I went to Home Depot and did the following:
- Found the large whiteboard sheets:
- Had someone make two cuts:
- I get one large whiteboard and two smaller boards:
- Took home and sanded the corners to get rounded edges:
My classroom desks are in groups of three or four, depending on my furniture, space and mood. Besides using these boards for 3-Act Tasks, here are my favorite everyday activities:
- Placemat:
Students are given a question to work on. Each student carves out a section on their whiteboard to solve on their own first. As you can see, there's an open space in the middle.
Once students are done with their individual work, they discuss what their group answer should be and write it in the middle section. This really allows students to compare their work with their peers and give each other support, especially for those who might be stuck or need a nudge. Great everyday use and for review activities like Race Car Math.
I. LOVE. PLACEMAT!
- Brain Dump
Brain dump: Project something and have the students write down everything they know about it in their section. Then they compare and contrast as a group before sharing whole group. You could also do a Notice/Wonder (a la The Math Forum).
- Number Talks and/or Circle Maps
Put the timer on and ask students to write as many ways as possible to get to -100 or whatever you fancy. GO!
The Home Depot boards can be a little weighty. If you have the budget, I’d recommend you first look into the large whiteboards from whiteboardsusa.com. They weigh less, have a slightly better writing surface, have rounded corners, and have a carrying handle for kids to easily carry around the classroom. You can get a set of 10 for a little over $100. Top-notch whiteboards.
I use cut-up dark t-shirts and socks as erasers. There are plenty more things you can do with whiteboards and I've documented some of them in a few blog posts. Probably the best investment I've made as a teacher. At teacher trainings, workshops, and conferences, I'm practically begging teachers to get these whiteboards in their classrooms.
Now, I have a blog post in which teachers can refer to. But, here are more awesome additional uses of whiteboards. Nathan Kraft outfitted his entire room with whiteboards, inspired by Alex Overwijk. Don't miss Frank Noschese pioneering all this whiteboard magic. You can see Fawn Nguyen using these on a regular basis too.
Huge style points for them all!
Whiteboards,
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