A Cute Classroom Management Strategy

Hi Primary Powers Friends! It's Jeannine from Creative Lesson Cafe! I'm excited to share a cute strategy that has completely changed my classroom management and helped to improve student behavior!

 Teachers are definitely experts at turn-taking techniques and managing the movement of little ones through the classroom! It's pretty amazing when we stop to think about how many times during the day we transition students to a new spot in the room or switch activities, especially in the primary grades! Successful transitions require careful planning, so we have procedures galore and great routines in place. 

 I have happily handed some of the management responsibility over to my students with a little help from a *special friend*!

    Do you have some stuffed animals laying around? 
Try putting them to work for you! 

How Teddy Helps with Management

I count on Teddy for lots of things! Here is just one example of how a stuffed friend helps in our room:

 My 28 students each need a turn on the computer for a variety of activities. One of them is Accelerated Reader. Before AR testing, I like the kiddos to be settled for silent reading/testing time with their book on top of their desk. I don't create a schedule. I don't pick sticks. I just do one simple thing and then the activity runs by itself.

I call out "READY, TEDDY?" and plop him on the desk of a student who is organized and quiet. (I try to choose a different child every time). With Teddy in hand, that student looks for someone near them who is also 'ready' and hands him off. We talk about being fair, so they don't always pass him to a friend.

After passing off Teddy, the student gets to go to an available computer or choose their cozy spot for silent reading time. 

Once Teddy is on the move, I am free to go to the reading table and get ready for the students that I will be working with. The last person to get Teddy puts him back on the table where he stays when not being used. 

Once Teddy has gotten us started, test-takers, who are finished, TAP another student who is reading quietly for their turn at the computer, then they go to browse for a new book. We have one silent reading area reserved for those waiting to test and another location (on the opposite side of the room) for cozy up time for those that do not need to test. It works like a charm and there is never a need to talk and interrupt our quiet time!

Other uses for a turn-taking friend:

• inside recess choices
• daily five rotations
• line-up time
• dismissal routines
• handing in work
• returning materials
• selecting task cards/center materials
• getting stored supplies such as clipboards
• drinking fountain turns
• gathering for carpet time

**any time there may be many students trying to squeeze into a small area

How Teddy Helps with Behavior

Because Teddy takes his time (usually about 2 minutes) making his way from desk to desk, this eliminates the stampede of children trying to be first to get to wherever they want to go. Waiting for Teddy keeps the students from running, pushing, shoving, bickering, sliding into their spot and all of that poor behavior that often happens in the race to be first! 

You can see in the photo above that my class may have fought over the bean bag chairs, but Teddy helped with that! They didn't need to rush for the first turn on the computer or their favorite spot for silent reading. 

 Thanks, Teddy, for saving me some time and for helping the children to learn to be fair and patient!

I hope you will try using a turn-taking teddy bear (or some other stuffed friend). 
You may NEVER go back to any other way!
I'm pretty sure your kiddos will LOVE it!


How do you think a Teddy might help in your classroom? 
:)
If you'd like to read more about AR, including rewards and incentives, click on the button below to head on over to my blog!

Easy-Peasy Bathroom Break Management

Hello! It's Elizabeth from Learning with Lizz R!

It's almost March, and all the hard work put into procedures have been paying off swimmingly! 

One procedure that has been working like magic is my procedure for bathroom classroom breaks.

If your students are like mine, bathroom breaks are sometimes an excuse to play around. I can't tell you how many times I've sent students to the bathroom, only to hear them down the hallway laughing and doing anything but going to the restroom... Ugh! 

To help eliminate this cringing situation, I have a one boy and one girl at a time bathroom policy. This has made such a difference and has limited the time student spend in the bathroom! 

The best part is, I have a REALLY easy way to monitor who is in the bathroom!

These cute little duckies help me keep track of who is using the bathroom. When a students goes to the bathroom, they take a duck and place it on their desk.

By doing this, I can quickly spot exactly who I sent to the bathroom, and know if they're back or not. No more having to ask, "Is Johnny back from the bathroom yet?"

When a student comes back from the bathroom, they return the duck to the basket, ready for the next student to use!

My students know the procedure, too! They can quickly glance where I keep the ducks, and if their bathroom pass is missing, they know they need to wait to ask to use the restroom. 

It has made bathroom breaks so easy! I don't have a million students asking me to use the bathroom at once! 

What procedures work best in your classroom? I'd love to hear from you!

Don't Bother Me Hat!

Hey Everyone!

So excited to be back again with this fun idea! I don't know about everyone else but our school is in full assessment mode these days and it has been a little crazy!

Here is a simple trick I use when I need to do some one-on-one in my classroom.

It's super easy... And... All you need is a funky hat (the funkier the better, I say)!

I call it my Don't Bother Me Hat! 

In short, I put this baby on every time I need minimal interruptions from the kiddies.

The students quickly learn (with some training), that when the hat is on, they can only ask me a question or come see me if it is an emergency.

Of course, it is important to make sure that the kiddies are completing work that you know they can do independently. If not, this little trick won't be much help!

Once they are "trained" (it takes a few tries) all I have to do is point to the hat as they approach and they get a silent reminder that it is not the right time to ask a question. No need to speak and interrupt the student who is reading to you. I. LOVE. IT.

This has helped me so much during assessments. The minimal interruptions ensure that I get my evaluations done in a timely manner and also help the student in question perform better as he/she is not getting distracted or interrupted. 

Hope this little trick comes in handy in YOUR classroom!

Until next time...

Keeping It All Together-Absent Folders

Keeping up with absent work can be a pain for students AND teachers...can I get an amen?? I spent my first years teaching trying to figure out a system that really worked and kept my students organized and accountable for all the missed work. So obviously, Pinterest came to my rescue. It was filled with fabulous ideas and pictures of teachers using absent folders! Thank goodness for Pinterest!

Today’s freebie is set of covers for your absent folders. All you have to do after assembling these bad boys, is simply place the absent folder on the student’s desk. Just slip their worksheets and missed work inside the folder all day long! I like to make it even MORE simple by having a student helper be in charge of passing out the folders at the beginning of the day. EASY-PEASY! When the student returns from his/her absence, they meet with me for a few mins and go over what they need to complete and how much time they have to turn it in. I usually let them have one day extra for each day they missed in class.

Are you ready to get organized?! Just click on any of the image below to grab your set!

I'm Telling on You!

It's been a few months at school and boy are these kiddos getting comfortable! There is definitely a lot more chatting, breaking rules, and all around annoying each other {kids annoying kids, of course!}! One of my biggest pet peeves as a teacher is tattling! It drives me bananas! And now that these kids are comfortable, A LOT of tattling is going on! 

 So, I absolutely fell in LOVE with the idea of tattle notes I learned about this summer! 

I was fortunate to head to Vegas this past summer for the amazing I Teach 1st and Teachers Pay Teachers conference.  Hands down the BEST session I attended was Pat Pavelka's Creating Independent Writers. 

One of Pat's big messages was to get kids writing! It doesn't matter if they are writing notes to friends, in their journals or even tattle notes! 

So, if a kid needs to tattle, instead of telling me, I make them write it down! I direct the kiddos to this corner when they have a problem to "throw" out! {With the extra writing involved, it certainly cuts down on a lot of tattles!}

Click {here} to grab this freebie! 

 

I hope you'll pop over to Lucky to Be in First and say hi soon!