Each one of my students is given a notebook from my stash. These are used for many things but generally:
- they are small and light enough to be carried around. Much better than bulky grammar books and files.
- I paste all exercises I create into the book so they can all be in one place.
- While the lesson is ongoing I write notes for the student in the notebook. This allows them to concentrate on speaking without having to stop and write down things or worry that they have written them down correctly.
- At the end of the lesson we go through the day’s notes to make sure the student understands everything.
- They are then free to add their own notes from the discussion or anything they wish to take up the next time we meet.
Sometimes though, the students forget to bring their books to a lesson. So I write their notes for that day on these A5 sized Post-It notes and they can then just pop them into their books. The size is really nice.
Did you know Post-It notes were created by accident? From Wikipedia:
In 1968, a scientist at 3M in the United States, Dr. Spencer Silver, was attempting to develop a super-strong adhesive. Instead he accidentally created a “low-tack”, reusable, pressure-sensitive adhesive. For five years, Silver promoted his “solution without a problem” within 3M both informally and through seminars but failed to gain acceptance. In 1974 a colleague who had attended one of his seminars, Art Fry, came up with the idea of using the adhesive to anchor his bookmark in his hymnbook. The original notes’ yellow color was chosen by accident, as the lab next-door to the Post-It team had only yellow scrap paper to use.
I don’t use Post-Its as much as some people do, but I:
- stick them onto things (mirrors, the inside of my front door) for urgent reminders
- put one with extra to dos or shopping lists in my planner if the allocated space is full
- put one in my binder if my schedule has so many changes and additions that I can no longer read it. I then just put a post it over the mess with everything neatly rewritten.
- use them for temporary tabs and bookmarks.
Do you use Post-It’s? What do you use them for?