On a Positive Note...

I believe in positive behavior motivation.  Do I think it works with everyone, everytime--no. What I have learned is that we all love to be encouraged, liked, cheared, loved, connected to, and so I therefore I believe it works MOST of the time. If we make a personal connection with our students and make them feel that we are on their side then in the end we will see the results that we want to see. 

Here are a few ways ( notice I said few--you have to change your game sometimes to get more student participation especially later in the year) that I encourage positive behaviors in my classroom:



Get caught being good and get your name on the BINGO board
( Found out right away that Bingo excites more than our senior citizens- who knew) 





Clip-Up Chart ( Behavior Management system)  Great way to focus on positive behaviors--moving students up
can motivate others to do the right thing. Would like to eventually make my own chart but based on the same idea.

 



Class Reward Marble Jar!  My students love earning WHOLE- class rewards. 
Filling the jar means "Party Time".

 



Morning Meeting!
My students loved this !  (I wasn't sure at first how this would go
over with my students but was so excited about the results).  Two to three times a week, my students would meet in front of the room and we would go over class rules, formally greet one another ( hand shake) while askng "How Are You'?  Students then had the chance to share any bad news or good news in their lives.  I then asked the question of the day For Example: " What do you want to be when you are grown up"? Finally we would rate ourselves on our meeting behaviors.  Overall, this helped students share something about their life, their emotional state for the day, their fears, their dreams, and most importantly they were able to share something about themselves in a safe environment.