Summertime Guilty Pleasures {A Link Up}

Soooo… it's summertime, no? Time for all those guilty, guilty pleasures to take place!!!

Nichole from The Craft of Teaching and I decided that it might be really cool to see all of our summertime guilty pleasures in one place.

Introducing…

So let's get started with MY guilty pleasures!!

Oooooh yes, blogging. I love me some blogging. During the school year, my blog kind of has cobwebs on it! But during the summer, I have freedom to blog as I see fit. Want to blog about a new technology source? SURE! Want to blog about a reading strategy I used in the classroom? SURE! Want to blog about ice cream? SURE!

During the summer, I can blog about whatever I would like:
-reading
-writing
-science
-social studies
-mathematics
-spelling/grammar
-TV shows
-reflections
-school supplies

Oh. My. Goodness. THAT LIST!!!

Oooh. Speaking of lists. Summertime is the time of LISTS for me!! I am able to write it all down and look at it in complete awe. I mean, my LISTS HAVE LISTS. Is that not the definite definition of a teacher???

 If you don't have lists, you are missing out. Oh, and these lists are from Krista's Creative Paper Collection and Blair's Blair Turner Paper company. You maaaaay just want to go ahead and buy yourself 12 of each item.. you're going to fall in love with them.

Oh, see. You fell in love. #sorrynotsorry

Raise your hand if you binge watch TV or movies?? *raises hand* Oh yeah, I do. Especially in the summertime!! During the school year, I am almost too busy to watch TV. Almost. BUT, there are a few TV shows or movies that I have yet to watch, and whelp, what's summer for if not for binge watching from the couch?!

I'm currently binge watching Orange is the New Black (but I am not allowed to watch it without my husband…) and Gossip Girl. But I have binge watched The Fosters, Pretty Little Liars, Big Brother, Walking Dead, Grey's Anatomy… okay, this list is making me look a little crazy.

Who am I kidding?? I AM crazy!! Crazy for paper and TV, that is… :)

So tell us. What are YOUR guilty pleasures?! Nichole and I want to know.

Here's how this works.

Write up a shameless post about your guilty pleasures (come on, friends, it's summertime - no shame).
Be sure to include the very top graphic about the guilty pleasure from this post or from her post.
Link up on either her blog (Nichole's) or my blog.

THAT'S IT. Seriously. So easy.

Let's hear it, folks!!

An InLinkz Link-up

{My Teacher Heroes}

To all the teachers out there, I want to start off this post by saying THANK YOU. Thank you for all that you do for those students of yours. Thank you for all that you do for your coworkers. Thank you for all that you do for your families and friends. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.

You may not know it, but you may actually, truly be one of your kiddos' heroes. Pretty cool title, huh?

I know that I personally had quite a few teacher heroes (5 of them, to be exact). So, I'm going to list them below in a link up that's titled, "My Teacher Hero," hosted by the AMAZING Jenny from Luckeyfrog's Lilypad! Love that lady.

Be prepared… *SAPPY ROADS AHEAD.**

Let's start with my 7th Grade Math Teacher. Mrs. Calborn. My love for math started when I walked into her classroom. To be able to love math that much?? I was unsure it was even possible. But, she made it happen for me. She got me involved, got me thinking, and kept me going. Throughout the years, we lost touch a little because of me going to a different school, but the funny thing is, we reconnected when I decided to be a teacher. When I began to sub at her school. To be honest, she's one of the main reasons I began to think I could even BE a teacher when I was in college. She was one of the reasons that made me go, "Well, I remembered her and all the impacts she had on my life, even from 7 years ago, and it would be awesome to have that same lasting impact on students' lives, too." So, Mrs. Calborn, thank you.

I had Mr. Anderson for a science class in high school. He instilled a love for science in me like no other. He challenged us to think as hard as we could, but yet, still have fun doing it. We did experiments, we did worksheets, we did tests. But what we did every single day? We had a blast. The connections Mr. Anderson made with his students are to die for. He made sure to connect with them on a deeper level and really understand them. He was a school favorite, not gonna lie! Mr. Anderson, thank you.

