Adventures with Mrs. Key: 06/01/13

Summer has started out to be pretty good if I do say so myself. I've been busy! That's pretty much how I like it to be. I can't seem to shut my teacher brain off.

I've been creating some new things to use next year. I've also started my first graduate class. I'm pretty excited about it, but I'm very nervous because it's an online class. I enjoy interaction with people in the same field as me, so let's hope it works out and that I have the self motivation to complete all of my work correctly! I tend to get off track very easily. I was actually reading some in my book when I started this blog post. Oops!

In the past three years, I used 2 different forms of a management system. I was using a banana clip system and a ticket system {at the same time}. My students were only allowed to move their clip down on the bananas..focusing on their negative choices. In order to focus on their positive choices, I would catch them being good and give them a ticket. When they got ten green dots for good days in their folder, they could visit the treasure box. When they earned 5 tickets, they got to choose 10 minutes of an activity of their choice (puzzles, big books, computer time, games, etc.). At the beginning of the year, I asked my students what extra activities they would like to do, so that's where the list came from. It worked fine, but I wanted to combine it into one management system.

My teacher friend, who teaches first grade with me, used a clip chart in her room, and she loved it. I've decided to do the same. I created a Zebra Themed Clip Chart and a Chevron Themed Clip Chart. I only made the Chevron themed because I would decorate my room in chevron if it weren't already Safari. Zebra print is my first love. Chevron is a very close second, so it was fun to see what it would look like.

This is the chart put together. I love it, and I'm looking forward to only using one management system. :)

Students will start each day with a 90/A. They will have to earn a higher conduct grade. At the end of each week, I will average their daily scores together. Students will start fresh each day. If they have one bad day out of the week, it won't kill their conduct grade for the whole week. Does this seem fair? I haven't used this form of management yet, but I want to fully wrap my brain around the concept of grading student conduct before I use it next year.

I also made some passes for the restroom, office, and library. They're in zebra, chevron, and polka dots. I printed them, laminated them, and stuck them in an id holder and put it on a lanyard. Doing it this way prevents students from laying the pass down and leaving it behind when they come back to the classroom. They're FREE if you'd like to use them.

Just in case you want a matching product, I have the Word Wall Letter cards in Zebra and Chevron as well. They are square or round. Also, they are black and white, black and green, or black and pink.