Rewarding positive behaviors...

18 Nov 2011

As I wrote about earlier this week, I'm trying to find proactive ways to manage the classroom and reward my students for positive behaviors. A friend of mine who is a teacher made a really great suggestion, and I've finally convinced my host teacher to let me try it out.

My 1st and 2nd graders are a pretty active bunch--muy movidos as we say in Spanish. It's tough just trying to get them to all sit down, open their books to the right page, and listen to instructions.

This teacher had suggested that I try writing the word "Game" on the board. If students are talking or not paying attention, I should start to erase the word from the board. This is a signals to students that I'm unhappy with their behavior.

Generally, at this point, all the students start yelling at each other to shut up--or, my favorite, little voices saying, "Silent, please."

If at the end of the class, at least a little bit of the word "Game" is on the board, then, we play a game. If "Game" has been completely erased, we keep going with the lesson.

What I like about this classroom management technique is that it reinforces the types of positive behaviors that I'm looking for. Students realize when they are doing something that isn't acceptable, and they react almost immediately. This technique also teaches students that their actions have consequences for those around them--just as they do in the real world.

Today, both of my 2nd grade classes earned the chance to play a game. We played Matamoscas--in English, Swat. This game was a favorite of mine during high school.

In this game, the class is divided into two teams. Each team sends a representative to the board. Before we start the game, I write vocabulary or put pictures up on the board. During the game, I tell them a word in English (or in Spanish), and they have to hit the word with their flyswatter. The team to hit it first gets a point.

The 2nd graders LOVED the game! Each team was really excited when they got a point, and they would do little celebrations. Some of the students were really concerned with knowing whether they were winning or not. However, it warmed my heart to hear students saying that it's not important if you win or lose. The point is to have fun.

My host teacher is now convinced that I might actually have some good ideas, and she's going to let me do a game with them for the last 10 minutes of each class (if they earn it!).