Just making it through- behaviour management

I'm going back into the archive for this one...but it's a good one!

Every year in May and June it gets HOT in Ontario....soooooo hot.

The kids are hot, the teachers are hot...everything is hot.
(Most years…this year? Who knows!!)

What to do??
So how do I plan to make it through without losing my sanity!?

FREEDOM FRIDAYS!!!

As a general rule I am not sure how I feel about Freedom Fridays as a behaviour incentive for the duration of the school year, but for the last few weeks of the school year it works wonders to keep everyone (me) happy!

This is what the Freedom Friday board looks like in my room. 

I just used those markers that can write on the board and only come off with water. 

Fancy, right?

Then I have my students work in groups to brainstorm all the ways they could earn a letter towards getting Freedom Friday (a free period for games etc) and what they might do to lose a previously earned letter. 

There are always some great conversations going on in my room during this activity! 

I hear things like, "Mrs. Lyons is always reminding us to do ______ so it must be important!" 

(That one made me giggle a little.) 

We also have a quick review on how to brainstorm- take down every idea that is given and talk about it after you have run out of ideas.

I am always impressed by how focused my students are on the task...nothing like the allure of a little free time to get students motivated! 

Try it and let me know how it goes in your room. 

Class Messenger- Using Your Smart Phone to Keep in Touch With Parents/Students

First things first...I'm on mat leave!! 8 weeks till the baby comes...hopefully, right. No early surprises. I do have some ultrasounds to check in on the baby's growth over the next few weeks but I am feeling good and looking forward to some time to rest and get ready before our whole world turns upside down.

Button clipart from Scrappin Doodles

Have you seen this new app/website? I heard about it from a colleague in the staff room last week. I must preface this post with the fact that I have not personally used this app but I think it looks great!

Here is an article I found about the app/website:
www.edudemic.com

This site looks great in itself and I think I will be back often to see what else they are writing about. 

Now, the app/website itself. I downloaded the app from the app store on to my iPhone and I don't really know much about other types of phones...so you'll have to investigate if you don't have an iPhone. The best part is that the app is FREE!! FREE!! All teachers love something free, right?

The website for this app is www.classmessenger.com and it is powered by Scholastic. Apparently the app used to be called What Did We Do Today? and has now changed to Class Messenger. Perhaps you have heard of the first but not the name change?

Here's the home screen-

I first created my account on my iPhone, because I downloaded the app first but I don't think it matters if you go to the website first. 

Once you are registered and logged in the app provides two different demos to help you see how it all works.

As I played around with the site, I found a great FAQ's section- for Teachers, Parents and Students. It seems like they've thought of everything!

There is also a great DEMO section that walks your through each step of setting up your classes and has demos for parents and students as well. 

Since I am off on leave, I don't actually have a class to try this out with...this year! But I am hoping that one of you all will jump on board and tell me all about it?! Yes??

I did start to attempt to build a class just to see how easy it was and  here's what you will see on the screen as you start to build your class. 

I like that Class Messenger has the option to build multiple classes, so if you teach rotary or want to organize your students by groups/classes that can be done as well.

There is a section where you can add contact details for your students/parents and I have highlighted some of the sections using arrows on the picture below. 

I think a form will need to be created in order to gather the email addresses needed to contact parents so they can sign up with the app. I haven't found a form provided on the site, so this may need to be done at your own school site. 

From here, there's not much more I can do...not actually having a class to sign up...boo. 

But...

I think this app/website has a lot of possibilities and I am very interested in hearing from anyone that uses it with their class this year.

Classroom Routines- Printable

Have you started thinking about next year yet? I have...it's hard not to, I find! 

So every once in awhile I start doing a little planning...nothing huge! I just make some lists, look at my planning from last year and make notes about what I want to tweak. That's when I came across this activity that I loved doing with my class.

I fully believe that students, of any age, should have a had in the creation of the rules and routines of their classroom. I think it leads to more engagement and more positive student interactions. So at the beginning of the year I write out the routines I want to have in place in my classroom as well as any super important rules. Then the fun begins!

Classroom Routines Activity

1. Divide your students into groups of 3-4.

2. Give each group a packet of the classroom routines and rules that you think are especially important. (You can see an example and print slips I use here) 

3. Make sure you also give the students some blank slips to write their own rules/routines they think you might have missed.

4. Instruct the groups to look through the slips you have provided and to write down any rules/routines they think are missing on the blank slips (10-15 minutes).

5. Once this is done give each group a large piece of paper (chart paper, etc) have ask them to sort their slips in order from the most important rule/routine to a little less important- I never say least important because they are all important! (15-20 minutes- depending on the age of your students)

This is a good time to observe right away which students may struggle with group work and which communication skills your students have already mastered.)

6. When the groups have finished this I tell them that they are now going to present their list to the rest of the class and I give them 5 or so minutes to prepare. I also make sure they know that I expect each group member to participate in some part of the presentation.

7. Present! Now the class gets to see how the other groups sorted their slips, they get to hear the rules/routines numerous times, they have had some input into the structure of their class setting, they have already made a presentation in front of the class (in the first week!) and you are ready to start modelling and practicing these rules/routines many, many, many times in the weeks to come.

I am excited to hear your thoughts on this activity and perhaps other possible ways you think it could be used?!?! 

Leave your wonderful comments below!!

Things I Am Lovin'...

How about a weekly Linky Party?? I find a ridiculous amount of fantastic ideas on other teacher blogs, Pinterest and the internet in general, and I am sure you all do too! So....I thought a weekly link party where we can all share our "Fantastic Finds" would be just the thing. Consider yourself invited, no RSVP necessary- just show up and have a great time.

