Just a quick post today on my use of pointers in the classroom. Kids LOVE them! I have the students use the hand pointers primarily for the Smart Board. We found that it is much easier to move a hand pointer around the board than your actual hand/finger. They serve a duo purpose as they use these when they read, too.
The animal pointers are just for reading. I made these out of dowel rods and those cute inexpensive wooden animals you can find in the wood craft section at Michael's, Hobby Lobby, and JoAnns. I borrowed this idea from Pinterest (love this site!). Super simple, just glue the wood animal onto a dowel rod. You can buy long dowel rods and cut them down. I purchased prepackaged ones that were already a foot or so long. These were about $3 for a bag of 12 at Hobby Lobby. After gluing, I did use small clamps (a package of six for a $1 at the Dollar Store) to hold them in place until they dry. I'm surprised how sturdy these things are and it's a good thing because the kids use these every day. Amazingly, we are at the mid point of our school year and not one of them has broken, yet.
