The Privilege Jar

I grabbed this idea from The Creative Apple.  Have your students come up with ideas of things that they would enjoy earning, with your approval.  Write down the agreed upon privileges and place them in a jar.  When you feel a student has done something EXTRAORDINARY, you may allow them, (not always) to draw from the jar.  This is a great motivator that will keep student's striving because they'll never know when they may get to choose a special privilege.  On the occasions they do something awesome, but aren't allowed to choose from the jar, make sure to let them know how wonderful they are and to keep up the great effort, because next time, may be the time they get to choose.

When initially presenting this to the class, make sure to let them know that their awesomeness will always be appreciated, even if it doesn't result in a drawing.  Let them know there wouldn't be enough time in a school day to reward for all the great things they do on a regular basis, but this is your attempt to give back to them once in awhile for all they do.  ;)

The jar may look something like this...

Beginning of School Letter

Want a letter to send out to parents at the beginning of the year to establish contact with them in a positive way?  Use this one as a template.  Below is the letter that I used to send to parents, just save a copy to your files and fill in your specific information to make it your own.  (please excuse the wide spacing, I can't seem to fix that.)

Dear Parents,

Welcome to a new school year! 

I’m writing to ask you to help me become a partner with you in your child’s education.  I will only have your child for a short time and I want to make a contribution that lasts.

To ensure a successful, happy year for you and your child, we must keep the lines of communication open.  If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at the Holland Center, 232-0551.  I’m a part time teacher and will be working each morning and all day on Friday.  My office hours will be Friday afternoon from 12:30-4:00.  If I’m unavailable, please leave a message and a phone number, I will return the call as soon as possible.

I’m looking forward to a successful year with your child!

Sincerely,

Jennifer Gnau

ED Itinerant

Attention Grabbers

Choose one of the below attention grabbers to use in your class tomorrow as we welcome all the excited new students into our rooms!  I found this first fun idea on the blog, Adventures in Teaching, over the summer. Scroll down to view examples for middle and high school age students...




 Kathy Morlan, a high school teacher, has used this idea with her English class:

She uses her iPod touch's clock feature. (This feature is also available on the iPhone, and iPad).  I'm guessing all smart phones have some version of a timer.  Kathy says, "I set the timer for 1 minute, and set the sound for crickets chirping or a duck quacking. When I set the timer, the kids hear this weird sound, I tell the class to finish their thoughts, and a minute later here's this "quack, quack" and we wrap up." 

View this 1 min. video clip to see an easy example used in a middle school.  This would also work great at any grade level.
 

*Guidelines For Setting Limits

1.  Be sure that your statement is enforceable.

Unenforceable Statement:  Be nice to each other.  Quit fighting.
Enforceable Statement:  You guys are welcome to come back as soon as you work that out.  Good    luck.

2.  Know how you plan to enforce the limit before you state it.

3.  Avoid "Fighting Words."  Fighting words are a call to battle, and include:

a. Telling the student what to do.
    "You get to work right now!"
b.  Telling the student what you will not allow.
     "You're not going to talk to me that way!"
c.  Telling the student what you won't do for him/her.
     "I'm not letting you leave for recess until your work is done!"

4.  Use "Thinking Words."  Thinking words include:

a.  Telling a student when he/she can do something.
     "Feel free to go out to recess as soon as your work is done."
b.  Telling the student the conditions under which the adult will do something.
     "I'll be glad to help you with your work when you go to your seat and raise your hand."
c.  Describing the choices a student has.
     "Feel free to participate with the group, or do the assignment on your own time."

*Adapted from Jim Fay's Love and Logic

Big, Medium, and Little Problems

Have you ever had a student overreact to a situation?  Do you have students who seem to do this repeatedly?  If so, today's blog can help.  Sometimes we just need to have a better perspective on events to realize if they are a big, medium, or little problems.  I found the perfect tool to help teach this perspective from Jill Kuzma's Social & Emotional Skill Sharing site.

The colorful visuals can be hung in your room to refer to once the skill is taught.  There are 2 graphics to choose from.  They are similar, however, one provides some actual examples of the different levels of problems.

Big, Medium, Little Problems Chart 1
Big, Medium, Little Problems Chart 2