"Marbles for Transitions" Beth B., Second Grade Teacher

"While student teaching, I used marbles for smooth transitions. The student's desks were divided into 5 "Teams". When it was time to take out a book or switch to another activity, all I had to say was "For a marble, get out your phonics book and tear out p. 120". The students would quickly get out their books and encourage other team members to do the same. I would give each team that got ready in a reasonable time a marble (we just had small plastic cups numbered 1-5 to put the marbles in). At the end of the week, the marbles are counted up and the winning team gets a piece of candy or gets to pick from the prize jar."

"Easy Filing!" Cristie P., Teacher

"The most time consuming part is getting the supplies! Instead of filing worksheets in a filing cabinet where they can be easily lost, file them in a notebook with sheet protectors. I have 2 - 3" Notebooks for each semester. Every worksheet, lesson, etc. I have is filed in them. The best part of this is the copying. If you use the thin transparent covers, all you have to do is take it out of the notebook, copy it in the sheet protector, and put it right back. Even having to take the sheets out for two sided copies, its has still saved me tons of time."

Student Notebooks (Beyond "Just Taking Notes") Heather Mayfield, Junior High Teacher (Language Arts/ Social Studies)

"My students keep all notes, comprehension questions, short-answer responses, charts, etc. in a spiral notebook for each subject (Social Studies and Language Arts). The notebook also includes pasted-in handouts, etc. That way, students can take their notebooks home to study and they don't have to lug huge textbooks back and forth. When I want to grade a homework assignment, I walk around the room with a decorative hole punch (stars, trees, etc..) or a fun stamp and give students credit for completing the assignment. At the end of a unit, I collect notebooks and give students a grade based upon the number of punches or stamps they earned for having homework/assignments prepared for each class period."

"Following Directions Assignment" Nelson Rites, Middle Level Teacher

Many times I find that students begin assignments without ever reading the directions. This is a very bad habit for students to get into. So, I began to give students follow-the-directions assignments where they were given a series of procedures to complete a task. Of course, the students actually read the directions during these assessments. When I reverted back to normal assignments students continued to disregard the directions section of the assignment.

So I developed a new strategy. I post hint items for the assessment in the directions area. I have noticed that students are clearly reading the directions first before they try to tackle any assignment..

"Grade multiple choice tests with ease..." Mrs. Valentin: Teacher (Spanish)

"Put all your papers on a long table in a staggered horizontal row. Spread them out 10-12 wide so you can easily see the answers. Then place your ANSWER KEY IN the middle OF THE STACK highlight all your answers so it stickout. Now begin grading papers from left to right memorizing or say aloud to yourself the first three answers. Scan each paper, only check those three answers until finished with the complete row. Continue with the next 3 answers etc. until you finish the stack. This makes grading FAST."

Color code Heidi Streuber: Teacher EFL grade 5-10 in Germany

"I have been using this color code for over 10 yrs. All material for a special grade is marked in the same color: e.g. grade 6 yellow folder, yellow filing cabinet, textbook covers, CD cover, paper clips etc. As there are no zip bags for copies in any colour available, I put a sheet of colored printer paper in. Saves lots of 'looking for stuff' time."

"School Post Office" Gary Nelson, Science Teacher

The grade level teachers at my school have created a cooperative school post office system that helps reinforce responsibility and critical thinking in our students. All of the mail for our grade level teachers is placed in one box in our school office. On a daily basis, we assign a pair of students from the various class to manage the mail. The mail is delivered by these students twice a day. Students sort the mail and place it in our classroom folders outside our doors. Students really take pride in doing a great job!