Table Reward System: Links

I use links to reward tables for cooperative behavior. This helps when you are trying to get children to follow directions quickly (like, take out your math notebook) or to work independently for extended periods of time. 

The only thing about this system is - sometimes children get upset when one person in the table isn't doing the right thing. But, on the bright side, you can take this as an opportunity to teach social skills. "Instead of being upset or getting angry at someone, how can we help our friends make better choices?" Soon enough, you see children quietly tapping their friends and calmly reminding them what to do. 

Once a table accumulates 10 links, the children at the table get to pick a prize from the treasure chest. The best part? One person from the table takes the links home. It's such a big deal to them! 

Whole Class Reward System: Marbles in a Jar

This is one of the simplest ways to compliment good behavior, especially in the first few weeks of school. Whenever the children do a spectacular job as a whole class - like transitioning quietly, lining up quickly, working independently, or getting a compliment from another teacher - I select one child to go put five marbles in the jar. Sometimes I have them put more when I am impressed with their behavior.

Once the children fill up the jar, they can choose any party they want. I usually make a list of party ideas suggested by the children and we vote on one! Some of the past parties have included:

• Movie & Popcorn Party
• Ice Cream Party
• Pizza Party
• Arts & Crafts Party
• Reading Party (with pillows)
• Extra Recess Party
• PJ Party (with cookies and milk)
• Board Game Party

I'm sure there are plenty more. Leave it up to the kids, and they will come up with something! This not only encourages positive behavior, but it also teaches them to work together to reach a common goal.

In the next few entries, I will discuss table rewards and individual rewards, so stay tuned.

Attention Signals

One of the first things we teach children on the first day of school is a signal to get their attention - commonly and simply referred to as an "attention signal." This lets the children know that we need their undivided attention for whatever we have planned next. Of course, this needs to be taught explicitly and practiced a million times before it is mastered. But once we teach this successfully, the rest of the year will be smooth!

Below is a collection of attention signals that I have used over the years, mainly in a first grade classroom, but can be used and adapted in other grades as well. You don't want to teach all of the attention signals at once. Start with one, and every week, teach a new one and build it up.  Novelty catches children's attention like no other.

It is assumed that after you say your phrase, children say their line and show ready to listen.

1) Teacher: Class
Students: Yes
*Variations: You can also say "class class" and they will respond in a similar fashion "yes yes." Or you can say "classity class" and they say "yessity yes!"

2) Teacher: Hands, hands, hands and eyes
Students: Hands, hands, hands and eyes

3) Teacher: S, T
Students: O, P

4) Teacher: One, two, three, eyes on me
Students: One, two, three, eyes on you
*Variations: You can change the numbers in the front - for example, you can say "Two, four, six, eyes on me" or "Two, oh, three, eyes on me" (203 is my room number).

5) Clap a rhythm and students clap the same rhythm.

6) Teacher: Stop, look, and listen
Students: Ok!

Morning Routine

This visual, step by step, easy to follow directions will teach your little ones what to do when they first come into the classroom each morning. What I like about using pocket charts for teaching routine is that you can teach the steps, one at a time. You can turn all the sentence strips around and as you introduce each step you turn it one by one. This helps the little ones focus on one step at a time. Notice how I kept the words simple so most of them can read, but also supported the visual readers with pictures on the sides.

You can do this whenever you teach a routine or procedure!

Name Bar Graph

After reading Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes, we created this bar graph as a class. If you have never read the story, it is the perfect text for the first week of school. It is about a girl (mouse) named Chrysanthemum who loves loves LOVES school but begins to dread it when other kids make fun of her name. You can do a lot of things with this book - do a lesson on anti-bullying, talk about name meanings, or create a bar graph like this!

For the activity I chose to go with, I had the kids write their names on a post-it, then count the number of letters in their names. Then one by one they came up to the bar graph and placed their post-it above the right number of letters for their names. Another extension activity I could have done was to create a key for the colored post-its. Each table had one color post-it for this very reason, but I didn't get to it - oops!

Again, you can informally assess your kids during this activity - can they write their names? Do they use uppercase for the first letter and lowercase for all the other letters? Is their handwriting legible? Can they count accurately? Can they follow directions? Can they follow along on the bar graph? Etc Etc. I feel like as teachers we are always assessing them, whether we know it or not - how much do they already know and where do I want to take them next? Then you can figure out the next steps for instruction.

Birthday Chart

This is a great way to review the months of the year at the beginning of first grade, but an even better way to informally assess your kids! After you have them come up to place their cupcake next to their birthday month, you can ask questions like:

• How many children have birthdays in April? 
• How many children have birthdays in April AND May? 
• Who can give me an addition number sentence to support that? 
• Which month has the most birthdays? Least birthdays?

You get the idea! This is a wonderful way to gauge where your kids are in their ability to read a chart and answer math-related questions, while simultaneously showing them that you care about their birthdays. This really matters to five-and-six year-olds!