I had Mrs. Pack for a reading class in high school, as well. GOSH I hated reading and I still am not too fond of it even though I'm a teacher - love to read, not fond of teaching it. But her class unlike any other reading class that I had ever taken. The projects she would assign were outrageously amazing and I remember having to read a looooooong book and then present on it. But that book? It will forever stay in my mind. I will remember the exact group of people I had to work with, simply because the book she chose for us was so powerful. She was another teacher that made connections with her kids and they were to die for. She made sure, just like Mr. Anderson, to connect with her students on a deeper level and really understand them, even if she only had them for a semester. She was another school favorite. To this day, I am still friends with Mrs. Pack on social media and I LOVE seeing her updates because she made that lasting impact on me that I will never forget. Mrs. Pack, thank you.

Mr. Ciolino was one of my education course professors in college during my undergraduate. Classroom management. BOY did he run his class with perfect classroom management. Not only that, but he reminded me of why I signed on to be a teacher. He connected with us, he joked with us, he was serious with us, he laughed with us, he worked with us… he HELPED us. Mr. Ciolino taught me things that I never thought I would learn about teaching. Ever see those pictures where teaching looks like the PERFECT job, with the smiling kids who are constantly on task and NEVER goofing off? Yeah, he made sure to let us know that those pictures were a cruel joke. No classroom would ever be perfect, but it could be ran as long as classroom management techniques were in place. He taught us on the level we understood, he put things into perspective. He was real. No sugar coating. And sometimes, that's just what you need. Mr. Ciolino, thank you.

The very last teacher I want to tell you about is one that I will cherish forever.
Mrs. Beckelhimer.
Mrs. Beckelhimer is a professor of an english class in my beginning years at the University of Cincinnati. Mrs. Beckelhimer is one of those teachers that you instantly make a connection with. Her sweet nature, yet high expectations, made me want to stay in touch with her. The same is with english as it is reading - not fond of it. But, Mrs. Beckelhimer took the time out of her days to make specific comments about assignments, was sure to check in with us if we missed class, worked hard to make lessons that were meaningful to us as students in the beginning years of college. She made connections with the students by talking about things on their level, things that they made real-world connections with, things that we liked and were interested in. She had us do assignments that would be relevant to us, not just some topic that we were given and then told, "Write on! Good luck!" Mrs. Beckelhimer was there for us. She was always there for her students if they needed someone to confide in, to talk to, someone to just listen to us. But let's be honest - Mrs. Beckelhimer is still like that to this day. I'm almost 3 years out of college now and we STILL have a relationship that I will forever cherish. She's been a BIG helping hand in my life and I feel like she's one that will always be there to be that helping hand if needed. Mrs. Beckelhimer, thank you.

So, who is your teacher hero OR who are your teacher heroes? What kind of teacher do YOU want to be remembered as?  I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments or read them on a blog post.

While you're at it, check out the following teachers and what THEY say about THEIR teacher heroes. We all have them :) happy blog reading!

An InLinkz Link-up

Back to School Weekly Linky: Week 2!

We're BACK!! Time for Week 2 of the Back 2 School Weekly Linky with Stephanie & myself. 

This week, we're talking ALL about assessment! We're giving ideas, tips, strategies, success stories, and other sorts of information. SO read on below and then check out the links in the link up to see other's tips!

When it comes to assessment, I'm a big time newbie. I didn't know much about it, nor did I learn a lot in college about it… kind of just a "teach yourself" sort of topic, in my opinion.

This past year, I did a LOT of observing as a form of assessment. I liked to walk around with my students working and get down on their level to see what they were thinking. I asked them questions to gauge their understanding, to gauge their thinking, and so forth.

I also relied a lot on Bloom's Taxonomy when trying to make my assessments up. We would do a LOT of explaining, which fell under the evaluation part in Bloom's. Also, we did a lot of labeling, arranging, and identifying (from the first two levels of Bloom's). 

In terms of testing, I made a lot of my own assessments up to meet the needs of my students. They did a lot of remembering and recalling information, especially in mathematics.

