Monday, July 6, 2015

Summer Series: Beautiful Behavior and a FREEBIE!


Today I'm linking up with Delightfully Dedicated to talk about behavior management! Make sure to check out all the other fabulous teachers that have linked up!

 My behavior management plan grew a lot after my first year of teaching. I learned pretty quickly what worked and what didn't work. This is what I did last year:

First and foremost, I used Whole Brain teaching's classroom rules. I read the book before my first year of teaching and fell in LOVE!!


Whole brain teaching has 5 class rules: 
1. Follow directions quickly.
2. Raise your hand for permission to speak.
3. Raise your hand for permission to leave your seat.
4. Make smart choices!
5. Keep your dear teacher happy!

I just love these rules because everything falls under one rule or another. "Keep your dear teacher happy" and "make smart choices" goes a long way! 

Plus, the rules have fun hand-motions to go along with them and my third graders LOVED THEM! Seriously, I really recommend reading this book if you haven't yet.

I used Stephanie from 3rd Grade Thoughts' posters to post the rules in my classroom. Check them out HERE!

When I wanted the attention of the whole class, I used the 'Class-Yes' callback from Whole Brain Teaching. It works like a charm every time! I add a little extra incentive to doing the callback right the first time. Because I was departmentalized and had 3 classes, I created a little class competition which my students loved (inspired by Whole Brain Teaching)! If they all responded quickly and quietly, the class got a happy face. If they didn't respond quickly or quietly, the class got a sad face. At the end of the day, I would tally up the class points and record it on our class competition chart. At the end of the month, the class with the most points got a reward (usually extra recess or a homework pass). Below are my charts that I used for class competition!


This picture ties into my next aspect of behavior management: Class Dojo! Now, I'm sooooo obsessed with Class Dojo (as were my students). Class Dojo was especially helpful for students who couldn't seem to get it together with just the class rules. 

Class Dojo is a fun little tool that allows you to create an avatar for each student. If a student is misbehaving, you can give them a negative Dojo point. You can customize the behaviors you want to use!


 If they are going above and beyond, you can give them a positive Dojo point.


 I liked to keep my Dojo points on the positive side so I rarely ever gave negatives. Usually all I had to do was say, "I just love the way Sally is sitting so quietly waiting for directions. I'm going to give her a positive Dojo!" This would cause little Johnny who is swinging from the ceiling fan to pop to attention in his chair so that he can get a positive Dojo point, too!


The cool thing about Class Dojo is that it gives you a handy chart to track students' behavior. This chart was awesome for RtI meetings and parent conferences!

I added a little incentive to getting positive Dojo points in my class. I created a Class Dojo rewards menu so my students could trade their points in every other week. Students could either save their points or trade them in for a treat. I was so impressed with how many of my students saved their points for larger rewards! Teaching responsibility and money-saving skills early!

And now, I have a freebie for you!! It's my Class Dojo Rewards poster! You can hang this in your room and allow students to trade in their Class Dojo points! Click the picture below to download it!

 DojoRewardsMenu

*******UPDATE*******
After many, many requests, I have created an editable version of my popular Class Dojo Rewards Menu! You can find it HERE! Enjoy!

Well, there you have it! My behavior management plan in a nutshell! How do you manage behavior in your classroom??

27 comments:

  1. I love class dojo! I really like the rewards system you use with it, what a great idea!

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  2. Love Class Dojo! I like that you have a poster for rewards. Great idea!
    Miss Lulu

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  3. Thanks for linking up! It's decided...I REALLY need to try Class Dojo in my class this year!

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    1. You definitely should!! It is FABULOUS!!!! Definitely a game-changer!! Ha!

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  4. Great ideas and I loved how you tied whole brain/dojo/reward system altogether!

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  5. How do you deduct point for the rewards without looking like a negative behavior?

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    1. I used my iPad to keep track of Class Dojo to keep it more private when I gave negative points (which I tried not to do often). I went the more positive route and instead rewarded students with positive points who were doing the correct thing. When students who were misbehaving saw that I was giving out positive points for good behavior, they almost always changed what they were doing. Sort of like a reminder! If that didn't work and I really had to give out a negative point, I would usually pull the student to the side, discuss the negative behavior, and then take the point away later on my iPad to keep it private!

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  6. Is there a way to deduct points without erasing all of their points?

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    1. Yes! If you go to the negative behaviors tab, you can take away one point for a negative behavior that you have created (like talking out, out of seat, etc.).

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  7. Is there a way that you would post an editable version of this? We aren't allowed to give out candy in our district, and I would like to change a couple of the rewards, but I love the graphics and font. Thanks!

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    1. I know that you asked for this FOREVER ago, but I finally got around to making an editable version! You can find it HERE!

      Hope you can use it this year and customize it to meet your needs!

      Stephanie

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  8. When a student cashes in their points for a prize- how do you deduct them?

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    1. We traded our points in every two weeks (I called it Dojo Friday) and I kept a log of how many points each student used and how many they had remaining. After I got everything written down, I cleared their points out. This doesn't affect their behavior charts (meaning you can still see everything they got positive and negative points for). Hope that helps!

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    2. I just am getting into this deal! So I am just double checking- you kept a separate chart for "cashing in" or shopping? Did you just do a spreadsheet? :) Thanks for your help!

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    3. Kristen, yes I just kept a simple spreadsheet! That helped me keep track of how many points each student had. I called it "the bank." It was a great lesson on spending and saving our points!

      Stephanie
      Mrs. Cain's Creations

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  9. HI, Love your poster - is there an editable version? I wanted to use the rewards that the class came up with.

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    1. I know it's been a few months since you asked for this but I finally got around to making an editable version! I hope you can use it this coming school year!

      You can find it HERE!

      Stephanie

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  10. Hi too love the poster and was wondering if you had an editable version?

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    1. There is now! You can find it HERE!

      Hope this helps!!

      Stephanie

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  11. I am also wondering about an editable version!

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    1. There is an editable version now!!

      You can find it HERE!

      Hope this helps you out this year!

      Stephanie

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  12. Hey,
    I also use Class Dojo and am wanting to incorporate a rewards type system. I'm just wondering how you cash in their points?
    Do you take 45 points away? or do you have another way of monitoring which rewards they have traded?
    Cheers,
    Sylvia

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    1. Somehow I missed your comment completely! Sorry about that! I reset points on the app weekly. I used a spreadsheet and kept track of points there. We only did "Dojo Day" (where I let them trade in points) every other week. I would just subtract the points they used from "the bank" (my spreadsheet) and I'd write their new total in the spreadsheet!

      Stephanie
      Mrs. Cain's Creations

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  13. My teacher will love this

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