Reteaching Procedures- Semester 2

Christmas break is now over, and it is now time to welcome back our precious darlings.

When I was in my first year of teaching I was enrolled in a teaching preparation class. I remember going to class right before school was to resume and receiving this message. 

"You must reteach your procedures and expectations or you will be in a living Hades until summer break!!"

Okay, I don't think it was quite that dramatic, but the message was a clear one. After an extended break the students seemed to have forgotten even the basic come in to my room and sit in your assigned seat. It was insane. By the end of the first semester, I had 6th graders, without a sound, coming in, sitting down and getting straight to work. The students had only a small break and they had reverted back to the first day of school.

(If you are unsure about teaching procedures you should start at The Teacher Toolkit.  If you have more time you should get The First Days of School: How to Be an Effective Teacher, 4th Edition. This is a great "how to" book by Harry Wong.)

I have tried a couple different methods in my quest to reteach procedures. My first couple of years I was revved up on PowerPoint. Over the past couple of years, however, I have switched gears to Prezi. For this year, I am using the same Prezi I made for the first day of school procedures and just copied over what I needed the students to remember. This years reteaching includes:

• How to enter the classroom
• What materials are needed for class- pencil, notebook, ect.
• How we should treat each other
• The class reward system
• What is expected of them
• How to use class materials

There are many more procedures to be retaught but I always wait so not to overload them. Their brains are already full of stuff as it is. :-)

Mrs. C

Classroom Management: Star Bucks

It's Friday... It's Friday... Do the Friday Dance! 

Since, my last post was about classroom management I thought I would continue down that path. Where my friend is having success using her Three Strike System, I have been using a ticket system that I modified to fit better with my class.

Enters STAR BUCKS!

Of course, when I introduced it to my students every single class had someone ask "Are you really going to bring us Starbucks?!" HA... please. I can't afford Starbucks myself. Which is pretty much the beauty of the system. I don't have to buy anything!

I printed out a bunch of these onto green paper and cut them out. I put 21 on a sheet so they come out kind of small. The kids earn Star Bucks and then get to spend them on "prizes". 

The Ways to Earn a Star Buck:

1. Show excellent behavior/participation- At the beginning of the year I was giving them out like candy for everything- being on time, starting their warm up right away, etc. Now I cut back to only the REALLY good behaviors.
2. Use Science Vocabulary in class discussions- I walk around during class time and ask questions of students and give away Star Bucks if they use the correct vocabulary.
3. Ask extraordinary questions (level 3 or 4 DOK or 3 Costas)- This one is my favorite! I give them away for their online discussion board questions as well as if I catch them asking higher level questions of each other. 

Rules on Star Bucks:

1. Star Bucks are earned, not asked for 
2. You may not "share" your prizes- if your friend wants it they have to buy it too- I do let them buy things for each other. Hey, if you want to be giving then sure!
3. Bathroom cannot fall in PrimeTime- We don't let any student go to the bathroom in the first 20 minutes of class.
4. Do not interrupt Mrs. C to ask to buy something- Oh, is this a life saver. There is nothing worse than having a good light bulb moment with a student and have it ruined by another student asking if they can listen to music. If I am working, you need to wait.
5. Keep your money safe- I do not replace lost or stolen Star Bucks-I am not a bank, I do not do fraud protection. These kids guard these things more than their lunch badges.

Things Students Can "Buy":

$5.00     Positive phone call home

$5.00     Leave class 3 minutes early

$10.00   Restroom

$15.00   Free WQA

$15.00   Listen to music

$20.00   Snack in class

$20.00   Free 10 minutes computer time

$25.00   Cell phone use

$25.00   Quiz Score 100%

$30.00   Free 100% on INB grade

Disclaimers:

• I will call home for something good if you have give me something to work with. I will not call home and lie.
• They can listen to music but they may not share. Their friend has to buy it too if they want to listen together.
• Cell phones are okay but no picture taking. 
• They have to take the quiz first (so I can collect data on their unit mastery level) and then they can pay for the 100%. If they throw it on purpose I won't accept their money (i.e. they can't just click through since they know they are getting a 100%)

If you want to check out the posters I made to go along with this or have the sheets of Star Bucks I have it available on Teachers Pay Teachers for free all you have to do is download it and it is all yours!

Mrs. C

Classroom Management Three Strike Policy

I have a teacher friend who has been having some struggles with student behaviors. You know, calling out, inappropriate language, wandering the room, typical middle school behavior. However, instead of letting the students control the room, she took action and created this ingenious management plan.

Every student has a white piece of paper that has the classroom expectations on it. She said she likes that the students have those reminders right in front of them. If I student breaks one of those expectations she simply, and without a word, moves their paper clip down a notch. "Strike one". She does this until they get to "strike three" and upon that strike the student relocates themselves to the refocus area in the room.

The green card is actually double sided with a green side and a red side. Green side up means the student does not need assistance in the activity. We've noticed that our students just like to yell "Miss" really loudly when they need something and this way the expectation is that they are to flip their card to red to signal help is needed.

Finally, the good kids. Each classes is given a container and at the end of the class period if a student has no strikes they get a piece of macaroni to put into the container. Once the container is filled the students in that class well get a reward. Always remember your all-stars!

Mrs. C