Positive Reinforcement.and One Cool Duck

You know that feeling you get when you’re watching a scary movie and you’re too scared to look at the screen?  On the other hand, you can’t wait to see the ending.  If you’re like me, you anxiously watch because you need to see what happens, and throughout that entire movie you are so nervous and stressed that you keep asking yourself why am I watching this?!

That’s how I always feel the week before school starts.  Nervous, anxious, stressed, and a little scared…but I know that the ending will be so good that it will all be worth it! 🙂

I am 6 days away from the 2013-2014 school year. Yikes!  Like any teacher, I evaluate how my management system worked at the end of each school year, and again while I plan our new year each summer.  This year, I’ve made some tweaks to my reinforcement system, and I thought I’d share with you what I plan to do this year. 🙂

I am continuing to use my behavior clip chart that has the colors purple, pink, green, yellow, blue, and red.  I really like the way it provides positive reinforcement for my students and emphasizes moving up the chart for smart choices, rather than only allowing students to move down the chart.  My parents have always given me really positive feedback on this clip chart – they appreciate the quick and easy way they can look at their child’s calendar to see how their child behaved each day.I wrote about how I use my behavior calendar last year in an old post that you can find by clicking HERE. My students LOVE reaching purple and getting to “bling” out their clip! It is very rewarding for them.   

I’ve put the clip chart I created this year for my classroom in my TpT shop.  It has a bright polka dot and chalkboard theme to it.  I tied a black ribbon to the top so that my kids could carry it to their specials (in style of course) and it turned out so cute. 🙂 Check it out by clicking on the picture or clicking HERE.  

I’m also using Class Dojo for immediate feedback for my students.  My teaching partner, Rachel, has a great post about Class Dojo if you haven’t heard about it and a cute freebie to go with it. Check it out on her blog by clicking HERE.  TIP: I always put a “fake” avatar on my class roster for Class Dojo. Last year I added my husband and this year my dog, Weston, is on our class list.  I can take points away and give points to Weston simply for the “sound effect” in my room.  My kids hear the negative sound and think someone had a point taken away. (Really, no one has lost a point but it sure makes them “check themselves!” Shhhh…..don’t tell them.)  

Last year it became REALLY chaotic for me to keep track of who had met their goal of 10 Dojo points for a prize because they would gain and lose points so quickly.  So this year, I bought a basic chart and wrote their names down the side.  Every time a child reaches 10 points, he will put a sticker by his name and choose a reward coupon from our Class Coupon Book.  These are coupons that have fun rewards such as Switch Seats With a Friend or Sit At The Teacher’s Desk. (Laura Martin has a really cute set of class reward coupons that I bought last year and will be using.  Check them out in her store by clicking HERE.)

The best part about using coupons for Class Dojo? They don’t cost me anything.  ðŸ™‚ Bonus!

Thanks for letting me share how I will be running my reinforcement system this year! I’d love to hear how what you do for rewards and reinforcement in your classroom.  I’ll send my Polka Dots and Chalkboard Clip Chart set to the first 5 people who leave their email with a comment about what they use in their room. 🙂  

And before I go…my husband and I were at a restaurant the other day and saw this duck by the pond.  We looked at the duck….back at each other…and back at the duck. “What is wrong with his head?!” I asked my husband, to which he just simply replied…”Pretty sure he got a perm.”

World’s Coolest Duck.

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8 Comments

  1. Sorry the Blogloving app on my iPad acts funny when I try to comment. This time it deleted the first half of my message. I have heard of Class Dojo and I would like to use it in conjunction with my new six color management system I have seen in blogs that I hope to implement this year. Last year I used a modified stoplight system where students started the day on blue with green as a warning…

  2. Awesome….will it be editable…my school has a set PBS system with colors. ..no pink do you believe that? Grrr…..Pink is the new blue….

    Pretty please….when are you getting those marvelous numbers to hang over the kids desk.. tomorrow night is teacher parent day……:)

  3. Awww man. Missed it by one :/ I love how adorable your clip chart came out. I use a clip chart as well and I reeeeeeeeally want to add more positive sections to the top, but since my team is supposed to agree its been a steep hill drive to the top. One day! I also just learned about Class Dojo this summer and can't wait to use it with the new Ipad that we're "supposed" to be receiving before school starts.

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