But, a lot of my science assessments took the form of projects to show what they've learned. 

My absolute FAVORITE project I assigned, by far, was the Animal Habitat Diorama. This project required students to create a diorama about an animal, uncommon animals to be specific. You typically see animal projects about dogs, cats, lions, tigers, etc. BUT, this project held animals such as ducks, quails, zebra, prairie dogs, komodo dragons, gorillas, anteaters, buffalos, and so on! My kiddos LOVED it.

But, I had to find a way to assess their work (and man, did they do some awesome work!!). So, I turned to a rubric. Rubrics are easy for me to create because you identify your category/area, assign the points, and then leave comments to support your stance on the points!

Students can easily understand the rubrics, as well, and if not, they can hand it to you, ask questions, and you can easily explain.

I also really enjoy doing portfolios. When it comes to writing, it's easy for my students to look back at their work using their portfolios. Portfolios help my students participate in self-directed learning, assessing, and they are able to hold themselves to goals, as well! Portfolios allow for students to hold themselves accountable for their work, as well.

When it comes to portfolios, I used two specific types - documentation portfolios to show my students' growth over time and process portfolios to show my students' work over time as they started with the brainstorming, to rough drafts, to final drafts. My students this past year thoroughly enjoyed being able to look through their portfolios to see how they have grown, and I enjoyed looking through them for this reason, as well!

In our class, we used MANY more assessment strategies than just the two I identified, but those were our two major assessments. Other assessments we used on an "every once in a while" basis were:

-checklists

-conferences (especially with reading)

-end of the year tests

-oral fluency assessments

-fluency tests

-performance assessments (especially with mathematics)

-projects

-standardized tests (agh…)

What types of assessments do you utilize most?? Write up a post and link up below! I'd love to hear all about it. If you don't have a blog, feel fee to leave a comment so we can discuss it!!

An InLinkz Link-up

Back to School Weekly Linky: Week 1!

Welcome!!! It's FINALLY here - the weekly Back to School linky that Mrs. D's Corner and I are collaborating with - a labor of love :)

So, what is the B2S Weekly Linky all about?? Well, I'll tell ya!

This linky is a linky that is dedicated to getting you as educators, parents, and administrators ready for BACK TO SCHOOL!! As a group, we will share tips, stories, advice, and other such information on ten different topics, each week being a different topic. 

Topics might be about behavior management, your schedules, online tools that you love, and so on.

Check out the schedule below to see each week's topic.

{Fonts by Kimberly Geswein Fonts}

So, let's begin with Week 1's topic!

Behavior management is a struggle for many teachers, especially new teachers like myself. I have taught myself that I don't need to be my students' friend, but rather, someone they can talk to but still look up to. 

So, I make sure that my behavior management techniques employ the positive reinforcement rather than negative.

For example, this past year, we used three separate things in my classroom.

First, we used our star chart.

Sorry for the blurry picture, but you'll get what it is after I explain it!

I purchased gold star stickers and a blue incentive chart from the teacher store. The students' names are written down the side and then the dates that we are in class are written across the top.

As you can see, the school I was at used the "behavior chart" with green, yellow, orange, and red cards. If a student made it through the day on green (with lots of other positive reinforcement, many ended up staying at green ALL day), they received a star.

At the end of the quarter, I counted up how many stars student MISSED. They were allowed up to 5 "no greens" and then they were out of the running for a Target gift card. I did this for 2 quarters and saw the behavior improve tremendously.

I will DEFINITELY use the Star Chart in the future, but in a different context. Next time, I will be using a personal, smaller star chart that I created. I think I will also do the chart monthly instead of quarterly and will also give a LOT of responsibility to the students by having them hold on to their own star charts!

Want a little freebie star chart to implement in your classroom this upcoming school year? Hang tight and check out the bottom of the post for a mini-freebie from the larger pack :)

Another positive reinforcement I used in the classroom to help behavior was the Homework Club created by Tara over at 4th Grade Frolics.

The idea behind the club was that if you did your homework, you stayed in. If after the month ended you were still in, you received some sort of prize. It could be take your shoes off for the day, write in a pen for the day, homework passes, sit at a different table during lunch for the week, or anything else - prizes were things that did NOT cost me any money. So, it worked out well.

