Classroom Management

Now that my students are starting to settle into the class I've noticed they like to chit chat a lot on the rug. This is one of the behaviors I want to really work on this year, as well as, staying seated during independent work time. I find managing 24 students behaviors to be exhausting and not to mention sometimes they truly just don't care. This year I've been using ClassDojo and WOW what a difference. I am able to reward multiple students at the same time and it's up on our Promethean Board all day. We check it after every period is concluded and we go over any behaviors we need to work on as a class. There is a visual graph to show the class what areas they excel in and where they need to improve. I've had most of my students log onto the website and create their own avatar. They can also check in to see what their classmates have done to their avatar. I had a parent ask me today about her son's behavior because she got an email alert from ClassDojo saying he did not follow directions. WHOA! I almost didn't know what to say. My co-teacher is totally in love with Dojo. We talk about earning Dojo points all day. At the end of each week the student with the most amount of points earns a reward. We let them shop in our prize box or take a DVD for the weekend. Slowly they are starting to fall into a routine. I think this year is going to be a good one after all. If you haven't checked out ClassDojo I highly suggest you do. It's really a helpful tool to have.

First Day Jitters Activity

So the first day of school for NYC is upon us. On Monday I plan to read "First Day Jitters" by Julie Danneberg. I taught this lesson last year but I vamped it up this year with more questions for my students. I also found this really cute poem for "Jitter Juice" I plan to give my kids. I saw a lot of recipes that had soda in it and I'm not really comfortable giving that to them since we promote healthy eating at our school. So instead I'm going to mix lemonade or orange juice with seltzer water using equal parts. I created a powerpoint that goes along with the story using a venn diagram to compare how teachers and students got ready for the first day, leveled questioning and follow up activities to do in class. I believe this lesson can really be stretched out over 2 days if you really put some thought into it. You can find my lesson here on my TpT store.

Using Technology to Make Teaching Easier

Let's face it, teachers have a lot on their plate when it comes to educating the students they have in their classroom. The paperwork seems to pile up and before you know it you completely forgot what was next on your to do list. Last school year I found that using my iPhone in the classroom not only made my life easier but also kept me organized. Here are a few apps I found made my life easier and hopefully they will help you too.

Dropbox is a great way to be able to access your files from anywhere on any device. I can't tell you how many times I forgot my USB drive at home and panicked when I got to work and realized I was unprepared. Now with Dropbox that doesn't happen anymore. All my docs and PowerPoints are available to me anytime. I can even share my files with my colleagues and vice versa! 

The Common Core app is a HUGE help when creating my lesson plans. You can view K-12 Math and ELA standards easily. A must have for every teacher!

Three Ring is basically a digital portfolio. It allows you to create multiple classes with accompanying roster and you can upload photos from your phone and access it from anywhere.

Last school year I had the loudest class ever. They weren't bad they were just loud. We try to evoke conversation from our students but then during independent work we tell them to be quiet. Not fair. I want them to talk and have discussions about things that confuse or intrigue them. They learn better from one another anyway. This year I'm trying out the app Too Noisy. I can hook my iPhone or iPad to the Promethean board and the class can visually see how loud they are being and self monitor. You can adjust the sensitivity of sound also which is really neat. I'll keep you updated on how it fairs with my new class.

Last but not least is my absolute favorite app Class Dojo. As a Special Educator I believe that behavior management in the classroom is just as important as Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. My issue with it was that it could be time consuming to go around and mark behavior charts, give out stickers and not to mention the other kids sometimes get jealous. I can't wait to start a new school year using Class Dojo for the whole class. All of my lovely little 25 munchkins will be positively rewarded and motivated using Class Dojo. Best part is parents can access it and view their child's progress.

Looking forward to a new and exciting year with lots of learning for everyone!