Must Have Monday: Individual Whiteboards

Today I'm linking up with Sabra from Teaching with a Touch of Twang for her brand new linky: Must have Mondays.

My must have for this week is: individual student whiteboards. I love these ones from Staples. They're double-sided and if you get them at the back-to-school sale, they only cost $2.50 each. The ones I bought have lasted 5 years so far and are still going strong. Mine also have the little marker holder at the top.

I use these whiteboards in my classroom almost every single day. Here's just a few things that we use them for:

1. Spelling Practice. Every week the students write their spelling words on their whiteboards three times. For whatever reason they prefer this to writing them on paper. We often do it first thing in the morning after they write in their planners. I check each student's whiteboard as they finish and check to make sure they've written everything correctly. Then it's erased and I don't worry about grading papers or entering it in the gradebook. Yay for less papers!

2. Social Studies or Science Review. We do this one all the time too. As we review each lesson or study for a test, I ask the students questions over the lesson - T or F, multiple choice, or short answer. Students write on their whiteboard and hold it up to see. That way I can check their answers immediately, and they know whether they've gotten the answer right or wrong. I love the quick feedback.

3. Math Practice. Most of the time I like students to show their math work on their papers. However, when we're just beginning a new concept, the whiteboards are a great way to practice. I write the problem on the board, the students write it down on the whiteboards and solve it, and I check each student to see if they got the correct answer. What I like about this is if they've done a step wrong, it's really quick to wipe off and try again and they don't get frustrated with the constant erasing on paper.

That's it for my must-haves for this week. :)