Their enthusiasm for the homework club impressed me and I had a few still not turn in homework… but a majority turned it in daily!

Finally, we used my fantastic system known as Party Puffs.

Others may know it as a marble jar or star jar. But, I found these BRIGHT, fun puffs at Hobby Lobby two years ago and thought of the name party puffs… why? Well, after the jar is completely full, the class gets to have a party!

How did they earn puffs? If they received a compliment from another teacher, parent, etc., they get 1 puff. If they received a complement from the principal, vice principal, or anyone else that holds an upper position, they got 22 party puffs (1 for each student in the class). They knew, though, that if behavior went downhill, I had the authority to remove the puffs and start over.

That crushed them so they ALWAYS did their best to make sure they didn't have to lose them, and instead, they were probably the BEST class when walking through hallways, when someone came into the classroom, etc. I was impressed with how well they acted and couldn't have been happier with the outcome of our party puff jar.

As of right now, I'm not in the classroom as a full time teacher next year. But, when I do go back, I plan to employ a few other techniques… one being a classroom economy system. This will help with the bathroom trips, daily jobs, and the overall behavior in and outside of the classroom.

My good friend Corinna who blogs over at Surfin' Through Second has a great product called Beach Bucks Classroom Money System.

I'll be using it to help my students not only practice their math skills, but also their social studies/economy skills... AND we'll be working on behavior at the same time! Amazing.

Oh yeah, that freebie! Are you still interested? Click on the photo below to be taken to GoogleDocs to download the Star Chart freebie :) 

So, what kinds of behavior management techniques, stories, advice, or other tips do you have for others? Link up below to let us know!

An InLinkz Link-up

OH, Pick Me! A Bright Idea

Time for the next installment of the Bright Ideas Linky party!

I've gotten together with 130 of my blogging buddies to bring you another GREAT and BRIGHT idea for your classroom to make things just a little easier!

In our classroom, I like to do a lot of things randomly - partners when working, groups when working, choosing a helper to help me with something, choosing someone to read, and other times that may require choosing someone in the classroom. 

Instead of looking around to see who has their hands raised or NOT raised (because they either A) don't want to answer or B) aren't paying attention or C) don't know the answer), I created the "Pick Me Jar" for our classroom.

And I have got to be honest, it's been a HIT since Day 1!

Whenever we need to do something in the classroom, I'll ask for volunteers or whatever. I'll be honest... I don't know why I ever ask for volunteers because the kiddos always say, "HEY! WIll you use the Pick Me Jar instead?" and well, I usually do.

They LOVE it.

You know what they love even more??

When THEY get to use the pick me jar.

They want the opportunity to be able to choose someone out of randomness and what a better way than to use the Pick Me Jar?

The only things you need to make your own Pick Me Jar are the following:

Glass Jar

Popsicle sticks

Black sharpie

If you own a Cricut or a Silhouette machine, you can cut out the words, "Pick Me Jar" from black vinyl. Otherwise, I would use some sort of permanent marker (paint pen, perhaps) on the outside of the glass jar!

My Pick Me Jar is VERY similar to my Party Puff Jar that I created as a whole class reward system. We get a "party puff" if they receive a compliment. Once the whole jar is full, then we get a party!

If you enjoyed this *BRIGHT* idea, consider following me on Pinterest where I pin ideas (and recipes… and decor… and a lot of other stuff) VERY often!

How do YOU randomly choose students so that everyone has an equal chance to chime in? Let me know in the comments below!

For those other 120+ Bright Ideas, check out the link-up below and browse through the different topics! Each post has a grade level AND topic listed so that you can easily maneuver the linky.

An InLinkz Link-up

{Must Read Science Mentor Text} - Dirt: The Scoop on Soil

Hey all! This is my first time joining Amanda & Stacia over at Collarboation Cuties for their weekly Must-Read Mentor Text Linky!

This week, the subject area that we're linking up with is science. Me being the Science teacher at our school in the 3rd grade, I love Science! I love finding new books to help support the curriculum.

