BEST ever management system.

Did I ever tell that I found the BEST ever classroom management SYSTEM ever, ever, and ever? No, why here it is! If you look at it, you will see that students have nowhere to go but UP. Students that are doing what they should and behaving move up. Students that make wrong choices move down. This system really works and it reinforces the good behavior. That is the beauty of it. Kids like to get recognized for good. It makes the negative behaviors go away. You will find the link to an e-book that talks all about it. I modified my chart to fit my needs. I still follow the rest of the plan...I do suggest that you do follow the dude's plan closely.

I have had one child this year make it to parent contact. I may have one or two go to think about it or teacher's choice but the rest go up. Even though it looks like it can only go to outstanding, you are wrong. After outstanding, a child can go to the "top" of the chart and then I put a rhinestone on their clip. After the top of the chart for really exceptional behavior, they can go "off" the chart and latch onto my lanyard and then I put two rhinestones on their clip. I told my students once they get 8 rhinestones on their clip..something magical happens..

Well, it happened on Friday for two of my students. I recognized them in class. They got to pop virtual bubble sheet. The goal was to see how many they could pop in 20 seconds. Then I gave them an Eagle pride dog tag to put on their necklace. I also retired their clothespin to my clip hall of fame and they now have a new clothespin that I colored yellow. It looks really cool by the way...

So if you decide to do this..let me know! Because it totally rocks!

Just a side note! A couple teachers in my school implemented but they are not as consistent with it as they should and I could tell they did not read the e-book and I really don't see the success that I have had in my class.

How to NOT to eat fried worms

This was once piled high with worms. This is what was left over!

I started doing activities with the chapter books that I read aloud in class a couple years ago. This year, I was lucky to find different activities with How to Eat Fried Worms. I remember reading that when I was young so I thought I would share it with my class. For a culminating activity, the students had to pretend that if they eat four worms they would get $400.00. We brainstormed on things that they would eat with their worms. Here are few that they brainstormed on: peanut butter, caramel sauce, salsa, nacho cheese, whipped cream, ketchup, mustard, relish, bbq sauce, honey, ice cream, and lots more. I chose a couple from the list. They voted that they would all try honey, bbq sauce, taco sauce, whipped cream. However they did not know that I was bringing worms the next day for them to try.

I walked in the classroom with a platter of worms (okay they are really not worms) They are hot dogs sliced in half lengthwise and then again lengthwise. Then cooked in the microwave so they curl up.

The kids tried their "worms" with cool whip, bbq sauce, taco sauce, and honey. I couldn't bring in pb. I just couldn't. The looks on some of the girls were priceLESS. They all tried the different toppings.   

                                            

This crazy one above mixed all together to try.  Can you believe that the majority of the class picked honey as the favorite??

Raising Dragons

I loved the story for the week that we were focusing on. The story is Raising Dragons by Jerdine Nolen. This author is fabulous and has several other books. One book was made into a disney movie called Disney's Balloon Farm. Here is a little summary about this story:

A young girl hatches and raises Hank, a dragon, on her family’s farm.  Hank helps out, but soon the girl realizes she has to find him a new home.  She says good-bye to Hank on Dragon Island, but returns to the farm with a new batch of dragon eggs.  After all, raising dragons is in her blood.

This is one of my favorite stories that we read with my students. I love how it can make them think more creatively and outside of the box. On Monday, the students were given a bag and construction paper to create their own baby pet dragon. I had some models in class for them to go off of as a start. Students started putting wings, fire coming out of their mouths, etc. They each took the task to their own level and I loved watching the fire in their eyes. Then during writing, the students had a manual to complete on how to care for their dragon. After it was finished, it was a nice little flip book.

One thing that really made me happy is that a student took extra care for her dragon. I told them they could take them home but they needed to return the next day for school. I wanted to see how well they could take care of them. She returned with her dragon in gift box along with a pillow, bottle, and blankie. What a cute spin on that!