I have a pocket chart and every student has a card. If they break a rule (my rules are "be kind, be gentle, be responsible, be obedient") they get a red stick (coffee stirrer) in the pocket. A red stick means a consequence of whatever I think would be most effective for that child--time out at recess, removal from the game we're playing, no playing on the slides, etc--whatever fits the circumstance. Three red sticks in a day means a note or call home.
No red sticks for the day earns a happy face stamp on their card. Every 5 happy faces earns a small treat and 20 happy faces earns a prize from the prize box. I have found this to be very effective and the children love it.
I use the same form of classroom management as you do. My problem with the stams is simply finding the time to do it every day. Any suggestions for that?
I have seen something similar. When student teaching, we gave each child a "sticker book" and they could earn one sticker/week if they only had green or yellow through the whole week. There were 10 spots in their sticker book, and when it was full, they could get treasure box. But the rule was that they had to tell us... we wouldn't keep track for them. If they forgot to tell us by first recess Monday morning (they got them on their desks each Mondy, put their sticker on, then turned them in), they would have to wait until the next monday. They were first grade, but it can be adapted if necessary. That's just something we did. I plan on doing it with my kinders this year. I may to a small prize for half a book, and treasure box for the whole book, though, so that they don't get discouraged too easily. What do you think?
Happy face stamps is always our very last activity of the day when they are cleaned up and ready for dismissal. If I ever forget, the children are very quick to remind me. I use a self inking stamp which makes it go very fast. Every card in a pocket that doesn't have a red stick gets a stamp. If the stamp is a multiple of 5 I call that child's name and they stand up. Then every child that is standing gets a treat (usually a gummi bear, a teddy graham, a smartie ) It never takes more than a couple of minutes.
I like giving the "big" reward from the prize box for 20 stamps because even if a child is perfect (and there are a few every year who never get a red stick) they're only getting a prize once a month. To save money, I use a lot of fast food toys in my prize box. I have friends and family who save them for me and the kids love them.
So if a child gets 1 or 2 sticks for the day do they get a smiley face as well? Do you send their stamp chart home? How do you inform their parents daily or do you?
They only get a smiley face for no sticks. 3 sticks in a day is actually fairly rare fortunately (I do give one verbal warning before the first stick) I inform the parents if there are 3 sticks in a day or if the child is getting 1 or 2 frequently. When the card has 20 stamps, I send it home and the child gets to pick a new card. The cards come in several colors and with kindergartners, just getting to choose the color is pretty exciting.
One of the reasons I like this system is that by the end of the first 6 weeks, everyone has cards with different amounts of stamps on them and visitors can't tell just by looking at the cards who the "good" kids are. Someone may have filled a card and started a new one while another is still working on the first card but there is no way for a casual visitor to know that.
I was just wondering if you had a discipine letter that explained this to your parents. I am very interested in this. I have used colors in the past but I am not a fan of it. I had some students who did not care if they didn't go home on green. I really would like to see how you explained this to parents. THANKS!
I am also very interested in this...sound MUCH easier than what I have done in the past. Where do you get the cards and the stamp, etc? Any info will be greatly appreciated!
I use a pocket chart with index card size pockets. They are available at most educational supply stores or websites. For the cards I use pastel colored index cards (no cutting, a big benefit!) I write the child's name on the card and place it in the chart. I hang the chart next to the calendar area which is also where the children sit for whole group times. I got the self inking stamp from an office supply store--Office Depot, Staples, Office Max. Just ask and someone will point you to the right aisle. The ink will last a full year or more.
I should also mention that I do something else to help motivate the whole class. Below the pocket chart I put a paper with numbers 1-20 on it. Every time we have a day with all smiley faces, I cross off a number. When all the numbers have been crossed off, we have a special celebration. Last year we had a popcorn party, bubbles party, sippers and slippers (we drank hot chocolate and wore bedroom slippers in the classroom) and a popsicle party. This helps motivate the students to encourage each other in good behavior and not just focus on their own card.
I know that some people do not believe in rewards but I think it's a concrete and fun way to visibly show the children that you are proud of them. And the rewards do not have to be big.....when I say I give a child a smartie, I mean one smartie, not a pack. It's the recognition that's important. I while I agree that we should all do the right thing just because it's the right thing, how many teachers don't enjoy a kind note or small gift from a parent who appreciates how much time and effort you are putting into making learning exciting and enriching?
Unfortunately I don't have a letter explaining this to the parents. I verbally explain it at "Back to School" night because it's just easier to explain when they're looking at the chart.
Let me make sure that I have got the concept of this.
Each student has a card with her name on it. You use color coded sticks for your consequences. When a child misbehaves, they put the correct color of stick in their pocket. IF the child gets no sticks they get the stamp. When they get X amount of stamps they get a small price, but at the end of the day they would get a smartie IF they got no sticks in their pocket. I hope I have this correct. Sounds wonderful and very easy.
Another question, where do you store the sticks for the students?
The sticks are not color coded, they're coffee stirrers and they're all red. Color coding to the offense would actually be a good idea, but I don't know where you would find different color sticks of that size. Also, I put the stick in the pocket (they're too high for the Ks to reach and I don't want them messing with the sticks anway) My white board and bulletin board are connected so the "chalk" tray goes all the way across and I just keep a few sticks on the tray so they're easy to grab.