While we're no longer on soil/resources (now we're on space.. woohoo!!), I have a great mentor text to share with you.

It's called Dirt: The Scoop on Soil by Natalie M. Rosinsky. 

This book is a GREAT book for students to help them get a "closer look" at the different types of soils out there, along with what you can use different types of soil for in your every day life.

The Amazon description is as follows:

Discusses the nature, uses, and importance of soil and the many forms of life that it supports.

While the description is very short, it's a simple book that can help supplement the discussion of soils in your classroom. We first looked over the different types of soil in our textbook. This made it difficult for my students because the textbook is written on a higher level than our grade level. While quite a few understood the differences between soil types, the DIRT book above helped drill those into their brains so that my students knew the difference when it came to assessment time.

Here are a few pages of the book:

So that's it! Here's my mentor text memo for Dirt: The Scoop on Soil.

What kinds of mentor texts do YOU use in your classroom for your science instruction?

I can't wait to check out the linky for some more ideas!

Library Organization: A Bright Idea!

It's time! Time for the third round of the Bright Ideas linky! 150 bloggers have teamed up this time to bring you some more bright ideas to help make things in your classroom go 150% easier!

My bright idea has to deal with library organization - your classroom library!

{GRAPHIC CREDITS: Krista Wallden (Creative Clips) & KG Fonts}

My kiddos enjoy reading more than any other children I have ever met - therefore, our classroom library is stocked full of tons of different books across all different genres.

To name a few, we have biographical, science fiction, non-fiction, fantasy, folk-tale, and so on!

So, I needed a way to organize those books. 

{GRAPHIC CREDITS: Krista Wallden (Creative Clips) & KG Fonts}

Meet my classroom library bins. They're no longer this organized… but you can walk in my room and tell my kiddos love reading!!

I got the bins from Big Lots at the beginning of the school year and have LOVED them ever since. Easily stores most chapter books and each bin stores around 20-25 books. Perfect solution.

Then, I arrange my bins based on the series rather than genre - this makes it easier than having 15 bins for fiction and 17 for non-fiction. Instead, we've got bins for Magic Tree House, Who Was/What Was series, Junie B. Jones, and so forth. The kids know which books go where and if they are in search of something, they read the tags and find it really quickly!

{GRAPHIC CREDITS: Krista Wallden (Creative Clips) & KG Fonts}

THEN beyond that, my kiddos and I are all about Accelerated Reader, otherwise known as AR. 

Each time they read a book, they then take a short comprehension quiz on the storybook. This shows whether they understood what they read or not. I, as the teacher, get a detailed report of each students' progress on EACH book's quiz they take. I love it, and they love looking at the data that they receive AFTER they complete the test.

We also rely heavily on our AR levels - otherwise known as our ZPD levels. This level is what helps my students choose their books that they can read AND understand.

To help solve the issue of not knowing which books are at which level, I have begun (never too late!!) to label each book with their AR level and how many points their quizzes are worth.

BACKTRACK: I set a goal for each of my students to reach a certain amount of points by taking AR tests. That's where the point obsession comes into play.

But, I am running out of steam when it comes to writing the words "AR level" and "Points" in each book, so I created these to help save some time and energy:

VERY easy and simple! Now I just have to write two numbers, peel it, and stick it. DONE!

These are just two SIMPLE ways to organize my library to truly keep MY sanity! And, to make it easier for my kiddos to find that JUST right book :)

What are some things you do in YOUR classroom library to make it easier for your kiddos? Sound off in the comments below!

And for MORE great ideas, please look below and browse through the link-up, choosing the topics/grade levels that you'd like to check out! But, I won't lie to you - you may want to check out EVERY idea… they're all SO brilliant!

An InLinkz Link-up

Bright Ideas?? We've Got 'Em!

Bright Ideas for those bright kiddos in your classroom… we've got 'em!

This is a HUGE blog hop I'm participating in (over 140 bloggers!) that is chalk full of different ideas to implement in the classroom environment. The ideas range from things with technology to how to utilize that hallway "lull" time to classroom management idea to bulletin board decor ideas and SO much more.

