Classroom Management - Class DOJO

Okay, I'm officially a convert to Classdojo http://www.classdojo.com/. Crossed paths with it last spring and wasn't sure I was sold.  I wasn't sure how effective it would be and how well it could be managed. However, a couple of teachers in my school used it successfully last year and love it, so I thought, "I have to give this a try.  I refuse to be outdone on the use of Technology in my classroom."  I'm not really that competitive, but I do love technology and employing it in my classroom whenever I can.

For those who may not be familiar with Classdojo, you have to check it out. It's FREE and super fast to set up your class. Each student is set up with a cute little avatar that you award points to for behaviors you choose.  You also can remove points for behaviors you choose.  For example, we are a PBIS school, so I award my students points when they demonstrate respect, responsibility, and/or safe behavior (our school expectations).  I remove points if they demonstrate behaviors that run counter to these expectations such as talking when they should be listening or out of their seat.  At the end of the day, these points transfer into school "Tiger Tracks" that the kiddos collect and redeem for prizes once a month or so.  There are consequences if by chance a student ends the day with no points (phone call home) or negative points (a referral).  Hopefully, that rarely happens in your classroom. 

The fun part for students (besides earning Tiger Tracks) is each has an avatar and they get an access code to change their avatar if they like. Also, parents can track their child's classroom behavior at home.  I must say that my kids love it and so do I.  

I open it up on my computer in the morning (it can be projected onto the SmartBoard whenever I want throughout the day), award a point to each student for being responsible and coming to school (and on time), then minimize it.  I can maximize it whenever I want to award/remove points for the whole class or individual students.  Oh, and the best part, leave the volume up and the students can hear when someone is awarded a point (cheery ding) or had a point removed (sad badum).  It takes very little effort and is so effective.  I can access a variety of reports, which allow me to analyze how the class did for the day, week, month, etc.  I can see what behaviors are being awarded points and which ones are a problem and the time of day these are occurring.  So much potential to use with the whole class.  

Pointers for Reading and The Smart Board

Just a quick post today on my use of pointers in the classroom.  Kids LOVE them!  I have the students use the hand pointers primarily for the Smart Board.  We found that it is much easier to move a hand pointer around the board than your actual hand/finger.  They serve a duo purpose as they use these when they read, too. 

 

 

The animal pointers are just for reading.  I made these out of dowel rods and those cute inexpensive wooden animals you can find in the wood craft section at Michael's, Hobby Lobby, and JoAnns.  I borrowed this idea from Pinterest (love this site!).  Super simple, just glue the wood animal onto a dowel rod. You can buy long dowel rods and cut them down. I purchased prepackaged ones that were already a foot or so long.  These were about $3 for a bag of 12 at Hobby Lobby.  After gluing, I did use small clamps (a package of six for a $1 at the Dollar Store) to hold them in place until they dry. I'm surprised how sturdy these things are and it's a good thing because the kids use these every day.  Amazingly, we are at the mid point of our school year and not one of them has broken, yet.