Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Classroom management
As far as classroom management, I have been following the techniques that my cooperating teacher put into place. She uses a bell to get students' attention back when they are working in groups, or with partners, or just being really loud. She also uses, "give me 5" and counts down with her hand in the air. I have been using the same techniques and things have been going well. It is interesting though because this is my first week of teaching all day and I notice students testing me a lot more. Their behavior when I am teaching has gotten worse. My cooperating teacher assures me it will get better as they are just trying to see what they can get away with. I am holding my ground and trying to be firm, but sometimes I feel like a big crab! Our class also have a micro-society, so the students run a state within their classroom and they get paid for doing certain jobs. One of the jobs each person has is to be a "student". They start out with $25.00 microdollars a day. As a form of behavior management, dollars are taken away for not following directions or not being on task. Each day the tables tally up how many dollars they have earned. Students get paid at the end of each week and can use their money to do certain things during mirco-society time at the end of the day. So far that has also been working well.
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I'm not surprised your students are doing a little testing, but I know how challenging the change can be when you're not expecting a shift in their interaction with you. Jane is right; the kids will pull it together and respect you for holding them to the regular expectations of the class.
ReplyDeleteEvery time you mention the microsociety, I get excited! It's such a dynamic, unusual idea for teaching kids about communities, giving them authentic responsibilities, and building a sense of teamwork. Don't tell Jane, but I wish tabel groups--or the whole class--could EARN money for certain behaviors, too. For example, when no one has any overdue books, the class gets $5. Or if the class is complimented for their hallway demeanor (for example), then get $5. I see the potential for growing the class's identity and sense of pride by establishing ways to earn money as a group. (As I write this, I'm thinking maybe there are ways to earn money and I don't know about it. Sorry if I've jumped the gun.). And one other thing--what would you think about groups pooling their money and "buying" something for the class. An extra recess, longer read aloud time, a Friday movie afternoon?