I'm having some difficulty thinking of a title for this post... my brain is FRIED! What a {crazy} busy week! So... I'll start off with the fun stuff:
Fred has been busy in my classroom... Monday morning he'd just flown over to hang out by one of our decorative Christmas Trees, but today he had borrowed one of my red pens [that was previously buried in my drawer] and had a nice little notepad keeping track of who is naughty and who is nice.
I love how Fred is the first thing the kiddos look for when they come into the room in the morning! What a great way to start the day!
Today I decided to blog about our rewards/discipline system at school and some nifty ideas to go along with it. This year we have a school wide discipline system (the past few years it has been by grade level). The entire school uses the same colors, phrases, and clips. I can't remember the name of the person who came up with this system, but I do remember reading a booklet about it at one point. The great thing about this system is that it allows for kids to move up and down the chart. However, if the students get to "Classroom Consequences" or "Parent Contact" they can only move down. Once they receive a consequence (filling out a Think Sheet, or calling their parents) it can't be taken back. Here's a picture of the chart we use:
As we go through our day, anytime I see kids who are doing a great job following directions or procedures (or who are exhibiting any other exemplary behavior), I ask those students to move their clips up. If a student is not following directions or procedures, they move their clip down. Students start each day with their clip on "Ready to Learn". It's amazing how many students strive to be on red or "Off the Chart" each day.
A student is "Off the Chart" when he or she has moved up to the side of red, then on top of the red, and gets to move up again. At this time I take the students' clip and wear it on my lanyard for the rest of the day. If the student moves to the top of the red I call this the "Top of the Chart".
Students begin with a regular clip. The first time they reach the Top of the Chart or Off the Chart, the student gets to color their clip with markers. Then for the next three times they reach the Top of the Chart or Off the Chart, students get to choose a jewel for me to hot glue to their clip. Once they earn all three jewels, students get a green clip. On their green clip, students can earn 5 jewels by reaching the Top or Off the Chart. Then they earn a yellow clip and they must earn 5 more jewels in order to get an orange clip, then 5 more jewels and a red clip, and finally a glitter blinged out clip with 5 jewels. When students get a new clip, I take their old clip and wear it on my lanyard permanently... okay, so my lanyards getting kind of heavy and I'm going to make a "String of Fame" to hang the clips from (one of my hundred thousand million Christmas Break To Do List items).
Phew... that's a lot of information. Don't worry though. I'm not through yet. C; I know everyone has different ways of recording their students' behavior, but I thought I'd share mine. First I stamp each of the students' planners at the end of each day with my Do-A-Dot Art! stampers. Then I stamp a sheet I made on the wall with the same color next to that students' name. I print the date on this chart so at the end of the week I can punch holes in the paper and file it in my data binder.
This also makes it easy for me to decide who goes to Fun Friday (every Friday each grade level has a time they go outside and get to run and play and have some type of treat). To earn Fun Friday students may only end their day on purple once throughout the week. Students who move to blue or gray do not get Fun Friday and must sit out without a treat. If you look at the chart numbers 7 and 17 will not be attending Fun Friday this week. Number 10 cannot get any other purples if she would like to attend Fun Friday. I also do Lunch Bunch each week. If students turn all of their homework in throughout the week and do not get any purples, blues, or grays they get to come back to my classroom during lunch and watch a movie while they eat on Fridays.
In order to assure my students are responsible for their behavior at all times throughout the day, I also have a Behavior Basket that accompanies them to lunch and specials (i.e. P.E., Music, Computers, Library). Students clips all start on the back side of the basket. If students behave well the teacher or lunch monitor may move the students' clips over to the side of the basket with the smiley face. Students with their clips on this side get to move their clip up when we get to the classroom. If students do not follow directions or procedures, their clip gets through into "The Pit" and they must move their clip down when we get back to their classroom. I also use this basket at recess.
If you have any questions, PLEASE don't hesitate to comment or e-mail me! I know this is a lot of information!
