Tag Archives: management

Jefferson’s Bucks…A No Cost Money System {20 Day Blogging Challenge}

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Jefferson’s Jam!

It is my belief that children desire a well structured environment.  A well managed classroom is imperative in children being successful in your classroom.  You can be a wealth of information, have creative ideas, and amazing lesson plans – but none of those things will benefit anyone if the children are running around the classroom like wild animals.  And although we all think that the rewards for learning is a smarter brain – that just doesn’t cut it for all of our students.  Enter Jefferson’s Bucks!

Check Register

With Jefferson’s Bucks my classroom runs smoothly, my children are well behaved, and they know the “cost” for being unprepared.  Students that are on task and follow instructions are awarded incentive money.   I don’t have students take out money for inappropriate behaviors, but I do charge students for needed materials.

Say a child doesn’t have a pencil or paper or forgot their homework in their locker….you know what I’m talking about, right?  Instead of going on a tirade about how this is school, their job, and they should come to their job prepared…..blah…blah…blah…. I just hand them a pencil/paper/eraser/etc. and tell them to take money out of their account.

I hear you asking, “Isn’t that costly?  Spending your money to buy materials that parents should buy?”  Nope!  Parents donate these items and their children are paid for their donation in Jefferson’s Bucks.

At the end of the quarter I host a Jefferson’s Jam – the coolest party on the planet that has food, music, and games.  Plus, students get a chance to miss a class to participate!  And that costs me nothing either!  Parents donate items for the party and their child is compensated.

It’s a Win/Win situation!  And it makes for stress free days! 🙂

Until the next time,

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Give Me 1….2…..3! {20 Day Blogging Challenge}

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student hand

Picture this:  You’re in the middle of a direct instruction lesson.  As you’re teaching your heart out…..working you’re butt off you look to see a student raise their hand in the air.  You think, “Yes!  An inquisitive student wants to expound more on what I’m saying!”…..only to have the student ask, “Can I got to the bathroom?” *spfizzzz* (That’s the sound of the balloon in your chest deflating…..)

In order to save myself from that heart breaking experience ever again, I found the perfect management tool.  Students raise a certain finger to ask a certain question.  That way at a glance I can address it – sometimes without even speaking!

Now of course you know that nothing is ever “brand new” anymore, I found this as I was perusing my favorite playground….the internet.  But I’ve tweaked it to make it my own for my classroom.

1 finger – Pencil Issues (need one, sharpen, eraser)

2 fingers – Classroom movement (Get a book, blow my nose, hand sanitizer)

2 fingers crossed – Bathroom (Don’t you think that’s cute?  Like you cross your legs when you have to go really bad.

3 fingers – I need help with my work.

I have the signs posted onto the wall in the front, and students also have a copy glued into their ISN.

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Like I said, no more heart break for me! What management tool do you use to find out what your students need?

Until the next time,BCbutton

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It’s A Party!

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I use Class Dojo as a part of my classroom behavior management system. What is Class Dojo you might ask? ClassDojo is an online program that allows you to provide immediate feedback for student behavior (positive and negative). It enables you to easily award and record points, achievements and rewards for behavior and performance in class in real-time, with just one click of your computer, smartphone, or mobile device.

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ClassDojo provides instant visual and audible notifications for your students, in addition to allowing you to keep the feedback over a period of time. It also allows you to decide what behaviors you find important and award points that way. And it’s so easy to set up. You can copy and paste your class roster from almost any document – even a PDF!

Since my laptop is continuously hooked to my projector and Promethean board, students can constantly see their progress. And even if the screen is on something else they can hear the ding or dong that comes from points being awarded!

My ClassDojo points are connected to my Jefferson’s Bucks. Having a certain amount of Jefferson’s Bucks allows them entry into “The Jefferson’s Jam!” Every week, students’ individual points turn into money. But, I also added a component that ensures the class works together. At the end of the week, the class percentage allows them to be able to multiply their points for more money. 80-89% class percentage? They can multiply their points by 2. 90-99% class percentage? They can multiply their points by 3. 100% class percentage (which has happened once). They can multiply their points by 4.

We had our second quarter Jefferson’s Jam on Friday and the kids had a blast! Students can order subs or pizza, as well as bring in other treats for the party. It has a zero cost for me – all I have to do is set the date, determine the participants, and order and pick up the food!

Check out our party video here:

We spent a great deal of time outside, and as I looked around I was shocked at the amount of litter out there! So I created an impromptu community service project. We did a trash clean up right on the spot! I made it a competition though, because who wants to pick up trash at a party? Students were put into teams and the team that collected the most trash would get a prize. Needless to say after 3 minutes, the playground yard was immaculate, and every attendee is officially $100 richer in Jefferson’s Bucks! They all did such an awesome job, I couldn’t decide!

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Until next time!

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