Classroom Management

 

For positive reinforcement in my class I really like to use the raffle box. It is a cheap way of rewarding good behaviour and the students really love it.

I buy a book of raffle tickets, you can get these for as little as 60c from the newsagent. I hand them out to students who are displaying positive behaviour, such as getting on with their work, listening well or following directions properly. the students write their names on the raffle ticket and place it into the raffle box. This is a box I made by cutting a hole in the top and covering it in bright fabric. I managed to pick this up from the off cuts basket at Spotlight for a few dollars. At the end of the week I draw out four names. These students are able to select a prize from the prize box. this means that every student have the opportunity to chose a prize as long as they earn a ticket during the week. Those students who earn more tickets increase their chances of earning a prize at the end of the week.

 

Because the students write their names on the tickets I can use both sides which reduces the cost more. I have a range of prizes in my prize box. I don't buy anything over $1 and most of the prizes come from the Reject Shop, Red Dot or Kmart. they are mostly stationary based, but some small toys are in there also. I hand out as many as 20 tickets a day so the students have plenty of opportunities to earn tickets and they are constantly rewarded during the day.

 

Set up cost - $30 to fill the prize box, fabric $3, box $5

 

Running cost - 60c a weeks worth of raffle tickets, $3 to top up prize box.

 

Cost for a term - $36 approx. (all tax deductable by the way)

Having a well behaved classroom - priceless

 

 

 

My counter bell. I picked this bell up for around $10 from the newsagency. I stuck a few stars on it so it didn't look too boring. I leave it on the table next to my desk. It has a really clear ring. You can gently tap the top or give it a hard slam depending on what sort of response you want to get from your class. I really like it, and have had a few reliefs come into the classroom and they have found it works well too. This is now the primary bell used in the classroom. However, I don't have to use it much as the class is pretty well behaved and I can get their attention quite easily. 

  

The pop stick idea was given to me by another student teacher. I have written the names of the students in the class on one end. On the other end I have placed a purple do on the other end so I can easily recognise which ones have not been selected yet. When it comes to asking students questions I pull out a name from the cup and turn it around and place it back. I provide the students with the option to pass so they don't feel stressed if they can't answer a question. In this case I just place the pop stick back in with the name down ready to pull out at another time. This gives the students motivation to listen and shares to responsibility of answering questions evenly amongst students. (However, I tried this with a brainstorm and it didn't work)... but works great in other question/answer situations.