Daily Brag:
I was challenged at the beginning of my teaching journey to do a "daily brag". I am keeping my eye out for a child that just gets it right for the day, or for a student who shows the most improvement over a certain period of time. When I pick my bragger for the day, I walk the student out to their parents/guardian and "brag" on the student for their behavior. I take the time to introduce myself (if I haven't ever met them before), spend a few minutes letting them know that I enjoy their child in my classroom, and I offer any assistance I can to ensure that their child succeeds in my classroom. This gives the opportunity build rapport with the parent. AND, if you successfully get the parent to understand that you are there for the success of their child, they will be behind you if you ever have to go to them with a behavioral problem. Every time that I have done this, I have had great success.
Now--A word of caution. Remember to be conscious of your nonverbal communication as you walk the student to their parents. I have had an instance where it appeared that I was upset with the child when I wasn't. The person who said something to me about it didn't know what I was doing and they assumed that the student was in trouble (which is easily understood because most of the time when a teacher is standing with a student at the end of the day it is to gripe about something). SO BE CAREFUL!!! And always, always smile!!! :)
The other thing that I have started doing with my daily brag is the daily brag grab bag. You will see below what it is and what I do with it.
Daily Brag Grab Bag
The students know that I am looking for the ALL STAR STUDENT of the day. Since I have added the "grab bag" feature, my classroom behavior has been much better. I select my student at the end of the day, and the children look forward to who will be picked. I have made some coupons that the students randomly select and then they are awarded with a prize. This is a great idea because the awards DO NOT COST THE TEACHER A THING!!!!!! I just printed these out on colorful construction paper. I also put a spot for the day that I awarded it and a spot for who awarded it. These can be used all year long, so if the students want to "hoard" them until the end of the school year...that is fine with me! ALSO...they are not transferable to another student. Below is a list of the rewards that I chose to use. I will also give more suggestions that can be used...but if you are using this then YOU can make up WHATEVER you want!
Rewards I chose:
-Have You Had Your Break Today? Pass (Enjoy a hassle-free restroom and drink break anytime YOU, YES YOU decide.)
-FREE Homework Pass (Never, not ever redeemable on a test--sorry!)
-Teacher's Chair Pass (Swap chairs with the teacher for the day--aahhh!) <--The children LOVE this one! Not only are they sitting in the "teacher" chair...the teacher is sitting in the students chair.
-Have a Soda Pass (Bring a drink of your choice to enjoy during class--drink must have a lid. Refreshing!)
-Tasty Treat Pass (Bring a snack and a drink to enjoy during class. A delicious pick-me-up during a hard day's work)
-Livin' the Good Life Pass (Only do half of a lesson, ANY lesson. Choose wisely!)
-Bonus Point Bonanza Pass (10 extra bonus points to be applied to any assignment of your choosing.)
-Buddy Pass (Work with a buddy on classwork. Hey--2 heads are better than one!)
Other options:
-Open Book Test Pass (Any subject, any test, it's perfectly legal, do not feel guilty.)
-Drop the Bomb Pass (Drop the lowest A.R. reading test score of your choice.)
-Correction Protection Pass (Enjoy 1 day to say, "Thanks, but No Thanks" to doing your homework corrections.)
-Grace and Mercy Pass (For that 1 time you forgot to take your homework home.)
-iPod Pass (Bring an iPod or walkman with headphones and your favorite music to listen to during work time. Music must be appropriate for school, of course.)
-Read the Hour Away Pass (Read your favorite book, for an hour while everyone else is working! ***Note: You'll still be responsible for turning in the work for the next day. NOT REDEEMABLE ON TESTS)
I believe that this is all that I have for this post. I hope that I might have inspired you to try something new! Thanks for sticking with me today and I hope to see you again soon. Remember.....if you like what you see, tell me about it in the comments section and tell your friends about the blog....if you don't like what you see, tell you friends you saw this idea on another blog! :)
Have a BLESSED day!
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