This year I’m using more centers and cooperative groups than ever before and quickly realized I needed a new management system. I had previously used a typed sheet of paper with color-coded groups. It was too small for students to see from across the room and took me time to retype and print a new group list each week. Thus, my Knight Board was born! It matches our school mascot and the fairytale themed clip art is just too cute.
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velcro and ribbon… so easy! |
Now I have colored groups across the top for reading (red group, green group, orange group, blue group). I can also pull all of my knights, princesses, dragons, or swords as a group. The names are printed in three different colors, so I can also pull the red, blue, or green students that way. For smaller groups of four, I can pull students across the board.
I’m going to let you in on a little secret though and this is the best part for me… I use the clip art and font colors to “code” my students so I can quickly group them for different mixed-ability purposes. I know to mix up the clip art and font colors for mixed-ability, mixed-temperment groups. I literally shuffle the stack and randomly assign students to create balanced groups. I can also allow for student choice by telling students they need partner up a dragon with a knight, etc.
To attach them to the wall, I stapled strips of wide ribbon straight down the wall. Then I attached Velcro to the ribbon and the tags so I can easily rearrange them as needed.
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If you’re another Knight school or just like the fairytale tags, you can grab a free copy here for desk nameplates or a group wall like mine.
I just found your blog through Teaching Blog Traffic School and I love your post! The idea to use different fonts and colors for various grouping needs is fantastic. I teach 7th and 8th grade ELA, and we do a lot with cooperative learning. With multiple classes switching in and out, this would make grouping my students SO much easier and quicker to change between classes as needed. Thanks for the idea!
You're welcome! I'm glad you found me. 🙂
Thanks Christi for the group/centers help. I am trying to implement centers with a group of students who should probably be left in rows. Maybe this will help keep it rolling along.
thanks for sharing….
Donna
working5to9math.blogspot.com
Thank you so much for the post and the freebie!! Can you please tell me where you purchased the knight helmet toppers? My classroom is castle themed so I am always looking for cute things that go along with that:)
I love your knight board concept. I wish I had such a big classroom.
Love it! Genius way to consolidate grouping!
Do you keep like high kids as knights or do u mix that up to? I hate kids to feel labeled but I'm too right brained to organize it in my brain. Lol
The clip art just tells me how they work in a group together, which usually stays the same all year. The colors across the top tell me their level. I mix those up. So the blue might be high one week and the green might be high the next.