One new strategy I have implemented this school year that has made my life simply Ahhhh-mazing have been student tracker cards. I adapted this idea from my experience at Bosch Rexroth.  When I was on the plant floor at Bosch, I noticed these lights that would change from Red to Green or Blue. I asked one of the machinists on the floor to explain to me the purpose. He told me that those lights sent messages to their supervisors phones to alert them as to what kind of production they were doing. Red meant they had no material or had some major problem. Green meant they were working. Blue meant that they had no work to complete/they were finished. I really liked this concept so I decided to take it back to my classroom. I created student tracker cards using paint chips from Walmart. I got 4 colors- red, yellow, green and blue. When ever my students are engaged in independent work, they flip their tracker cards to show me how they are feeling during their work. Red means I’m stuck and need help, Yellow means I’m confused and need some help but I’m still working, Green means I’m good, I’m working. Blue means I’m finished with my work.

This has made my life so much easier! No longer do I have students sitting with hands raised, or getting out of their seats to follow me around the room. These procedures have been great! My students understand how to use these cards and use them effectively. I also use them for quick learning checks (red for disagree, green for agree).

I highly recommend implementing these into any classroom as a free quick fix!