Oh, the Behavior Right Now is Frightful...

I don't know about y'all but I swear the kids have all checked out. They've stopped paying attention, they don't want to turn in their work... they forget things you taught them FRIDAY... It's always frustrating to me how this time of year should be the most celebrated in the classroom because you only have a short time left together, but it's the most frustrating because you're constantly having to redirect and put out fires. So you really struggle with the celebrations because your attention is always elsewhere.

I'm piggybacking on a post that I read over at Thoughts of a Third Grade Teacher because I used to use something similar to what she posted about. After reading her post this morning, I decided I was going to pick it back up again (to help hold my preggo self accountable because my poor has gone out the window - not by choice!) and really hold my kids to the fire. Today was my first day using this type of "worksheet" for myself in awhile, but it really seemed to make an impression. My kids did NOT like all the notes that went home in planners today and the consequences that they had to suffer because their teacher actually *remembered* what they did to move their clips in the first place! Haha! This might actually keep me sane unitl the end of the year... or at least get me closer!

Click on the images to download! Enjoy!

Feel free to post a comment if you have any questions about how I use these or my clip chart in my classroom! OR if you have any suggestions on what I could add to my "Caught Being Good" bank at the bottom. :)

I write the dates in the little boxes under the colors (or numbers) next to their names so this form can last a week.

These two are used with my clip chart system - yes, the kids CAN move back up once they've hit yellow, orange, or red (or back down) but I want documentation on what they did so I can e-mail, call parents, or write in their planner. (Or all the above!)

The next two clipcharts are "generic" and can be used with any system you use. :)

And here is my bonus homework sheet! I have my kids check themselves off as they turn in homework. It holds them accountable and frees me up for other stuff first thing in the mornings! :) Enjoy!

Classroom Management Linky Party!

Kelley Randall over at Mrs. Randall's Learning Library is having a linky party! Go link up!! ;)

Classroom management is something that has really been challenged in my classroom this year! It's really exciting to be able to go and read what others are doing in their classroom as I prepare for next year. :) **I'll be adding pictures later tonight when I get home - my iPhone plug isn't here!!** When my kids arrive at school, I have an area close to the door that has baskets for their lunches, and they clip their lunch. This is also a really fast way for me to tell who's here and who's not! (As long as they do their jobs...)

I've used a combination of things this year for behavior- the most commonly used one is the clip chart. Previously I always used some variation of the card system, but I LOVED the clip chart and so did my kids. If you've never heard of this, it's pretty simple. The kids all start in the middle on green - they can move up or down depending on the choices they make. The truly fabulous part about this thing is that they're not STUCK wherever they move! If they make a bad choice and move down to yellow, they can still end the day on blue, purple, or even pink!
For a little while, I used "Behavior BINGO"... but because it was more of a *whole class* classroom management tool rather than focusing on groups/individuals... it took waaaay too long for my kids to get a BINGO. I had a real toughie until December that really uprooted our class and a few others that liked to instigate. While I've found this incredibly useful in the past, it wasn't so much with this class!! *Sorry about the glare!*
We use table points for a fun competition (and to encourage teamwork!) as a classroom management tool. Usually, it only takes one team getting bragged on and getting points for the rest of the class to shape up! I'd add a picture, but I had to erase them for TAKS. I'll add one Monday when we start anew!

Due to some extreme behaviors in my room (I've got SUCH an interesting group this year...) I'm adding in a classroom economy to survive the last six weeks. This is also a trial run to see if this something I feel would be successful for the entire school year. :) I'm taking some from Beth Newingham, and adding in a few things I found through Pro-Teacher or my BFF Google (I wish I could remember all the places I pulled from so I could give everyone credit!!). My kids have little Debit/Credit books that they will keep at their desks and I'll tally what they earned/lost. {I have sheets I'll post that has my salaries, expense, earnings, and fines on it later in this post.}

Each week (like I said, I'm only doing this for the remainder of the year) my kids will earn their paychecks and will have an opportunity to shop the "Classroom Store". The majority of this stuff will be privileges, with a few odds and ends from Oriental Trading, Dollar Tree, and Target $ Spot all mixed in together. Kids are so easy to please sometimes. ;) I'm hoping this really pushes my kids to hold themselves to a higher standard for the rest of the school year when it's the hardest to stay focused - we are all ready for summer!! Right?! If this is as successful as it's started out being, I'm totally using this next year.

Click below on the pictures and it *should* {cross your fingers, it's the first time I've done all this mess!} take you to Google docs where you download the forms to use if you'd like to!! Thanks to Ladybug Teacher Files for the tutorials!! :)