and group motivation and behavior to create a
learning environment that encourages positive
social interaction, active engagement in learning,
and self-motivation.”
I write the anticipated schedule on the board every morning. It lets the studetns know what is planned for the day and they can easily find where we are in the day and what we have left. I find this helps to avoid the dreaded questions students love to ask "What are we doing next?" or "How much longer til P.E.?"
This is a copy of goals someone made for themself. We had some issues earlier in the year with students treating some other students disrespectfully. After class discussions and involving Mrs. Brown, our principal, I decided to have the students make goals to work on so this problem woudn't continue, but the opposite could happen. They have focused on getting to know others better, treating others kindly, and being empathetic instead of teasing.
This is a sample of a tracker I used many times last year to communicate with parents about the behavior and work accomplished. I haven't needed to use one this year as I haven't had any sevier individual behavior problems.
These are my 4th graders enjoying "extra P.E." As a fourth grade team we decided last year to give the students an incentive to turn in all their work throughout each week. Those who finish their work go to extra PE, and extra computer time. The ones who have work to complete stay in one of our classrooms to finish and get help. I, of course, make decisions about schoolwork on an individual basis based on absences, resource schedule, and other circumstances. This year I have had tremendous support from parents. I had parents comment at parent teacher conferences that it was a wonderul idea and their child comes home at night getting work finished "so they can go to extra PE on Friday".
Yard Sale- These are a favorite. Students in the 4th grade are rewarded with "money" with which they use to sharpen pencils, go to the bathroom, and they must pay for any rule breaking or bad behavior. They are rewarded when the show good behavior. Four times during the year we have "yard sales". The students bring things from home and sell them and use their money to buy things from other students. I also bring new and used items to sell. They sure are using their "life skills" as they try to talk down a price for something they really want. Everyone goes home with something new and fun!!! The kids love it!
Looking back at last year compared to this year my management and daily routines have changed a bit. I had a completly different set of 4th graders with totally different personalities than I do this year. Last year I had some studetns who tested their boundries and my limits every day and it was a struggle. I often felt that 1/2 the day was used in dealing with discipline issues and problems. This year I have been able to throw out a lot of the things I had to do last year just to motivate some of the students who had a very difficult time following the rules. This year I don't need as many creative ways to get their attention or get them excited to get rewards. This year my class just follows the rules because they know it's expected. We can play games with our lessons and they can handle being in charge of themselves or working with partners when last year it seemed to much of a struggle. Motivation and classroom management needs to be altered every year depending on the personalities in the class.
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