Items filtered by date: March 2012

3pages. Glyphs are a great way to assess listening and following directions as well as find out more about your students. Finished products make an interesting bulletin board or hallway display too.

Having Fun Behaving!

Since the star student flags and encouragement cards were such a big hit, I decided to write one more article on behavior modification.

100-Chart Bingo is also a quick, easy and fun way to help improve student behavior. This tip also helps teach math skills and cooperation.  What a win-win for everyone!

Here's How To Play:

Run off and laminate the traceable 100 chart.

Run off and laminate the smaller number chart.

Cut up the smaller numbers and put them in a container. You'll need another container to put the chosen numbers in.  I have labels for "picked" and "not picked".

Anytime that you recognize good behavior choose a student to draw a number out of the container and have a different student trace it on the 100 chart, using a permanent marker.

The tracings can later be removed with a Mr. Clean Eraser.

I find that if you use a dry erase marker, the color can easily be brushed off by accident.

When the class gets a "BINGO" (a straight line in any direction) they get a reward. 4 corners is also a Bingo. 

What will be fun for students is that the diagonal lines are all different lengths. Some are only 2 numbers long, while others, like the one straight across the middle, which includes numbers 1 through 100, is the longest of all.

At the beginning of the year, brainstorm a list of rewards with students, and list them on the reward chart.

You can either have students vote on what reward they want, or choose a number out of another container with however many numbers in it, that correspond to how many rewards you have.

Whatever number they choose, will match a reward on the poster and that’s the one that the students earn.

Also, decide what sorts of behavior warrant the choosing of a number. i.e. the whole class transitioning quietly, completing morning work etc.

List those on the "Just LOVE this kind of bee-utiful bee-havior!" chart. 

As an incentive you can list individual students on the other bee-utiful bee-havior chart and decide how many need to make the list in order to get a number drawn.

You could also draw more numbers for better behavior. i.e., a compliment in the hallway from another teacher or in their gym, music, or art classes =’s 2 or 3 numbers drawn; no one is absent, a great report from the substitute, etc. 5 numbers are drawn.

I've included a "Bee good for goodness sake bookmark, + 4 "Buzzin' By" bee-utiful bee-havior happy grams as well as "Caught bee-ing good" awesome cards.  

I truly feel that positive reinforcement goes a long way in helping promote great behavior and improving self-esteem.

I think you'll like Behavior Bingo because it teaches patience, as it takes a while to get a Bingo.  It also teaches teamwork, because it’s a group effort.

I like the teachable moments it provides. i.e., instead of the student who chooses the number announcing the number, have them give a clue: I drew a number between 30 and 40.  My number is less than 10 but more than 6, my number is in the 1^st row and is odd. This helps students really understand number concepts as well as look for patterns.

Click on the link to view/download Behavior Bingo Packet

Scroll down for the other 2 articles on Behavior Modification: Star Student Flags & Encouragement Cards

Do you have a behavior tip that works for you?  I'd enjoy hearing about it. diane@teachwithme.com or feel free to leave a comment here, especially if you use one of my ideas.  Thanks in advance for taking the time and for visiting. Feel free to PIN anything you feel others might enjoy.

Hoping to see you tomorrow for more teaching tips.

15 pages An easy and fun way to improve behavior and reinforce math skills.When you see students behaving appropriately (everyone completed their morning work) have a student choose a number from the jar. Another student traces that number on the 100's B

Getting Students To Shine!

Do you need some stellar work done?  Do you want your students to give their best effort and shine brightly?  Is their behavior a bit tarnished and requires a bit of star quality?

Why not try this simple star behavior modification technique.

Here’s How:

Run off my flag master and color it, or glue on strips of red construction paper and a blue rectangle. You could also buy a picture-poster of a flag and put star stickers over their stars.

Laminate your flag and put it up on the board.

Buy a star hole punch + some star stickers if you don’t already have some squirreled away.

Run off copies of the student flags on white construction paper and have them color their stripes, but NOT the stars.

Ask your students if they remember how many stars are on the flag.  Challenge them to get 50 stars as a class before summer vacation.

Brainstorm a list of ways they can earn stars such as:  Quiet transitions, their great behavior is noticed and complimented by another teacher, everyone completes their morning work, no one ends up in the Time Out chair etc.

Write these down on the star behavior chart and post them.

If you want to add this option, explain to students that they can also earn star cards for star behavior as well as star work.  They are awarded each day.

