Pick Me, Pick Me....

Jennifer over at Rowdy in First Grade posted a really great idea for managing Popsicle sticks to pick students.  It is really so simple, yet brilliant.  Check it out here!  I don't know about you, but I use Popsicle sticks to determine who is going share their writing, lead our Fundations (phonics) drill or lead our daily math routines. Each task requires two cups, picked and not-picked, and it is inevitable that I end up playing "pick-up sticks" at some point in the day.  Jennifer's posted idea would have gone a long way to cut down on that fiasco!!

Last year I discovered an App for the iPhone called Teacher's Pick  or virtual Popsicle sticks. I think it is a bargain at $0.99 and it helped me cut down a bit on the "cups o' sticks" that were floating around. 

Teacher's Pick allows you to set up a class with the names of all your students and you can easily copy that list for multiple classes.  Here are some screenshots to give you an idea of the interface:

I set up my class and then made several copies for all of my different purposes.  We even set up a game that the kids use during Morning Meeting. It is called Earth, Air, Water and Fire.  I set up a class called "Game" and instead of student names I made a stick that said "Earth", "Air", "Water", and "Fire."  The student who is the leader will go around a circle and press the selection button.  If it says  Earth, Air, or Water the child in the circle has to name an animals that is on land, flies or swims.  If "Fire" comes up, the leader sits down and the child from the circle becomes the new leader. The game ends when we have gone around the circle at least once, or we run out of time. Quick and fun!

If you have an iPhone, iTouch or iPad, give it a try!

What systems do you have in place for selecting students for different activities?