M & M Review

The M & M review is a staple in my classroom. My students ask for it year after year. I have used other small treats that have worked just as well such as Skittles, Candy Corn and even Goldfish!

The day before a content test such as science or social studies, I always did a verbal review. I asked each student a question. Problem was they only paid attention to their question. By offering a small prize for a correct response and the chance of another prize, I had students very excited to answer. Here is the procedure.

I would ask one review question and then call on a student at random. I would not repeat the question so the students had to be listening. If the student answers the question correctly, then they earn the prize. If not, no prize is awarded and I go to the next question and student. To keep students interested, I allowed the student to call on a lifeline. They could ask one student to answer the question for them, even if they already had a turn. If the question was answered correct, both students received the prize. If incorrect, no prize was awarded. Rules were simple. You had to stay seated and if you knew the answer you would raise your hand and hope to be called on. I can not tell you how excited my students would become!

I could not believe how much my students enjoyed this. I was even able to move the prize over into other areas such as cleaning up after art projects. I would announce, anyone who brings me five pieces of trash (cut and paste always made a mess!) would get ONE M & M or prize. It was amazing what I could get my students to do for just one M & M or Skittle. Sometimes, just the suggestion that it would be awarded would get my students motivated.

Parents did not seem to mind that the students received these small prizes. They knew it was only one or two a day and never every day. I had parents sending in the small favors and my students and I reaped the benefits.

More Calendars!

I love calendars for organization! I plan in terms of full school weeks and months. I have pretty much a calendar for everything! One of the tasks that I always struggled with was attendance. I was fine with
writing down who was absent and letting the office know but recording it in those little boxes for some reason every day was just difficult for me. Well, since I used a calendar to track everything else, I used one for attendance and behavior. I then only had to write down who was absent on the calendar. I also wrote down the behavior violators for the day. I could turn the calendar page over and document why the student was absent and behavior violations. I could then update the book on my planning and cross off the students name once that was done. This was a saver for me. It fit my teaching personality much better. I no longer stressed over tracking attendance. These calendars are full week calendars and only have Monday through Friday.

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Weekday Calendars

Weekly Folder Management

Years ago, I had decided that the format I had for Friday Folders was not working. I had 35 students, no assistant and students were not allowed to see each other's graded work. I could no longer keep up with the weekly behavior awards and Accelerated Reader progress notation, not to mention the behavior reporting. What I came up with was a simple form. This form easily attaches to the inside of a regular folder. I could easily give a grade for the behavior for the week, document AR points, include a note to the parents, and send all the papers for the week home. Parents also had a spot to sign or comment if they felt the need. This made for quick and easy documentation. I only had to file one paper at the end of each quarter for each student.

Over the years, I added pre-printed reminders. I also had my students do the reporting. Students had to write their AR points, behavior and write in their own comment on their progress. This made for quick and easy conferences with each student at the end of the week. I keep a list of points and behavior. I would mark each student off the list when I had read his or her folder. The rule was if behavior was less than an S, you had to say why. It was always interesting to hear why my students thought the grade was below S. Some of them needed reminders but it put the responsibility back on the students. They used "I" statements. It was also interesting to see the positive praise they gave themselves. It turned out to be a wonderful way to connect with my students in a different way. I have posted a word document that you can edit if you are interested in a copy.

Weekly Folder Communication

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