Desperate Times...

Hey yall! Happy Friday!

I feel like this was the longest week of the year.

I blame it on the state testing...the dreaded CRCTs...even though first graders don't actually take the test!

But, it's over, and I'm happy.

And only 20 days of school left...say what?!?!

You would think that my kiddos would be able to get themselves together for the last little bit of the year. But I have a couple sweet boys that just haven't been able to hold it together since Spring Break.

I mean, they have been horrible. Awful. Terrible.

And I had to call in the big guns.

Before I get too far, let me explain to you our classroom management strategy.

This is my behavior chart.

Really sorry for the crappy quality...



 Each day, students start on green. They can move up to blue for good choices, or down to yellow, orange, and red for poor choices. I have different colored popsicle sticks that they use. If a student is on green or blue all week, they get to choose something from the treasure box.

 Sounds familiar, right?

Yeah, I know....it's just like yours :)

But...it works! For most of my littles.

For the ones that need a little extra motivation, they can also earn tokens. A student can get a token for a variety of reasons, including things like:

*helping a friend

*exhibiting class leadership skills

*respecting materials

*great hallway behavior

*praise from other teachers

etc.

Once they reach a certain amount of tokens, they can "cash" them in for other things.

*5 tokens = a homework pass

*10 tokens = treasure box item

*15 tokens = lunchdate with me and a friend

*20 tokens = a new book

Most of my littles are shooting for that 15 token goal, but some can hardly stand it...they cash them in at 5 every single time.

So, that's the system I've had in place all year. I will definitely make some changes next year, like getting rid of the treasure box and creating more meaningful awards. But for now, it works.

Except for those special friends.

So I spoke with some of my 2nd grade buddies, and asked them for their behavior management tool.

This is what they gave me.

Well, this isn't exactly what they gave me. I had to change the schedule, and of course, had to cuten it up a bit!

Here's how it works:

For every class period, they can get either stars or tally marks. There are four categories: following directions, staying on task, raising hand to speak, and staying in seat. If they have no problems with any areas for the period, they get a star. But if little Johnny keeps calling out, then he gets a tally for that category.

Make sense?

At the end of the day, if they have at least 43 stars, they get a token. Their color for the day also depends on the amount of tallies they get.

This strategy is really great for those littles that struggle with waiting all week to be rewarded for good choices. One of mine in particular just cannot make it till Friday. He can be good as gold for 2-3 days, but by Thursday, he is off the chain. So this is perfect for him :)

I started this strategy with 3 of my boys this week, and so far, so good! Let's hope it can last for 20 more days!

If you would like your own copy of this behavior strategy, click here. I left it in Word format, so that you can change your schedule as needed.

Now...off to take the pups on a walk!

P.S. This girl met a little goal set at work, and earned the right to wear jeans....for the whole month of May!!! Whoo-hoo!!!