Behavior Management and a Freebie

Hello friends!

I am linking up with Laura from Where the Magic Happens... to talk about a subject that I struggle with every year...behavior management.

It seems every year, I try to figure out different ways to approach managing my students. Last year I tried parts of the Whole Brain Teaching model. I started by using the Super Improvers Wall that is used to encourage students to set individual goals that are specific to their needs.

Click on the picture to download this freebie.

I had students select their own goals to try to encourage more ownership. The goals could be academic or behavioral. For example, sit at the carpet correctly or turn in my homework every day. Every time I noticed a student doing this for the day, I would put a star on their chart. When the chart was filled, the student would made a new goal to work on. The different color cards reflect how many goals each student has made. The colors correspond to the signs on the left.

At first I had my doubts about how this would work in my class. After using this system for a year, I really like it. My students LOVE "beating" their goal. I made certificates for each student every time to beat their goal.

I found most of the students picked goals that they honestly knew they needed to work on. If they didn't, this was a perfect time to discuss why they picked the goals they choose. I got my signs for free from Tara West's Teachers Pay Teachers store.

In addition to the Super Improvers Wall, I also used Class Dojo. If you are not familiar with Class Dojo, it is an online system that you can use to help manage students behaviors.

I found about half way through the year, the students do not seem to really care about the Class Dojo scores. When they hear the cheerful dings of the positive points and the dongs of the minus points it doesn't seem to change their behavior one way or the other. Parents can also go online and check to see how their child is doing throughout the day. Unfortunately many of my parents do not have access to a computer. I started sending paper copies home every Friday but I still didn't notice a difference in student's behavior.

I love the idea of the Class Dojo system, however I am finding it difficult to make it work the way that I want. A couple of years ago, I tried the Clip Charts and I really liked them. My students also really liked the chance to move up for positive behavior too. I think I am going to try this system again next year.

Also I am reading Setting Limits in the Classroom this summer. I am only a couple of pages in and I already have made some great connections. Like for example, I give too many warnings. This book suggested that I am sending the message that they can continue to do the same behavior and they will just get a warning. I didn't even realize I was doing that! I can't wait to continue reading this book.

Reading while waiting for the ferry yesterday.

What are types of behavior management strategies do you use? Don't forget to link up!

I only have 3 1/2 more days of school left. I can do this, I can do this!

Classroom Management with Money and a Freebie

Happy Wednesday fellow educators!

I figured I would kick off my next blog talking about how my management system works. This last fall, I moved to a new school district. My other 2nd grade team members already had a management system set-up using money. Anyone that has ever taught 2nd grade or money knows that this can be a difficult concept. It really depends on the students experience with money. I figure I would give it a go.

Each student can get a total of 4 pennies. Everyday students start on 2 pennies. As the day progress, they can either earn pennies or lose pennies. If they are following directions, on-task, etc. they can earn pennies and if they are not doing these things they can also lose them.

This year I have a whopping 28 kids! (YIKES!) So you can imagine, I run out of pennies quickly. I figured this would be a perfect chance for my students to get practice exchanging money. At the end of each month we have a store. I am not a big fan of treasure boxes so I was really excited when I saw these coupons that Laura Martin from Peace, Love, and First Grade made for her class. I just quickly copied them and attached a value to them. They were a HUGE hit! By far the most popular coupon is the privilege to take off their shoes in the classroom. I would never have thought! Plus, they are easy to store and there are so many things to choose from.

Last week we just started the unit about money. I whipped up this little cheat sheet for them. I made it bookmark size because our math curriculum comes with workbooks. I figured it could be used in two ways: a bookmark and a reference. They loved it! Check it out by clicking here.

Graphics: Ginger Snaps, Fonts: Kevin and Amanda

I also made these money cards with different amounts of money on them. There are a ton of ways that you could use them! Today I passed out the cards and each student wrote a different way to make the same amount on their whiteboards. Then they passed the whiteboard to their neighbor on their left and their neighbor checked their work. My students loved this activity! In all of my excitement, I forgot to take pictures. =( We are going to do this activity again tomorrow so I will post them later.

Fonts: Kevin and Amanda

How is your classroom management system set-up? How do you teach money?

Krystyn