My specific post is going to deal with a variety of classroom management techniques. Below, I'm going to tell you about ways to get those brain breaks in (and where to find good ones), ways to use (positive) behavior markers in the classroom, and a variety of other things! After reading my post, there will be a link to the ENTIRE blog hop where you can scan through and check out other blogs for some bright ideas. Like I said, there are OVER 140 bloggers participating, so you're bound to find some fantastic ideas.

In our classroom, we work, work, work ALL day long. So, I like to break it up every once in a while and do a brain break! This is where you give your students' brains a literal break. You do some sort of fun, get-them-moving activity to help them rejuvenate themselves. You know when you're working on something and you just need a 15 minute break??? Yup, it's the same way with kiddos!

We use quite a few different things when it comes to brain breaks. Some incorporate technology while others do not.

Our favorite brain break right now is the website, Adventure to Fitness.

{Adventure to Fitness}

I have NEVER seen such an amazing website that encourages students to get up and MOVE. We do these every once in a while and MAN do my kiddos get into it. While we're on the second floor, the classroom below us probably doesn't enjoy when we complete these activities, but it gives my students that break that they need to encourage them to get back into the game once we have completed our brain break.

We also love to use the Cranium Brain Breaks set.

{Cranium Brain Breaks}

When I moved into my classroom, the teacher before me had left this behind. The kids LOVE the activities where they get to either A) act out the cards or B) draw out the cards. This group of kids I have absolutely LOVES drawing on my whiteboard. They want to be the teacher a lot of the time just so they simply can draw on the board. It's hilarious! So, I make sure to include the brain breaks where they ARE allowed to draw on the whiteboard or SMARTBoard. 

We also love to do the "old" activities… Simon Says, Charades, Heads Up 7 Up, and so forth. These require NO technology or tools… just your bodies & your brains. My children LOVE to play Simon Says. It's funny that when I was young, I loved to play that SAME game, and we're now in 2014 and it's still a popular game. I love how some games just carry on, regardless of the time.

What Brain Breaks do YOU like to do in your classroom with your children?

When you see the terms "Classroom Management," what do you think of? Positive things or negative things?? In our classroom, I like to do positive discipline more than I do negative discipline… although I DO have a method for the negative discipline in our classroom, too (behavior chart). My class this year is CHATTY. If you know me, you know I am the chattiest person alive… but I am NOTHING compared to my kids. They could talk all day long about anything if I would let them!

But, I try to give those who follow the directions, listen throughout the day, and so forth the positive reinforcement that they desire because they DID do what was required of them.

In third grade, we use a behavior chart. This behavior chart has cards for green, yellow, orange, and red. Every single child starts the day out on green. Our rules are posted in the back of the room. Students do know that if they don't follow the rules (no talking when someone else is talking, no talking during tests, stay seated unless directed otherwise, listening and following the directions given/written, etc), they have 3 warnings and then they move down to yellow. After yellow, they move to orange. After orange, they move to red. I've had to give out several reds this year for behavior during fire drills, but not because of behavior in the classroom - it's amazing! 

Each level has it's own discipline method that is assigned - for example, if moving to yellow, it's considered a warning. They lose 5 minutes at recess to reflect over what happened in the classroom. If moving to yellow, they lose 10 minutes of recess and they must fill out a discipline sheet stating what they did wrong and how they can fix it. This gives them ownership over their actions. Finally, if they move to red, a variety of things happen. Students must fill out discipline sheet, lose all of their recess (although I end up giving them a few minutes off the bench so they can get their energy out), a note is sent home, and they sit by themselves at lunch (cannot sit with group). 

This is our way to show students that everyone starts fresh each day, but based upon your actions, it can change or it can stay the same. Regardless of the color, though, students know that I must sign their behavior chart stating what happened in a few short words. The whole story is up to them to explain - it's that responsibility thing we're trying to reinforce like crazy this year!

Now that you've seen the negatives side, the positives are my favorite. We have a variety of positive reinforcement type things happening in our classroom. One of them is homework club.

