Reward Good Behavior....Pirate Style

I have had a slow start this school year. Printers not working, copy machine stalling out, laminator issues...none of this is any one's fault, it is just a steady stream of blockades.

Today I am sharing my positive pirate reward system that I have slooooooooowly put together!

First I changed my classroom expectations to be shorter and more to the point. I borrowed these from Cindy Golden, author of The Special Educator's Toolkit.

Hallway expectations are posted  and removable, this makes it easier to display and review with students just before they walk out the door. I do this EVERY TIME.  Now they tell and SHOW me what it says.

I found this punch card on Teacher pay Teachers. Unfortunately, I cannot locate it to give the seller credit at this moment. The treasure boxes are marked with a star as the students shows positive behavior during their school day. When the card is full, their pirate moves up 2 steps on the treasure map.

The students choose and color a pirate to represent themselves on the map.

This map is on the back of two file cabinets sitting side by side. The pirates have magnets on the back making them easy to move.

At the top of the map is the Treasure Chest.

This has been a fun and motivating way to reward behavior. The treasure is composed of a wide variety of objects mostly coming from yard sales and thrift stores. There is only one of many of these items, so students are allowed to choose their favorite  and it is placed into a bag with their name. This gives them a more tangible goal.

I hope this gives you some new ideas, please comment and let me know some of your ideas,

Paula

Five for Friday...March 28, 2014.....The Special Educator's Toolkit.....making changes!

Join us in linking up with Doodle Bugs !

Thanks to the assistance of Cindy Golden's The Special Educator's Toolkit, I have been restructuring my classroom. My most recent changes:

ONE

Transition/Waiting Area
Our classroom has visuals to mark where to line up when they prepare to leave the classroom. However, if everyone is not ready at the same time (and let's be real, there are always doddlers), the standing in line thing does not last very long! So I created a waiting area with the expectations posted.

TWO

Cool Down Area
Sometimes students have trouble controlling their behavior. There is a need for a place to cool down in. It should be free of distractions with minimal visual clutter. Items to include in this area may be: Cool down steps, social stories, a timer, a choice of sensory items to help the student become independent in becoming calm. the area should also be easily seen by staff.

THREE

Organizing the Walls and Teaching Boards

Dr. Golden recommends cutting back on the visual clutter and making the walls useful. Each area should have visual clues as to the area's function.  The OMAC system renames the decorative bulletin boards as teaching boards. She suggests devoting the wall area to the subject: reading, math, social skills and so on using basic visual supports that is helpful to the students. Another idea is to make the walls interactive.

This wall has been for decoration all year, cute, but not serving any purpose. The class was ready for words, so creating a word wall in this big space seemed logical. In just two weeks it has been useful for learning high frequency words and a spelling resource when we are writing.

FOUR

"In terms of "purposeful decor", consider traffic signs to help arrange your classroom. Students with autism spectrum disorders do not generalize skills well, so this is a tremendous opportunity to use signs such as Stop, Yield, Danger, Phone, Bathroom, Enter, and Exit. Because these are typical symbols found in the real world, these signs help students reintegrate into society."
Cindy Golden
The Special Educator's Toolkit

One of my students pointed out that the girl and boy are on the wrong side! This is our bathroom checkout poster, I will probably end up fixing it.

FIVE

Spent a fun day with our grand daughter this week! 

I went into the plastic maze at Carl's Jr. with her first......

Then passed the torch to her Aunt! She got to do more exploring with her! 

and that's my week,

Talk later,

Paula

See previous posts inspired by The Special Educator's Toolkit:

January 7, 2014: The Introduction
February 15, 2014: The Classroom Environment
February 24, 2014: Classroom Traffic Flow and Setting up Boundaries

Professional Development on Veteran's Day...Linking with Doodle Bugs....and a Moose!

Doodle Bugs Teaching

ONE

I didn't get around to linking with Doodle Bugs this weekend, so I'm catching up on Veteran's Day or more accurately, night! Our school district cleverly gave the students the holiday off and set us up with a Professional Development Day. Sunday we finally had some serious snow fall and I had to get up extra early to prepare and get to the PD meeting on time.

It had rained before it started snowing...so the doors were frozen shut...

TWO

Our district has grown so large that when we all get together, parking can be a problem. Today we had to walk a little ways to get to the meeting place. It's a scenic path!

THREE

The speaker, Tricia McKale Skyles presented the STOIC framework. She is very entertaining, using humor to help get the point across. The three hours went quickly!

STOIC  stands for: 

Structure the environment for success

Teach expectations

Observe ( monitor, supervise)

Interact positively (build relationships and provide positive feedback)

Correct fluently (calmly, consistently, immediately, respectfully)

One of my favorite quotes from Ms. Skyles today:

Arguing with a kid is like mud wrestling with a pig, both of you get dirty, and the pig loves it.

She said she heard it in Kentucky.

FOUR

As I was driving into my driveway, I was met with a welcome sight...

FIVE

Last, but certainly not least, I want to thank my dad for his service to this great country. 

 This is dad and my little sister a while back : )

love you Dad!

Paula