Classrooms are an oasis of learning that helps students develop their knowledge, interpersonal skills, and personhood. That's why ensuring these environments are organized and efficient is crucial. This is especially true if you want your pupils to reach their full potential.
Fortunately, color coding your classroom with dot stickers is an excellent way to keep all your organizational ducks in a row. Explore some of our favorite ways to use these vibrant labels.
#1. The Popsicle Stick Student Selection Cup
The popsicle-stick-selection cup is a classic for a reason. If you never had one of these growing up, it's a straightforward strategy and it works a charm. Essentially, you'd gather a handful of unused popsicle sticks. You'd write each of your students' names on the sticks.
Select two different colored sticker dots to place on either end of each stick and then drop them in a cup. When the time comes to call on a classroom of shy students, you can pull a popsicle stick from your cup and call the name written on it.
You'll flip the stick over to its alternate color to keep track of who's gone and who hasn't. And there you have it: an excellent fail safe for every teacher!
#2. Leveled Grouping With Coded Labels
Another interesting classroom strategy you can enhance with color stickers is leveled grouping. There are various ways to divide students for group projects. But cutting-edge methods suggest that the most effective among them is assessing each student's strengths and skill level.
Once you do this, you can use the information to create groups with diverse strengths and skills. Doing so ensures that students can complement each other's strong and weak points. So, where does the color coding come in?
After you examine the skills and strengths of each student, you can use color dots to create a fluid identification system. For instance:
- Blue might mean a student is best with creative projects.
- Red could indicate a strong leaning toward math and science.
- Green could signal strong communication and critical thinking skills.
You can create name cards and stick the corresponding color sticker on each one. When the time comes to group your kids, you'll be able to easily place them in groups with a wide range of skills and strengths to help them finish their projects.
#3. Homeroom and Class Identification By Color Dots
You might also consider using color dots to keep track of your various classes and their supplies. Perhaps you have five different classes throughout the day. With each comes a new set of students, notebooks, study materials, homework, and the like. Thus, it's not difficult to lose track of what belongs to each student in each class.
However, if you use a different color dot to identify each class, keeping track of all these things is much simpler. For first period, you could slap an orange sticker on each notebook, homework, and study tool. For second period, you may choose to use purple.
In any case, using color dot stickers can help you keep track of everything so that you and your students stay organized and efficient.
