I have had SO SO many e-mails asking about things in my classroom, that I decided to just tell you a little bit about it. If you still have questions, feel free to ask! :)
How The Board is Made:
- I purchased the oil drip pan for about $10 at Wal Mart in the automotive department. Then I used double stick tape and ribbon to section off the parts. I also used border around the edges. The board has held up for 2 years now!
- The magnets are business card magnets that I designed and ordered off of Vista Print. If you have never heard of Vista Print, it is a company where you can order all kinds of things for businesses like business card magnets, brochures, flyers, etc. If you sign up on their website, they will send you free deals (you just have to pay shipping). I cut the business card magnets in half and they are a great size. I am going to redo them this year since they are kind of wrinkly after 2 years.
- The numbers on them are just white round dots from the office supply section of Wal Mart. I just bought scrapbook stickers and put them on top of the dot.
How The Behavior System Works:
- All kids start out on Satisfactory everyday. If they make good choices like picking something off the floor without being asked or working really well in groups, I'll move them up on the chart to Good. Then they can move up to Excellent. If they make a choice that isn't good, they move down to Warning. Past that, they can move to Time Out Inside the Classroom, Time Out Outside the Classroom or Office Referral. Of course, it is the teachers discretion if they move straight up to Excellent or all the way down to Office Referral without going through the other steps.
- I have a lot of people ask me what I do if the kids move to Good or Excellent. My first year, I tried a classroom economy and I was really really bad at it. Those poor kids! :) So the next year I decided to try punch cards. I make punch cards out of business cards on Vista Print. If they move up to Good, they get a punch. Excellent 2 punches. When their card is full, they can trade it in for a variety of rewards like treasure box, lunch with a friend, trade chairs with the teacher, etc. It has worked great in both 5th and 3rd grade.
So..how does it work? On the first day of school after talking about classroom rules and my behavior system, I give each student a punch card. I made the punch card out of a business card on Vista Print. The students can earn punches for all types of things- moving their dot to Good or Excellent on the behavior board, doing all homework for the week, only using one bathroom pass, bringing in important papers like progress reports or beginning of the year paper work, working well with their group--really any time an opportunity presents itself. For the 3rd graders, they first had to have all of their owls punched. Then they could get a reward of their choice- going to the treasure box, eating lunch with a friend, a day without shoes in the classroom, a pen pass, etc. Then they starting working on the polka dots. If my 3rd graders lost a card, I'd give them another one, but they really kept up with them well because they wanted a reward!
Whatever system you choose to use, it has to work for you and your kids. This one is easy, fun, and has been really successful. :)