Here are the rules/suggestions: 1) Grab the Linky Party button and display it proudly on your blog or post! 2) If the Fantastic Finds Linky Party has a theme...follow it 3) Please link to the actual POST where your fantastic find is...not just the blog. 4) Have fun! Any links that do not fit the linky party or are not related to education will be removed. Here are my fantastic finds of the week: 1) Linneyville- this amazing blog taught me how to make the super cute button for this shindig! I am so proud 2) How about this awesome literacy related halloween costume!

3) Create Teach Share has a great Status of the Class freebie that I will be implementing TOMORROW in my class. Talk about accountability!

4) Do you Daily 5? 4th Grade Frolics has a fantastic idea for Work on Writing. Check it out. 5) A. Mazing.Ing Literary Device posters over at My Teaching Spirit. Putting these babies up for sure! 6) I've adopted this classroom helpers method in my room this year and I loving it! Thanks to Ashleigh's Education Journey! Join in on the fun below.

Three Days Down...187 More to Go!

Well, I am starting to feel like I actually have my feet under me and can take a moment to blog about my first week back at work. I am really enjoying my class, they are super cute and really eager to learn it seems. Implementing Read to Self as part of my Daily Three (adapted from Daily 5) is going fabulously! I even had a boy today ask if he could take his book home because in the past all he ever did was play video games but now he wants to read at home....aww, my little heart just about burst!

I have taken some pictures to show you what we have been up to in Grade 4 these past 3 days.

'

The three ways to read a book and our stamina count...already up to 5 minutes!

This is hanging above our carpet area. We brainstormed appropriate carpet behaviours and create the I chart outlined in The Daily 5 for the start of Read to Self.

Here is my behaviour clip chart in action. So far there haven't been any moves down the chart and I have been trying to really emphasize the good things students have been doing.

I like to allow my students to have input into the classroom rules so what we did what brainstorm what each rule might look like and sound like in our room. The students each had a marker and walked around in a gallery walk and added their own ideas to each poster. I asked that they try to write an idea on at least 4 of the 6  posters and if their idea was already on the poster then they could repeat it because it must be important. Tomorrow we are going to add some other ideas that I want on the charts that weren't added by students and then the charts will be laminated and kept in the room for the year!

This was my first math lesson of the year. In the top right of the picture you can see the data table we created my collecting the birthdays of the class. We then took that data and created a bar graph of our class' birthdays. The students reviewed important terms such as x-axis, y-axis, labels, titles, and scale. This will stay up for the rest of our data management unit so that the students can reference it as we work on other data management skills.

And...I already received my first drawing from a student which I promptly hung up by my favourite poster!

Tomorrow we are doing a pretty complicated art lesson that I am excited about and my student teacher is finally arriving! Plus, it's FRIDAY!!

First Time Clip Art Purchase!!

I have never purchased clip art for my school materials before because I was always so confused by the Terms of Use presented on the different sellers websites. So when Scrappin Doodles came out with a License for Teacher Freebies I was over the moon...this is exactly what I want. I have no interest in selling my stuff only in giving away freebies (lucky you all) so this license is perfect for me. If you look over to the right sidebar of my blog (maybe scroll down a little) you will see my pretty little license button AND if you click on it, it will take you straight to Scrappin Doodles!

To celebrate my first ever clip art purchase I have a freebie for you....double yeah! All I ask is that you leave me a COMMENT about how you use clip art in your classroom, your favourite clip art supplier, or any other nice tidbit you'd like to share on this lovely Friday. I am counting on you guys...honour system!

When I saw this classroom management sign on Pinterest from Ladybug's Teacher Files I knew it was a great idea and that I wanted to "borrow" it for the upcoming school year. My sign is essentially the same as Kristen's (because hers was pretty awesome to begin with!) but I wanted to make something using my new clipart!!

Highlighter Name Check- I have added a line to remind students to check off their name on the class list because I also LOVE this idea I saw on Pinterest...which is also from Ladybug's Teacher Files!! That Kristen is one smart cookie.

All clipart used in this freebie is from Scrappin' Doodles.

Happy Birthday to Me! And a Freebie for You!!

Disclaimer- I live in Canada. I spell words with a "u" in them. Like colour, honour, behaviour, neighbourhood. Most likely anything I post will be spelled this way! I am happy to change things to an American spelling if asked...however, today is my birthday so it will NOT happen today.

In honour of my birthday..TODAY!...I am posting some materials I have made for my classroom.

First, this is the behaviour chart I made after seeing so many amazing ones on Pinterest. I am very excited to try this out with my students as i found last year I did not like the turn a card system at all. I think this will be much better because the "good" students have the opportunity to be recognized as well as the students who seem to know exactly how to grab your attention...in the wrong way!

Behaviour chart (The font used on this chart is A Red Bucket from KevinandAmanda.com)

Secondly, here is the reflection form I plan to use for the students who move down to that level on the behaviour chart. It will give the student time to reflect on their choices, to cool down and I will have a record of the incident as well.

Reflection Sheet

Here is the Parent Contact sheet I will use for when my students reach the bottom level of the clip chart (hopefully this happens rarely.....!). I find it useful to have forms like this prepared and ready to go so you aren't spending valuable time writing out information that could already be done.

Parent Contact Sheet

Whew...well, I hope you all have a great day on my birthday!! I will. I plan to create some forms that go along with the upper levels of the clip chart as well and will post those when I get them done.

Have a great weekend.