Students are given the opportunity to be part of homework club at the beginning of every month. Depending upon whether or not they turn in their homework the next day is whether or not they stay in! For the ENTIRE month, if they turn in their homework on time and every day, they receive some sort of prize. In the past, I've given out homework passes, "no shoes day"where students can walk around without shoes on (yuck, but they love it!), extra recess, and in December, I gave the entire class a "board game day" where they could bring their own boardgames to play for about an hour the last week of school. They LOVED it! This homework club has been a HUGE motivator to my kiddos and I am so thankful for the idea from Tara over at 4th Grade Frolics. It has worked like a charm!

Besides homework club, we've also got our star chart! 

{Sorry for the blurry picture… clearly I'm not a photographer!}

This is new this quarter but it's working like a charm, too. If a student stays on green ALL day long, they get a star at the end of the day. Those with stars across the board by the end of the quarter (which is in 5 weeks), they receive a $5.00 gift card to ToysRUs from ME. How awesome of a prize is that?! They are LOVING the fact that I am the one that has to shell out the money, but it's a way to reward those who are doing well. Those who are not doing so well are realizing that they need to shape up in one way or another because they will not receive the gift card if they receive 5 or more yellows/oranges/reds throughout the quarter. My children that are typically chatty-Cathies or those that are always not following the directions are quickly realizing how serious I am about these gift cards and that those who ARE behaving and doing as they are asked will be rewarded for it. To make this star chart, I used a blue incentive chart and gold star stickers. The fact that they're GOLD stars is what gets my kiddos… who wouldn't want a gold star?!

Another positive reinforcement tool I use is homework passes. I made my homework passes on Vistaprint, which is quickly becoming one of my best friends for teacher supplies :)

I randomly pass these out and they're good for one sheet of homework - whether it be their reading log response, a math sheet, a religion activity, whatever they would like (except study guides/take home tests and projects). They LOVE getting these and they know that I randomly hand them out. The looks on their faces when I DO hand them out is priceless… it's like they had won the lottery for children! The homework passes can come in groups of 1 or I may pass out 5 at a time… they NEVER know. But, it's those who had behaved all day and followed all directions as given that receive them the most often. I do absolutely *LOVE* it when a student who typically doesn't follow directions decides to turn his/her act around and then they receive a pass - the look on THEIR faces is amazing and truly makes it worth it.

Finally, we have our Party Puff jar.

I did a post on this during the Monday Made It series throughout the summer, but I'm bringing it back into light. This is a simple, easy, and effective way to keep your kiddos engaged in your lessons with a reward at the end. This method is actually a whole class method. What the party puff jar is is when my students receive some sort of compliment from another teacher or myself, they receive 1 party puff. If someone that is "higher up" such as our Principal or Vice Principal gives a compliment, then each student gets to put a party puff in (so 22 party puffs).

When they fill the jar completely to the top (all 100 party puffs have been used), they receive some sort of party! This party can be a movie party, a board game party, a popcorn party… anything we want it to be because THEY earned it by behaving outside and inside the classroom.

My students do know if they receive a compliment that they need to come tell me, but they know that they cannot ask if they received party puffs for a compliment. They know that if they received a compliment, that equals party puffs and that I surely will NOT forget. This shows them that they are grateful for the compliments and that they should not expect a reward - but that a reward will be applied if they behave appropriately. Does that make sense??

My kids LOVE this and love telling their parents about it - I get e-mails often about receiving party puffs in class! Such a cool tool :)

So, what kind of classroom management things do YOU do in your classroom? I'd love to hear y'all sound off in the comments below - I'm always looking for new ideas!

Rae from Mindful Rambles is one to check out next! In my class, I've got two kiddos who use fidgets to keep them on track and they work WONDERS. I sometimes catch myself playing with the fidgets as I'm talking, too. Rae has made a post on how to use fidgets in your classroom. Click on her button below to head on over for some great fidget ideas!

To hop around to other blog posts, click on any of the links below. It's divided into bright ideas for LOWER GRADES and bright ideas for UPPER GRADES - so you can find what you need!