Printable Sticky Notes

I love sticky notes.  They are probably one of my favorite school supplies.  I go through them like mad!

This year, I have discovered my newest addiction....Printing on sticky notes.

WHAT?!!?!!  YOU CAN DO THAT?!!?!!

The answer is YES!  And it's really easy!!!

Thanks to pinterest, I found this site (you can find it here:  Sugardoodle) that has templates for printing on your sticky notes.   The site gives great instructions.  Really all you do is open the template and print out the blank squares on the a piece of paper.  Then you can add text to the boxes on your computer and add little images.  When you are ready to print, put the sticky notes (facing the same way) onto the squares and run it through the printer!  Since I'm a perfectionist, I went ahead and made the boxes on the template white when I was ready to print so they wouldn't print black squares around the sticky note.  

Here are some examples of how I have used mine:

1.   Seating arrangement.  Our theme this year is Superheroes, so I printed out everyone's name and put a super hero picture on it.  In the mornings, I have about 10 regular ed students come in my room and I teach an intervention class along with my students.  It's crazy.  I gave all of my students their own superhero and used the same ones for the regular ed students.  This made making small groups very easy, and the kids just thought it was a coincidence that everyone was in a group with one of my students.  I just said, "Everyone who has batman on their sticky note...You are a a group."

So as not to violate FERPA, here are the extras I had printed out just in case new faces not on my role showed up and needed a name tag too.  The kids loved them, and I can easily just pick them up and move them to another seat the next morning with their sticky notes! 

2.  Student Behavior Intervention

 I have a student who has difficulties controlling his behaviors.  When you verbally redirect him, he starts arguing and become very defensive and aggressive.  So, I thought, what else can I print on sticky notes...Behavior Reminders!  I made 3 to start out with to address his most difficult classroom behaviors.  It worked like a charm.  

I introduced the sticky notes when we were going over his work, so it was non-threatening and I presented them to him in a fun way.  He liked the sticky notes, and thought the pictures were funny, especially the yoga girl.  We acted out how to be calm, how to pay attention, and how to work at an appropriate pace--not quickly like the Tasmanian Devil!!  So, he knew the expectations and thought this would help him.

Later on in the day, when he started getting too crazy at his seat, I would put the "Calm down" sticky on his desk, and he would sit still, take a deep breath, and refocus.  Then, when I felt he was calm, I just put it back on the wall.  He started to self-regulate his behaviors by taking Calm Down sticky himself when he could tell he was about to get out of control.  And this was only day 1 with them!!!  WOW!!!!!  I was so happy!!!!!

 

He faces the doors (it just hold the AC unit inside...not storage) because he is the kind of student who actually benefits from having a wall in front of him.  So I just have the sticky notes up there so he can see them and know what he is supposed to be doing, and if he is not doing one of those, I will not say anything but instead, take one off the wall, and stick it on his desk.  The proud teacher moment really came when he was taking care of it himself.