My Favorite (Easy!) Ways To Reward Good Behavior

Angela Watson over at The Cornerstone for Teachers has such a fabulous website and blog. She was a lifeline for me during my first year of teaching! I got my idea for a ticket system from here (link to her blog post below). Here's how it works:

First, you need to create the tokens. This could be something simple like small round game pieces that you write a number on with a permanent marker. I took foam paper from the craft store and cut it into 1-inch squares and wrote numbers on them with a sharpie. I found this to last well. Each child will need roughly 15 tokens.

Assign each student a PIN (Personal Identification Number). Many teachers use this already to organize files, have students write their number on papers they turn in, etc.

Next, find a divided container (craft stores/craft sections of stores have them for jewelry making, etc. Or you could use a tackle box-type container). Place each students tickets in a compartment.

My ticket organizer

(another example of divided container)

photo source

Here's the fun part: Use it to reward behavior all day long! Anytime a student is following a rule, ask them to draw a ticket. They can go to the ticket container, pull out a ticket with their name on it and place it in a jar, a bag, or whatever place you have designated for drawn tickets. It doesn't have to be complicated, I used a recycled plastic coffee can! This is especially great giving quick, positive recognition, especially to those students who need some positive reinforcement :)

It's up to you how to reward students who have gotten tickets. I used to draw two tickets at the end of each day to pull a small prize from my prize box. I made it my own policy that anyone who had a ticket could receive a prize, even if they had broken a rule that day. I wanted it to be a purely positive thing. That's your choice, but make it clear to students either way before you begin this system so they know what to expect. Once a student's ticket is drawn, it goes back into the divider. However, these tickets can be used to draw names for all kinds of things such as:

Line leader
Table washer (my kids really liked doing this!)
Restroom monitor
Paper Passer
Run an errand
Assist the teacher during a lesson

The possibilities are endless! This can also be used to monitor hallway behavior (i.e. "Samantha you are following hallway procedures, please get a ticket when we return to the room"). Once students know you are "handing out" tickets, they perk up a bit!

Now, there are a few other easy (easy!!) ways to reward behavior that take even less effort than making at ticket system. Here are a few I have used (they aren't my original ideas, they've been floating around the teacher world for awhile...but they work!)

If you want to reward individual students, but are short on time (or need something you can use immediately or on special days of the year) try pre-made tickets! You can get the kind that has duplicate tickets so you can call out numbers for prizes, or you can allow students to turn in a ticket (or a certain number of tickets) for a prize such as a homework pass. This can admittedly get expensive, but it's great to have a roll of these on hand for days that the kids are just "off", or they just need a little extra incentive (think: end of school year, afternoons on testing days, party days, etc.)

 If you want to recognize whole class positive behavior, try marbles! I kept a bucket of marbles and dropped one or two in a clear container for different positive behaviors such as:  whole class was on-task, good behavior during lunch or special ares, or just because I love 'em! When the container is full, the class gets to pick something fun to do like watch or movie or extra recess. I would make the container big enough that it takes them awhile to reach their goal, but not so long that they lose interest. This would vary depending on grade level and your students' needs.

Tip: This sounds obvious, but if flat marbles (shown above) are what you have on hand, you may want to add more than one or two marbles to your container at a time because it takes a lot longer to fill up a container with these.

Also, you can use the marble system if you have multiple classes (departmentalized elementary, or middle/high school). Just make a separate container for each class and buy more marbles.

Hope you found these ideas helpful!

Click here for Angela's Easy Ticket System Blog

Beginning Of Year Parent Letter {Downloadable}

I like to send home a letter at the beginning of each school year to give parents highlights of what to expect in my classroom. I outline my behavior plan, grading/school work/class work, class rules, etc. This helps parents remember highlights from open house night. It's also helpful if the student will have more than one teacher (departmentalized elementary school, or middle/high school) or if the parents have more than one child attending the school--it's hard to remember which teacher does what!

The screen shots below show what information I included in my letter from a few years ago. As you can see, it was written for a sixth grade class. To make things easier for you, I included a link to my Google Docs version of this letter so you can download it and format it for your classroom.

Click here to access the Parent Letter file!

I think it's important to keep this letter short and to the point. This letter is a little less than two pages. I have done a longer one, but longer doesn't always equal better.

Great Teaching Binder

Jenn at Beyond the Grades has a really great teaching binder that puts a lot of essential paperwork that we need to access every day in one binder. Her binder makes it super easy to grab one item for conferences, parent phone calls, grading, team meetings, faculty meetings, etc.

In this binder she has a calendar in the front pocket, an EZ Grader in the back pocket, and divider tabs for each section. The sections she includes are:

• Important Information: schedules, class lists, transportation info. This can easily be removed to place in a sub folder for the days you are out.
• Student Data: Important assessment scores (MAP scores, etc.), contact information, conference sheets, etc. 
• Curriculum Calendar: Curriculum and testing calendars
• Grading: She keeps 9 week grades in spreadsheet format here. Again, very easy to refer to during team meetings, conferences, etc.
• Lesson Plan Ideas
• Team Meeting Notes
• Faculty Meeting Notes
• PLC Meeting Notes

I like how easy it to manage all the paperwork you get during meetings: simply place it in the appropriate tabs. You could include one of those small 3-hole punches that fit in a 3-ring binder so paper gets filed immediately. Great ideas Jenn!

Click here for access to Jenn's post

A Cute Behavior Management Tool

The teachers over at Primary Possibilities have a cute idea for managing student behavior. 

Photo from Primary Possibilities

At the beginning of the day, she writes a student's name on a certificate that looks like this (it's free to download on the site linked above):

Then she places it in the magnetic container shown above. If students are getting chatty or off-task she will comment "I need to check on my secret student" and this reminds an off-task student that the secret student could very well be him/her!

At the end of the day, she pulls out the certificate. If the student had a good day, they get to take it home. If not, she quietly puts it in her pocket and says, "My secret student didn't make very good choices today. I hope it's better tomorrow." I love that she doesn't tell students who it is if the behavior wasn't up to par. This provides motivation to try harder tomorrow. While this isn't a replacement for a whole class management system by any means, it's a fun little surprise for students, a motivator to make good choices, and also a good way to keep students' attention at the end of the day when everyone is a little wiggly :)

Utilizing Your iPad

I found a great infographic from Tony at LearningHand.com that shows various ways to use your iPad for showing your iPad screen to the whole class, managing the classroom, assessment, interacting with students, accessing your files, creating instructional media, and learning new things. Here's a screen shot of the beginning of the infographic:

Click Here to see the full infographic

This infographic shares a ton of great apps to try for the classroom (and indicates if they are free or paid apps). One I'd really like to check out is Three Ring where you can digitize student work. This would be great to avoid losing papers, but also for creating portfolios, tracking student progress. You could also use it during parent/teacher conferences or you can even be shared with parents. Pretty cool!

Explain Everything is an app that records your voice as your draw on a whiteboard. I could see this being great for homework help. For example, you're teaching how to add fractions and send home some homework. Mom is trying to help her child, but can't remember if the denominator needs to be the same before adding the numerators. Include a link at the bottom of the homework sheet or post the video to the class website and mom has a tool to help her child succeed! Excellent idea.

These are just two apps that look very promising. Check them out!

My Philosophy of Education

Education is a wide, deep field with room to try new ideas and get creative. The core of education is the students. The decisions a teacher makes should benefit students and their learning. Teaching should be research-based and data-driven, but should take advantage of teachable moments and emphasize relationships with students. All students can learn and the core of teaching is to instill a love of learning and help students become the best version of themselves as possible.