A little bite of heaven..
In the form of a second grade class.
I am now convinced of the importance of a school-wide behavior management system. The "Make your Day" system is a gift to all substitute teachers. The way it works is that after each chunk of time in class, students self-assess their behavior and can receive up to 10 points. (Well, 10 points per time is the maximum for 2nd grade, but you can get something like 45 or 50 in 5th grade.) So, at the beginning of each lesson, you just say "In order to earn your full points, my expectations are......." So, for example, in my class of little 2nd grade angels, we started off with a phonics lesson. At the start of the lesson, I said "Those who want to earn full points for this lesson will sit quietly on the carpet, and raise your hands if you have a question." So, there was a kid who was sitting towards the back of the group and was tieing his shoe laces together. All I had to say to get him back on track was, "I appreciate those who are paying attention, and those who are not should take accountability when it comes time to report points." And he came right back and stayed on task. At the end of the lesson, kids went back to their seats and worked quietly on their assignment because that was my expectation. At the end of the phonics lesson, the kids wait their turn until I call their name. When I do, they say "10 because I met all expectations" if they think they did well. Or, if kids have something they didn't do appropriately, they say "9 because I was talking during the lesson." The amazing part is KIDS ACTUALLY TAKE ACCOUNTABLITY FOR THEIR ACTIONS!!! Maybe it becomes a different story when they get in to the older grades. After they say their score, I tell them if agree or not. And if I don't agree, I tell them how many points I give them and the reason why. So, for example, one girl who was constantly getting out of her seat to ask me questions said "10 for meeting expectations." I told her, "9 because you were getting out of your seat and my expectation was that you stay in your seat and raise your hand if you have a question."
AND IT GETS BETTER -- Because I was a sub, there isn't a phase 3 in the points system. But when the regular teacher is in the room, the kids get to voice "concerns". If a student thinks that another student should earn more or less points, they get to voice their concerns. While it seems kind of like tattling, I think this is where it would work amazingly in the older grades because kids would be monitoring themselves as well as each other, and would bring up things that maybe the teacher didn't see. And I think it eliminates tattling throughout the day, because kids know there is a time when they can voice concerns about if Billy pulled your hair, or if Suzy called you a bad name. Kind of a neat system.
The other system they use is "STEPS". I know the choir student teacher was telling me about this because they use it at Eisenhower, and he was joking that he wanted to use it with some of the high school girls.. hahaha. But basically if a kid is talking when they aren't supposed to, you tell them "Go to Step 1 because you are talking when your voice should be off." The kid then goes and sits in a chair that is facing the wall. After a few minutes, you go and talk to them and say "What choice did you make that put you on Step 1?" And they have to say what they did.. and then you say "What choices are you going to make to improve your behavior?" and they tell you what they are going to do.. And then if they are ready to make good choices, they can re-join the class. I can only IMAGE how HORRIBLY EMBARRASSING (and therefore, how incredibly awesome) it is at the middle school level. Especially when middle schoolers are so self-aware and self-conscious, to be put on a time out in a corner of the room facing the wall.... it's like the dunce cap of the new generation. I would love to see this in action in a middle school. Maybe Santa will bring me an early Christmas present and I will get to sub at the middle school.
Anyway, back to my 2nd grade Angels. THEY ARE ADORBALE! They are at an age where I don't feel like I was babysitting, (like I think I might feel at the K or 1 level..) They can read, write, and they think learning is WAY FUN!!! Oh, and my favorite part... they LOVE LOVE LOVE read-alouds. I had about 15 minutes to fill before the kids went to lunch, so I pulled a random book from the teacher's shelf and read it. It was called something like "If you ride your elephant to school...". It was cute. All of their eyes were glued to me, and they laugh at the pictures. I definately needed this class after yesterday.