They only get a prize for every 5th stamp (so stamp 5,10,15 and 20) Stamps 5,10 and 15 earn the smartie or gummi bear or some other small treat. Stamp 20 earns the prize from the prize box--generally a small toy (party favor and "Happy Meal" type toys....I never spend more than 20 cents on a prize box toy). BTW, you would be amazed at how this inspires them with mental math. They're always figuring out how many stamps they have and how many more they need to get a prize.
And you see why I do this verbally for the parents.......not that easy to explain in written form :^)
I have a special education self-contained class (many behavior disorder students) and use something similar. Instead of coffee stickers for bad behavior my students earn "tickets" for good behavior. I used a method similar to the coffee sticks and discovered I was focusing too much on my students bad behavior. I made the tickets on the computer and print them off. I also use a pocket chart and my students collect the tickets and earn prizes when they reach a specified number. Just remember to put the pocket chart out of the students' reach or put each students name on the ticket (takes longer) when you award it. I also have varying levels of prizes and encourage my students to save for bigger prizes. Often it takes until Christmas or so before they will do this. If you chose something such as this, remember not to give too many. Even you and I would not respond if someone told us that we were great 15 times a day.
The main reason I responded though was to give you an idea for prizes. Where I live we have frequent yard sales in the summer months and I wear my school shirt when I go to yard sales. Often when I tell people that I teach special education they will give me the small toys such as Happy Meal toys for rewards for my students. If not, you can usually get a box full for very little money. My students never even mind if they are not in the package-especially hot wheels cars-the boys love those.
Good luck!
in my classroom i used the card system which i am sure many of you are familiar with (every child has a library pocket on a chart. each child has 5 cards in their pocket...white, green, yellow, orange, pink. i buy 3x5 florescent index cards. at the beginning of the day everyone has their white card showing.
each card represents a different consequence:
white - good behavior
green - warning (no consequence...but the kids know if their green card is showing this is a warning and to stop whatever it is they are doing wrong)
yellow - 5-10 minute time out
orange - 15 minute time out and a note home
pink - miss all recess, visit the principal and a phone call home
in kindergarten i rarely get beyond a green or yellow card. the kids really don't like looking up at the baord and seeing a bright green card or whatever sticking out of their pocket when all the others are white. often, that's enough to stop the poor behavior. however, on occasion i have had to use the orange or pink card and when a child gets a note home or a visit to the principal, believe me it makes a lasting impression.
what i like about this system the best is the daily report that goes along with this system. i made each child a small report i will try to describe. i took colored file folders and cut them into thirds, so i get three daily reports out of one file folder...a library pocket will fit perfectly inside ( i glue it in place) above the pocket, i glue a small explanation of each colored card. the child's name goes on the outside of the report. i laminate these reports and then cut a slit in the pocket. each child gets a white card in their daily report and it goes in their book bag. these daily reports go home each day and parents know to look for the report each day and put it back in the book bag.
if during the day, a child gets a colored card on the discipline chart, i remove their white card from their daily report that goes home and put a colored card in the pocket. that way the parents know exactly what is going on with their child's behavior each day. i only have to change the cards of the children who have misbehaved...everyone else's daily report stays the same. it takes seconds at the end of each day. the next day, if the child has a colored card in their daily report he/she puts it on my desk in the morning and i change it back to white and put it back in their book bag. everybody always starts out the day with a white card.
I send home a behavior chart daily with the students. It is just a monthly calendar with the title..Behavior Chart. I use Red, Yellow, and Green...as behavior colors. At the end of the day, if a student had green (good) behavior, they would take their table's green highlighter and color that day's date in green. If they are yellow or red, they bring their chart up to me and I write in what their behavior problem was (ex. too much talking, pushing another student, etc.) and then they highlight the space. The parents are to initial the chart each night. At the end of the week, students with all green receive a sticker on their chart (Saturday space)..and a small treat from my treat bucket. If they had greens and yellows, they only get the sticker. If they had red..they do not receive a reward. As they bring up their charts on Fridays...I discuss their behavior and we set goals for the next week. Sometimes if a student does something above and beyond..I will write that in on their green space for the parents to see.
I send a note home attached to the behavior chart the first day explaining the proceedures. I also remind them that everyone has a bad day every now and then!
I use the cube system. Every student starts the day off with 5 unifix cubes. Throughout the day they can earn cubes or cubes can be taken away. I will give a warning first and then I will take away a cube. If I see someone doing something great I will give a cube. At the end of the day if they have 5 or more cubes they get a sticker on their sticker chart. (a total of 10 stickers they go to the treasure box) If they have 4 or less they don't get a sticker. If 4 cubes they miss 5 minutes of fun centers and if 3 or less they miss all. Usually if 2 or less cubes a sad note goes home.
I like the cube system. I have one student that I'd like to try it with to focus on specific behaviors. I use a color coded clip changing system and table points for the rest of the students.
Hi I have been teaching 18 years (mostly 1st grade) I have always used the color coded behavior cards and have not been happy with it! It doesn't seem to work!I LOVE your idea and am excitedto try it out this coming fall!By the way, someone asked about different colored sticks-Walmart sells different colored popsicle sticks. I like just using red though-it seems so much simpler! Thanks for the idea!
DH
07-18-2006, 01:41 PM
I plan on doing it with my kinders this year. I may to a small prize for half a book, and treasure box for the whole book, though, so that they don't get discouraged too easily. What do you think?
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