Start the school year with a bit of positive motivation

One key to creating a positive learning environment is making your room fun and motivating for students.  "Rewarding" students for positive behavior is sometimes a controversial topic.  However, at my school, the use of positive reinforcements is part of the school wide campus discipline plan...so I have to find a way that is effective and works in my classroom.  It didn't take long to realize that the expense of keeping a treasure box full of "cool" prizes can easily become overwhelming.  Trying to find a more practical solution, I began using a system that includes rewards coupons and brag tags.  Personally, I use the dog themed set but I have created a few different sets for teachers that I work with.  

I use Class Dojo as my primary method of tracking, documenting, and rewarding student behavior.  I love Class Dojo because I am able to provide almost instantaneously feedback to both students and teachers.  I am also able to connect Class Dojo with my behavior management kit.  Each Friday, the students are able to see how many points they have earned through Class Dojo.  They receive on Doggie Dollar for each positive behavior point that they earn.  

To make storage for the Doggie Dollars easy, I reinforce ziplock bags with duct tape for the students to store their Doggie Dollars in.  The bags are hung on a bulletin board using a ring and a push pin.

I gave up on the traditional treasure box years ago because it was expensive to maintain.  I was going out once a month and spending around $40 on little "toys" only to have the kids ask, "When are we going to have something good in the treasure box?"  I replaced the meaningless toys with reward coupons.  The students can choose to spend their Doggie Dollars on any award that they choose.  The kids LOVE this...and I LOVE it because it works and it's FREE!  

Each of my classroom management kits  include more than 35 Rewards Coupons.  There is a also a blank coupon where you can add your own rewards unique to your students.

I also use "Brag Tags" for my students.  The brag tags are printed on card stock and laminated.  I was able to purchase enough chains and connectors for my entire class from Hobby Lobby with their 40% off coupon for around $5. Each Friday, during morning meeting, I  pass out one or more brag tags to each student.  The kids got to wear their brag tag necklace during the day each Friday.  The kids absolutely loved collecting their brag tags and seeing how many they can earn.  Each of the classroom management kits include an assortment of brag tags.  A blank brag tag is also included so you can customize tags to meet your needs.

I currently have six different classroom management kits available and more are in the works.  Each of these sets is on sale this week for 50% off.  You can click on any of the images to get a closer preview of what is included with each classroom management kit.

Dog Classroom Management Kit

Super Hero Classroom Management Kit

Owl Classroom Management Kit

Bee Classroom Management Kit

Zoo Classroom Management Kit

Star Classroom Management Kit

 
For many of us, summer is starting to wind down.  If you have started planning for August, be sure to check out these great products designed by teachers to help you start the year off on a positive note!