The Sweet Feeling of Success!
Last week I posted on how frustrating writing time had been to get the kids settled in for the mini-lesson and that I was going to be getting help with ClassDojo from some of my awesome colleagues who spend time in my room during writing time. Well, I am happy to say that it has been really successful! I'm talking like "night and day" successful! You wouldn't believe how nicely those kids sat when I pulled out my Chromebook, handed to Mrs. Higgins, and said that she was going to be giving out Dojo points to students who were showing attentive listening :-) So I want to give a big THANK YOU to Mrs. Higgins, Mrs. Neerhof, and Mrs. Dahm for all your help with this!
I've used ClassDojo in the past, and I'll be honest, I've had my ups and downs with it. I think it is more challenging to use consistently when you aren't able to give points as they happen (trying to remember points after a lesson is tricky, and I don't think teaching a lesson and handling points at the same time is realistic), so a team-teaching situation is really beneficial.
I'm going to ask for a little feedback from users of ClassDojo. How do you show the students their points? Do you do it individually or periodically show everyone? Do you match the points with classroom incentives? I have a prize bin, but I'll be honest, keeping that thing stocked with prizes can be costly. I'm thinking some "non-prize" incentives like lunch in the classroom or inside recess with a friend might be the way I'm going to go. I might open it up to the kids to see what they would like as some possible whole-class rewards. I would appreciate any comments that people have for ideas!
Whatever the case, I'm definitely going to open up ClassDojo every chance I get to solve some other issues we've been having. Something tells me that standing quietly near the line with my Chromebook tapping out points for students who are showing line expectations will help others follow along pretty quickly!
Mindfulness thought for the week: You get to do things this week. Make them good things!
This one comes from a common theme of Tom J. Deters and the ProYou Podcast. Thanks Tom!
I have to say, one thing I love about my students is how insightful they are during our discussions about the mindfulness thoughts. A couple weeks back I posted that one of my students had a very sick sibling. She shared the fact that he doesn't get to be at school with all his friends and that he was missing out on a lot of stuff. Some of the kids also connected with October being bully prevention month and the fact that we should be doing things that are good and not hurtful. I really look forward to these discussions!
I've used ClassDojo in the past, and I'll be honest, I've had my ups and downs with it. I think it is more challenging to use consistently when you aren't able to give points as they happen (trying to remember points after a lesson is tricky, and I don't think teaching a lesson and handling points at the same time is realistic), so a team-teaching situation is really beneficial.
I'm going to ask for a little feedback from users of ClassDojo. How do you show the students their points? Do you do it individually or periodically show everyone? Do you match the points with classroom incentives? I have a prize bin, but I'll be honest, keeping that thing stocked with prizes can be costly. I'm thinking some "non-prize" incentives like lunch in the classroom or inside recess with a friend might be the way I'm going to go. I might open it up to the kids to see what they would like as some possible whole-class rewards. I would appreciate any comments that people have for ideas!
Whatever the case, I'm definitely going to open up ClassDojo every chance I get to solve some other issues we've been having. Something tells me that standing quietly near the line with my Chromebook tapping out points for students who are showing line expectations will help others follow along pretty quickly!
Mindfulness thought for the week: You get to do things this week. Make them good things!
This one comes from a common theme of Tom J. Deters and the ProYou Podcast. Thanks Tom!
I have to say, one thing I love about my students is how insightful they are during our discussions about the mindfulness thoughts. A couple weeks back I posted that one of my students had a very sick sibling. She shared the fact that he doesn't get to be at school with all his friends and that he was missing out on a lot of stuff. Some of the kids also connected with October being bully prevention month and the fact that we should be doing things that are good and not hurtful. I really look forward to these discussions!
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