun and easy ideas! Comment away!

 

3D Shape Fun

This year due to implementing Common Core Standards my district revamped our curriculum guides. Due to this revamp, we are now in the middle of our shape unit. I hope that next year we will have some freedom to choose the order of unit to teach since shapes at this point of the year is a little too easy for our kinder babies especially those that went through our Pre-K program.

But still, we are having fun, learning and creating, exploring and learning about 3D shapes! I started our 3D shape unit with our 3D PRINTER! WOOT WOOT! (I left my 3D printer pictures at school but I promise I will come back and add them!) This was a great introduction for my students to begin to understand the difference of a 2D and 3D shape. We talked about what exactly a 3D printer does..it builds, you can hold it, touch the sides etc. We talked about how the picture on the design model on the computer was our 2D shape but once it was built it was now 3D. Talk about some excited kiddos (and teacher!!!!)! They were really getting the foundational difference between a 2D and 3D shape.

We then turned to a trusty friends at BrainPopJr and watched this solid shape video. This started out buddy talk and share. I overheard some awesome conversations about items in our room that were 3D shapes. (I hadn't even asked them to start looking...proud teacher moment!) Then the fun began. I pulled out the huge, blue bin full of 3D foam shapes! Let the exploring begin....

They LOVED exploring these shapes. I am keeping these foam shapes out for a while for them to continue to build and explore with during free choice time. It is music to my ears to hear my students using the correct 3D shape terminology to describe the shape they need. They are learning how shapes can work together to build various objects and are coming up with some great ideas to build on our 3D shape printer. There are future engineers in our classroom!

In small math groups, they got to put their engineer skill to the test. I provided them with various length skewers and gum drop balls. They were then given the freedom to build various structures and shapes using their tools. This provided some great hands on learning to discus the faces of shapes, corner or vertices and edges. They got to place the shape in their hand and allow their mind to get to work. I was amazed at the different items they built. They built tents, homes, schools, churches, cubes, pyramids etc. My back counter and immersion table is full of their builds and I love it!

 

 

I will try to remember to take some pictures of all the different creations around our room tomorrow!

 

What do you do in your room to help your students understand their difference between a 2D and 3D shape?