So many cards equals a trip to the treasure box or whatever other reward you deem appropriate, like work to music of your choice, switch desks with someone, work with no shoes on, lunch with the teacher, receive a pencil or eraser, sit at the teacher’s desk etc.

Each day you also punch the edge of their student flag for a variety of reasons.  You caught them being good, they had the best paper, they really improved, they got 100% on a spelling test, they completed all of their morning work etc.

So many star punches and they get to color a star yellow on their flag.

Anyone coloring all 50 stars by the last day of school, gets a special prize or whatever your class votes on.

Discuss the rules with your students, then have them raise their left hand and cross their heart with their right, promising to be a star student that does star work and behaves like a star.

Everyone then signs the contract.  If you begin this at the start of the year, I’ve included a Star Gazer graph for you to keep track of who has gotten to color in a star each month + a weekly punch card to help you keep track.

At the end of whatever time period you do this for, there's a certificate of praise.

Whether you do all, or only one of these activities, I’m certain you’ll see students shining a bit brighter!

Click on the link to view/download the Star Student Behavior Modification packet.

“I’ve got a little light and I’m gonna let it shine,

let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!”

11 pages. Great way to control behavior at the same time build self-esteem.  These cards reinforce and work well with the "Fill a Bucket" program too.

Awesome Behavior You'll Treasure!

Doesn’t it make you feel good when someone gives you a compliment?  Do you literally feel “better” when somebody says a few encouraging words?

I know I do!  Imagine what a few kind words do for a student, especially when they hear justified praise from a teacher.

In a critical and often cruel world, it’s especially important to build a child’s self-esteem.

Catching students “being good” and then praising their efforts, reinforces correct behavior and has other children wanting to model it.

When I wanted to gain control of a noisy bunch during story time, I never said: “Johnny and Jose stop disrupting the group.” Instead, a big smile and:  “I love how Alesha and Graham are sitting quietly.  Thank you so much!” Did wonders and Johnny, Jose and the rest of my students, were quick to copy the desired behavior.

Happy grams were also affective and a fun way to teach responsibility.

You can pass out a happy gram or awesome behavior/work card for a variety of reasons.

Do you need students to raise their hands more?  Is getting children to listen quietly in a large group or during story time getting to be a problem? 

Make a happy gram or awesome card for that behavior, or pass out a few cards during that time and watch students shine.

Students keep them in their school box in their desk, and when they collect a designated number they can cash them in for a trip to the treasure box.  Younger students keep them in a Baggie in their backpack or cubby.

When I taught first grade, I had “Treasure Tubs”. The various tubs had different values.

The better prizes required more awesome cards.  Every Friday, at the end of the day,  was “shopping day”.

My students loved this and I felt it really did improve behavior.

A letter home each month explaining the program, and requesting donations, really helped out.  Surprisingly, “used” “cool stuff” was just as much sought after by students as new items.

I also had treasures that were  non “thing” stuff too, like coupons for 1 skipped homework assignment, lunch with the teacher, get out of class to help another teacher for an hour, or a chance to be the student helper, or student line leader for the day etc.

A graph on the wall kept track of Super Star Student behavior, with a grand prize going to the male and female student at the end of the year, who had collected the most awesome cards.

Likewise, if you want to use them as a deterent for poor behavior, list infractions that will “cost” a student an awesome card as well.

Make sure you review the rules for earning as well as losing the cards and post them on the wall.

Use my templates and print off cards on white construction paper.  Laminate them and then cut them out.

I also bought blank business cards and put stickers on them, as well as labels that I made that said “Awesome Card” typing in various behavior that students earned them for.

Keep the cards handy so that you can pass them out for whatever behavior you decide earns happy-gram/awesome cards. Brainstorm ideas with your students.

Tuck special ones in your sub folder with an explanation.

You might want to allow students to give out a few, if they notice special behavior as well, or have children nominate a student at the end of the day for something that they did that you weren’t aware of.

I hope you enjoy including this tip in your behavior bag of tricks.  A teacher can never have too many!

Click on the link to view/download Encouragement Cards behavior modification Idea.

Do you have one that you can share?  I’d enjoy hearing from you. diane@teachwithme.com or feel free to comment here, especially if you use one of my ideas .  PIN anything you think others might enjoy as well.

Thanks for visiting, and do pop in tomorrow for some more apple bytes.