Take Home Book Boxes
(Audrey Jordan)
You will need chalk board
spray paint (available at Michael’s), chalk, and shoeboxes for this
project. Spray paint the boxes and
put a piece of chalk inside. Give
these to the children at back to school night so they will have a special place
to keep their books that they make at school.
*Insert a copy of sight
words so they can practice writing them on their shoebox chalk board.
Game Pieces
Attach students’ photos to
binder clips and they can be used for game pieces.
Tally Mark Alternative (Jonathon Wright)
The photo shows another way
to tally. It teaches children the
number of sides in a square, and it’s also the sign for divers.
Ice Age Sid Shuffle
(Sasha Kelly & Kayleen Scranton)
Your students will LOVE this
brain break!!!
Line Up Trick (Peg Volzke)
Have children put their
“bear in the cave” to keep their hands to themselves. First, they put their hands behind their backs. Make a fist with one hand – that’s the
bear. Now, put the bear in the
other hand because it’s the cave.
Transition Time (Linda Tonack)
Instead of using a clean up
chime to get children’s attention, use an animated stuffed animal that plays
songs and dances.
*You might say, “You have
two song cycles to clean up and report to the group area.”
*Let the helper of the day
press the start button or use it as an award for good behavior.
Attendance Tally
(Carol Coler)
Keep a tally chart by the
calendar. Each day when all the
children are present and none are tardy, put up a tally mark. Practice counting by 5’s daily using
the attendance tally marks.
Marble Jar (Mary Lyn Loeffler)
You will need a clear
apothecary jar and several bags of marbles for this positive reinforcement
activity. When the teacher notes
positive behavior, a child gets to put a marble in the jar. When the jar is full, you get to have a
party the next day. (It takes
about 6 weeks to fill the jar.)
*Children can earn marbles
for individual rewards or group rewards.
*Never take marbles out of
the jar until it is full and you have the party. Then start all over again.
Harvesting Good Behavior
(Tara Hamilton)
Here’s another behavior
management tool where you use corn instead of marbles. You will need a bucket of field corn,
as well as a cob of corn. Explain
how farmers have to harvest the corn when it is ready. Demonstrate how to shuck the corn and
remove the kernels. “We also can
harvest our good behaviors when we are ready to be praised for doing a good
job.” Put a toy combine in the
pail with the corn. When the
children do a good job, choose one student to take a scoop of corn out of the
pail and put it in a clear jar.
The children can see the combine moving down in the pail as the jar
fills up. Have a party for
“finishing the harvest” when the jar is full.
*Never take corn out of the
jar – only add it in.
*Tying this to farming and
harvest time works well in our community as most families live on farms or
small towns.
Gem Jar (Theodora Kyle)
Play a clean up song and
after students clean up they stand at the entrance (or designated spot) and
wait. The teacher roves around and
quickly looks to make sure the center is clean and hands each student two gems
(fake jewels). The students take
their gems and sit down on the carpet.
The “gem collector” walks around as friends put their gems in the “gem
jar.” When the far is full, the
class earns treats.
Dot-to-Dot Positive
Reinforcement (Joyce Dunklau)
To encourage a specific
behavior, prepare a dot-to-dot arrangement. When the teacher sees good behavior, draw a line from dot 1
to dot 2. Continue until all the
dots are connected and you complete the picture. “YOU DID IT!”
*Works well with an
individual or the whole class.
Compliment Board
(Kalli Lemley)
To encourage kindness and
appreciation for others, place a bulletin board outside the room dedicated to
compliments to each other. Vary
the theme throughout the year:
“Leaf a compliment.” (Leaves)
“Snow’s some kindness.” (Snowflakes)
“Send a ray of
sunshine.” (Sunshines)
“Watch our friendship
grow.” (Flowers)
They can write these any
time or as part of writing for the Daily 5.
Reading Board (Kalli
Lemley)
Send home a sheet for
children to record reading with their parents. When they return it, they can add their name to the reading
board. Then we have a celebration
at the end of the month.
“Nuts about Reading” (Nuts)
“Our Reading Shines
Through” (Sunshines)
“Watch Our Reading
Grow” (Flowers)
“Snow excited about
reading” (Snowflakes)
We’re Fact Families (Kalli Lemley)
(Tune: Cadence – Children repeat each line).
We’re fact families and
we’re really great!
We work together and
cooperate.
Use three numbers and you’ll
do it right.
Switch them around and
you’re out of sight.
Try it now! (Cheerleader)
1 + 4 = 5
Switch it around now.
(Cheerleader)
4 + 1 = 5
Now you take the big number
and put it at the front.
Here’s what you’ve got.
5 – 4 = 1
Switch it around again.
(Cheerleader)
5 – 1 = 4
We’re fact families and
we’re really great.
We work together and
cooperate.