Taken from the Book by Himmele and Himmele

The TPT Folder

Taken from the book by Himmele and Himmele

Total Participation Techniques: Making Every Student an Active Learner

One way to make TPTs run smoothly with minimal interruptions is to create individual TPT folders or envelopes where students can store materials that they may need for their TPTs. Folders can be simple pocket folders or manila envelopes. If you choose to go with manila envelopes, considering laminating them and then slitting the laminated sealed opening with a sharp tool (only the outside of the envelope will be laminated). Or you can use large zip-lock baggies.

Here are some suggested items to place in your TPT folders/envelopes:[1]

• A laminated piece of light-colored construction paper- this serves as a simple

whiteboard for students.

• A flannel square or a sock- This serves as a dry eraser for your construction-

paper whiteboards.

• A dry-erase pen- This can be used for the construction-paper whiteboards.

They are available in thin styles to cause less bulk in the envelopes/folders.

• True/not true Hold-up Cards- These are two simple pieces of construction

paper or note cards (preferably laminated) with true (written in your language) written on one, not true (again written in your language). These can be used repeatedly in many situations for quick comprehension checks or votes.

• Multiple-choice Hold-Up Cards- same as the True/Not True cards but these

are four laminated cards with A on one, B on another, Con another, Don another. These are great when asking students to choose among

alternatives of any kind and can be combined with Think-Pair-Share where they think, make their choice, explain to someone else their choice, then report to the class. The possibilities are endless, from the simplest to the most complex tasks in any content area.

•Emotion Hold-Up Cards- Same as above but these can have smiley faces,

frowny faces, puzzled faces, etc. Again, these can be used with Think-Pair-Share for such uses as indicating understanding of a story they are hearing, etc.

• Decks of paper-clipped number cards- These could be the numbers 1-10, or

any others you might find helpful.

• A completed appointment agenda- See the handout that Lili and I will be

using to organize the session. These should be pre-loaded with student names, then the teacher can ask students to talk with their 2 pm appointment, etc. It’s a good way to review time, and to continually and easily change student pairings. Teachers would want to laminate them but it is not necessary for this session.

• The processing card- This is a laminated card with “Ready to Share” (in the

language) on one side and “Still Thinking” on the other side. Very useful in keeping things going without leaving students behind.

• A laminated hundreds chart- For elementary-aged students, this chart allows

you to plan activities that build number sense. For example, you can have students use the dry-eraser pen and the chart to circle the common multiples of selected numbers; circle the common factors of selected numbers; circle the prime numbers between two specific numbers; skip count; and do any other activities that build number sense by visually seeing the numbers laid out on a numbers chart,

• Laminated content-related charts- These can be any content-specific tool you

would like students to use repeatedly, e.g. an A-Z chart; a periodic table of elements chart; a timeline; a map. With lamination, the students can write on them repeatedly.

• A smaller envelope with pieces of scrap paper or index cards- These are

useful for Quick Draws, Quick Writes, and on-the-spot Hold-Ups, The envelopes keep them contained and control the clutter.

•Bounce Cards (These are for upper elementary students and above so I

wouldn’t recommend putting them in this packet. BUT they are absolutely wonderful for engaging students and getting them to produce sentence-length discourse! You can see them on page 69 of the book.) A great coaching tool for teachers having problems getting beyond one-word answers…Maybe for another workshop?

[1] I have indicated with the blue coloring that these would be extremely helpful in our session if you can’t do everything. Ann