The other bonus and memorable moment was that Mrs. Benson works at this school (which I knew before hand) -- but I didn't know if/when I would run in to her. I was going to hunt her down after I took the kids to lunch, but I actually passed her in the morning when I was brining my class in. It is always comforting to see a familiar face at a school where you feel like the new kid. -- and She is just a hoot to talk to!! After my half day was over, I stopped by her area to talk to her, and it reminded me of all the fun nights spent at their house during high school. GOOD TIMES. :)
I am now convinced of the importance of a school-wide behavior management system. The "Make your Day" system is a gift to all substitute teachers. The way it works is that after each chunk of time in class, students self-assess their behavior and can receive up to 10 points. (Well, 10 points per time is the maximum for 2nd grade, but you can get something like 45 or 50 in 5th grade.) So, at the beginning of each lesson, you just say "In order to earn your full points, my expectations are......." So, for example, in my class of little 2nd grade angels, we started off with a phonics lesson. At the start of the lesson, I said "Those who want to earn full points for this lesson will sit quietly on the carpet, and raise your hands if you have a question." So, there was a kid who was sitting towards the back of the group and was tieing his shoe laces together. All I had to say to get him back on track was, "I appreciate those who are paying attention, and those who are not should take accountability when it comes time to report points." And he came right back and stayed on task. At the end of the lesson, kids went back to their seats and worked quietly on their assignment because that was my expectation. At the end of the phonics lesson, the kids wait their turn until I call their name. When I do, they say "10 because I met all expectations" if they think they did well. Or, if kids have something they didn't do appropriately, they say "9 because I was talking during the lesson." The amazing part is KIDS ACTUALLY TAKE ACCOUNTABLITY FOR THEIR ACTIONS!!! Maybe it becomes a different story when they get in to the older grades. After they say their score, I tell them if agree or not. And if I don't agree, I tell them how many points I give them and the reason why. So, for example, one girl who was constantly getting out of her seat to ask me questions said "10 for meeting expectations." I told her, "9 because you were getting out of your seat and my expectation was that you stay in your seat and raise your hand if you have a question."
AND IT GETS BETTER -- Because I was a sub, there isn't a phase 3 in the points system. But when the regular teacher is in the room, the kids get to voice "concerns". If a student thinks that another student should earn more or less points, they get to voice their concerns. While it seems kind of like tattling, I think this is where it would work amazingly in the older grades because kids would be monitoring themselves as well as each other, and would bring up things that maybe the teacher didn't see. And I think it eliminates tattling throughout the day, because kids know there is a time when they can voice concerns about if Billy pulled your hair, or if Suzy called you a bad name. Kind of a neat system.
The other system they use is "STEPS". I know the choir student teacher was telling me about this because they use it at Eisenhower, and he was joking that he wanted to use it with some of the high school girls.. hahaha. But basically if a kid is talking when they aren't supposed to, you tell them "Go to Step 1 because you are talking when your voice should be off." The kid then goes and sits in a chair that is facing the wall. After a few minutes, you go and talk to them and say "What choice did you make that put you on Step 1?" And they have to say what they did.. and then you say "What choices are you going to make to improve your behavior?" and they tell you what they are going to do.. And then if they are ready to make good choices, they can re-join the class. I can only IMAGE how HORRIBLY EMBARRASSING (and therefore, how incredibly awesome) it is at the middle school level. Especially when middle schoolers are so self-aware and self-conscious, to be put on a time out in a corner of the room facing the wall.... it's like the dunce cap of the new generation. I would love to see this in action in a middle school. Maybe Santa will bring me an early Christmas present and I will get to sub at the middle school.
Anyway, back to my 2nd grade Angels. THEY ARE ADORBALE! They are at an age where I don't feel like I was babysitting, (like I think I might feel at the K or 1 level..) They can read, write, and they think learning is WAY FUN!!! Oh, and my favorite part... they LOVE LOVE LOVE read-alouds. I had about 15 minutes to fill before the kids went to lunch, so I pulled a random book from the teacher's shelf and read it. It was called something like "If you ride your elephant to school...". It was cute. All of their eyes were glued to me, and they laugh at the pictures. I definately needed this class after yesterday.
The other bonus and memorable moment was that Mrs. Benson works at this school (which I knew before hand) -- but I didn't know if/when I would run in to her. I was going to hunt her down after I took the kids to lunch, but I actually passed her in the morning when I was brining my class in. It is always comforting to see a familiar face at a school where you feel like the new kid. -- and She is just a hoot to talk to!! After my half day was over, I stopped by her area to talk to her, and it reminded me of all the fun nights spent at their house during high school. GOOD TIMES. :)