Are You Out of Ideas to Motivate Students to do Homework? Try This
We recently acquired a new fourth grade teacher at school who took another teacher’s place. This new teacher is brimming with innovative ideas. She has redecorated her classroom and one of the items she had posted was a Monopoly like game board. However, instead of the word Monopoly, the 35 inch game board read “Homeworkopoly”. Out of curiosity I had to ask about this. Each time students turn in homework, they get a chance to roll dice and land on one of the Homeworkopoly spaces. Just like Monopoly each space is labeled with different opportunities. Some spaces allow students to turn over a chance card, others allow students to gain a reward such as a free homework pass, eat lunch with the teacher, and so forth. Students are motivated to turn in homework so that they can play the game. Homeworkopoly makes an attractive addition to a bulletin board, and the best part—it’s completely free. (I asked this fourth grade teacher if this actually improved students’ desire to complete homework. She said that they were more motivated, and that it increased their desire to turn in homework. You may download this pdf file at the following site with instructions and chance cards. Just click on the following picture.
Do Manipulatives Make too Much Noise in Your Class?
Clink, Clank times twenty-five students can create a deafening noise in combination with twenty- five low voices, so try this to quieten your classroom. There is the obvious use of the less durable, new foam manipulatives. Then there is the option of giving every student a sheet of felt to soften the noise of plastic or wood manipulatives. However, if you use felt, it has a tendency to slide around too much on students desks. Recently a fourth grade teacher shared an idea with me which I had never thought of…use the foamy-type liner (without the peel off sticky backing) that you buy to line your kitchen cabinets. Cut each student a rectangle to use for their desk. This type of contact paper doesn’t slide!
Molding Cooperative Groups into COOPERATIVE Groups
In a former post I introduced using a classroom economy (Bonus Bucks) to teach responsibility and self management. Click here to read this post. There is also a larger size of Bonus Bucks which you may use for cooperative groups. The size of this Bonus Buck is almost the size of a sheet of paper. When groups are displaying appropriate cooperative behavior, walk by a team and place one of these large bucks in the center of the table while complementing the team’s behavior. This large reward display encourages other teams to display the same appropriate behavior. To avoid arguments, allow the team captain to hold the buck until the buck can be cashed in for smaller bucks for each team member at a designated time. To see more about Large sized Bonus Bucks click the bonus buck below. I have placed Bonus Bucks, a parent letter, a cooperative Bonus Buck, classroom job tags, and directions for using Bonus Bucks in your classroom on TPT.
Build a Classroom Economy to Teach Responsibility
I learned this valuable classroom advice from a former colleague who learned it from her master teacher. Set up your classroom using Bonus Bucks. Bonus Bucks are the size of Monopoly money in the denominations of $1, $5, $10, and $20 bills. Bonus Bucks can be earned from rewards of good behavior, classroom jobs, turning in homework etc. Students must be responsible enough to save money for paying desk rent at the end of the month. The rent is equal to the number of days in school for that month. So, for most months the rent would be about $20. Students are required to pay for privileges such as getting a drink of water, going to the bathroom, getting a new sharpened pencil, extra recess, trips to the treasure box, etc. Students may also be fined as a consequence for bad behavior. If students don’t have enough money at the end of the month to pay for rent, they must be in debt and find a way to work it off such as picking up trash, or helping the teacher, etc. Students learn the importance of saving their money and some bring in their own wallet to keep their Bonus Bucks in.
If you would like to purchase the Bonus Bucks Classroom Economy System, I have placed Bonus Bucks, a parent letter, a cooperative Bonus Buck, classroom job tags, and directions for using Bonus Bucks in your classroom on Teacher’s Pay Teachers. Click the image below to see more.
Are Your Students Bored with Stickers and Stamps…Try Smellys
To reward your students, try smellys. Students love smellys. Smellys are when you put a happy face on the back of a child’s hand using scented chapstick or the like. If you have several flavors of chapstick, students will want all of the flavors on their hand. For example, if you have banana, cherry, and chocolate, students could progressively gain all of the scents during a day for their good behavior to accumulate the scent of a banana split.
Need to Increase Student Enagement During Testing Practice
After students answer multiple choice questions during testing review, get a quick assessment by having students stand to their feet or raise their hands if they picked A, B, C, or D. You will be able to quickly see what most students chose and whether you need to reteach the concept. This also keeps students alert and engaged during review because they are curious what their friends picked and want to know if they are wrong. The quicker you call out A, B, C, or D the more honest your students will be about their answers because they won’t have time to look at whose hands are in the air for each letter. This testing review will especially reach your kinesthetic learners if you choose to have them stand up for their answer choice.
A Trick to Get Your Students to Line Up Quietly
I have personally witnessed two teachers use this in their classes and it works exceptionally well. The novelty will wear off after time, but it works well for students at this point in the year when summer break and friends are all that is on children’s minds.
- Buy a feather boa.
- Tell your students to put their heads down on their desks and close their eyes.
- Tell them when you pass by and touch them with the feather boa they can line up.
This seems to have a magical effect because feathers are quiet and those who are in line are in suspense waiting to see who will be feathered next.
Do Your Students Forget to Put Their Name on Their Papers? Try this
This has proven to be an effective method to have students put their names and dates on their papers. Before taking up papers each time say, “Class, put a smiley face beside your name, and put a star beside your date.” Students all want a smiley face and a star at the top of their papers, so they will all put their names and dates on their papers. You will no longer have to tell students to put their names and dates on their papers in a frustrated monotone voice because they will do this. When students get accustomed to putting smiley faces and stars, you can change what you ask them to put beside their name and date and associate it with something they are learning. For example, have students put parallel lines beside their name and perpendicular lines beside their date if your class is studying geometry.
Too Many Papers Collecting On Your Desk? Try This
In the busy school day, papers can easily be placed haphazardly on your desk and other surfaces. To help keep papers organized, make files for each topic you teach. If you run off extra copies instead of throwing them away, keep the extras in your files. You will be able to use them for students who need extra practice, to lend to another teacher, and to use next year. Making a file for each month when the year starts will allow you to place seasonal worksheets, ideas, or bulletin board supplies in an easy to find location. If you happen to find a Valentine’s Day activity in November, you can file it in your February file and easily find it when the occasion approaches. Also, create a binder for professional development handouts, newsletters, and memos so you may easily refer to them when needed. Keep student work separated in paper trays by subject or class and immediately clip them together or put them in a folder before removing them to keep them from getting mixed up. In order to maintain organization of paper flow, make sure to set up your file system before the school year begins so that each paper will have a place. If the school year begins without a filing system, you are most likely not going to take the time to create one in the midst of the flurry of school activities, and your paper piles will rival Mt. Everest.
Improve Your Students’ Engagement During Reading/Writing Workshop
Visiting with a colleague, she passionately shared with me the amazing difference that a book called The Daily Five had made in her literacy instruction. My colleague, who is a veteran teacher, learned about this at a differentiation conference, and she tried using the methods for the first time this school year. Other teachers have come into her room during her reading workshop and see the quality of student engagement. They insist that she share what she is doing to have students so engaged. The Daily Five improves students’ stamina to read voraciously on their own and to independently work on their own while the teacher pulls small groups. The small groups are more targeted to individual needs because the teacher spends less time with each student and doesn’t have to attend to students who are working independently. To read more about “The Daily Five” visit this link: http://www.thedailycafe.com/public/department38.cfm.
