Using Finger Signs in the Classroom

I think these words will be the story of my life this school year....

            "This year I'm trying something new!"

Being that last year was my first year teaching middle school (and my first year back after a long teaching hiatus) I did A LOT of trial and error with classroom procedures. Some things worked, but most things didn't. So this year I'm implementing a lot of new ideas to see if I can have a smoother year.

One new idea that I stole borrowed from lots of other teachers is the use of finger signs. Last year, I constantly had lots of students getting out of their seats and wandering around with the excuse of "My pencil broke" or "I need a tissue."

Not this year! I'm going to try using finger signs for using the bathroom, getting a new pencil, and getting a tissue.

On top of that, I'm not letting them out of their seat for a pencil or tissue (of course if they need to go to the bathroom, they can). If they hold up two fingers, I'll take them a new pencil and they give me their broken one. If they need a tissue, I'll take it to their seat. Hopefully, this method will help keep the kids in their seats and more importantly, keep the class on task. We'll see how they work!

Here are the signs I'm using. Borrow away!!

Classroom Finger Signs