Starting school: New rules and procedures!

Starting school is exciting! It is also a time for students to learn new rules and procedures from their teachers.  These rules and procedures will help students have a smooth and successful day.  It could be anything from "how to sharpen your pencil" to "how to walk in the hallway".   The questions teachers ask themselves is....how do I encourage my students to follow these rules and procedures?  This is where Class Dojo can help!  Class Dojo is a behavior management tool online where teachers can award students points for positive behavior.  The best part is it is free!!!  WOOHOO!!!  Teachers can take attendance, award points, and even run reports on behavior.  Parents can use a code to sign in and check how their child is doing in class.  Students can even get a code to check their own behavior and design a personal aviatar to be displayed with the class.  So take a few minutes and head on over to Class Dojo and see how it can help.

Responsive Classroom

Murfreesboro City Schools uses Responsive Classroom for many reasons; classroom management, building community within the classroom, and introducing and practicing academic skills.  I was lucky enough to attend a Responsive Classroom 1 training this month led by trainer Edie Palomba.  We spent a very intense week learning how to frame a Morning Message and incorporate academic skills as we built community among the children.  You can find further information at www.responsiveclassroom.org.  I will be posting examples of Morning Messages that we developed during the training.

As you can see in today's training, the letter M was emphasized with a different color.  The linking verb "is" can be seen in a different color also.  This Morning Message is meant for a younger grade level, such as first grade.  It is in a simple format that repeats through the year.