I was surprised to see that students were already straying from the morning routine as they came in today. I guess it should be expected - these are kids, not robots - but I found myself getting frustrated. What is so hard about coming in, unpacking, and doing the warm-up? It seems like it should come naturally, right?! Wrong. I repeat - these are kids, not robots. To encourage students to get on task, my teacher suggested walking around the room and putting stars on the papers of children who were doing what they were supposed to do. These stars indicated that the student would get a Charactergram (a school wide positive reinforcement tool) for doing what they were supposed to do. As the others realized what was going on, a ripple effect occurred and everybody quickly caught on to what they were supposed to be doing. I was shocked and impressed by this simple technique that allowed me to get the class under control without having to reprimand and remind students.
We spent most of the day going over more procedures for the class, mostly focusing on the nightly reading log that students will be working on every night (including Fridays!) this year. They were given explicit directions about the reading log was to be completed and how to choose appropriate reading material - no cartoons and baby books, lots of chapter books and Newbery winners.
