Class Dojo

Last year I had the opportunity to work for a few months with a super-challenging class. As I was challenged with short attention and defiant behaviors in the classroom I sampled and searched for possible classroom management/classroom discipline tools that would accommodate this busy moving class. In my search I came across ClassDojo an online behavior management tool.


This classroom management tool allows you to customize both positive and negative awards to your classroom rules. Students can earn points for positive behaviors and lose points for negative behaviors. It is very easy to set up with your class list. Each student is assigned an avatar. (Students can customize their own avatars.)






There is also a mobile app that allows teachers to activate student accounts anytime anyplace. (On the playground, on field trips, in lunchroom...)

ClassDojo also allows a unique tool for parental involvement. Parents can track and print their children’s individual reports weekly.

I find ClassDojo to be one of the greatest “Free” online tools for managing student behavior.


Click here to get STARTED!

Cause & Effect with Camilla Cream

This week in reading we were very busy learning about cause and effect. We learned that the reason for something happening is the cause and the effect is what happened. This is an excellent topic for our first graders because it allows us to apply their own actions to their consequences. To better connect we read aloud “A Bad Case of Stripes” by David Shannon (Same Author of No David!) to help the kiddos identify with the authors theme-LOVE who you ARE! Here are some of the instances of causes and effects within the story that we discussed: (1). How come Camilla never ate Lima beans? Because her friends hated them and she wanted to fit in. (2).Why did Camilla's stripes change at school? Because they recited the Pledge of Allegiance and the kids kept yelling out different shapes and colors. (3). Why did Camilla not care that the kids thought she was weird? Because she ate her Lima beans and never got a case of the stripes again. The students then created their own Camilla Cream Characters and used the text for support as they described in writing some of the effects that occurred (cause) to Camilla. (I promise to post examples this weekend!!)
*The kids loved the story so much that we listened to it a second time on:

http://www.storylineonline.net/a-bad-case-of-stripes/

Every Child a Reader

Children's Book Week 2013

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Mr. Potato Head

Teamwork is essential in today's diverse classrooms —the ability to cooperate and communicate with others to reach common goals.

Mystery Readers

Fearless Readers

I invite parents, grandparents, relatives, or other special people to surprise their child by being a

“Mystery Reader”.

It is always very special for students to have their family, friends, and relatives visit our classroom to share in our learning by reading a favorite story aloud to our class. Readers may bring one of their favorite books or read a teacher-chosen book from our classroom library. Mystery Readers visit our class on Fridays at 2:00 p.m. once a month.

I have the Mystery Readers contact me by email or a sealed note with a date that works for them.  We keep it as a secret from the students and they are always surprised when the Mystery Reader walks in.



Gr.3-Class Pledge



Every morning we end our Morning Meetings with our Team Oliver pledge.

It’s a team-building activity that helps reinforce our commitment to being a happier, successful, more productive classroom.

It’s very exciting to see all of the students participate

in the Team Pledge with confidence and dynamism!!!

With Team Oliver:

I have the right to make mistakes.

I have the right to learn.

My teachers want me to learn.

I make mistakes so I can learn.

I am in school to learn.

I learn so I can succeed.

I want to learn.

I am good at learning.

I believe in myself.

I am wonderful.

I am somebody.

I like to learn.

I will always try my best.

Together we will LEARN!

Gr.3-Most Valuable Player

To help build community in my classroom, I have students take turns being our "MVP of the Week." It’s a great way for students in the class to learn more about each other and each other's families. Being the MVP student is more than just holding the title for the week.  The MVP is given custom privileges and opportunities to celebrate how special they are.

Monday: The weekend before a student is the MVP of the Week, a small photo album will be sent home with the child. Students have the weekend to collect special photos of their choice to display on our MVP of the Week bulletin board.

Tuesday: The MVP student brings one of his or her favorite picture books to read to the class (or have the teacher read to the class) at our Drop Everything and Read time. I encourage students to practice reading the story aloud at home first.

Wednesday: Parents are asked to write a letter to the class about their child. They send the letter in a sealed envelope to school with their child, and I read the letter to the class at morning meeting. The content of the letter is up to the parents, but I give them the following ideas:

Describe a special or funny story about your child for the class to hear.

Tell us some interesting things we may not know about your child.

Tell us how much your child weighed as a baby, did they have hair, did they cry a lot, etc.

Parents are also given the option of sending in a video of their child at a special event: learning to ride a bike, first time ice-skating, singing and dancing, and playing soccer are just a few ideas that the class would love to watch.

Thursday: Parents are invited to join their child in the cafeteria for a special lunch on this day. If parents are unable to make it during our lunch period, I plan a special lunch for the student instead.

Friday: The MVP student is presented with a friendship poster created by his or her classmates. The poster will include the MVP’s picture, surrounded by compliments written by his or her classmates.

I use these two sided colored sticks to keep track of who has been chosen for our MVP of the week.