An Elementary Teacher's Best Friend (One of Many)

In college I was discouraged from using extrensic rewards (such as candy) to motivate my students. And it is true that intrinsic motivation, or that which comes from within, is often a more powerful and long-lasting force. However, I was made to believe that (in a nutshell) verbal praise = good, candy = evil.

Back in August, I longed to stick to my ideal pedagogy of helping students to develop and harness their inner desire to learn and do what's right without "bribery" (as it was often deemed in my university studies). I struggled with the contrast of inward vs. outward sources of motivation. But it didn't take me long to learn. Intrinsic motivation is idealistic. Extrensic is realistic. And while verbal praise is a highly effective student motivator, it does not need to be made an enemy of extrensic inspiration.

As it turns out the "dark side" of motivation isn't as shadowy as I'd thought. There is a difference between using a prize/candy as a bargaining tool and using it as a reward for a job well done. If you think about it, most everyone in our society is given a return for effort and hard work. We adults have paid jobs. And how many of us would really work for free?
(Is pure intrinsic motivation truly possible in practice?)

I've come to realize that as long as students maintain an understanding of the fact that candy (or whatever it may be) is not the reason for doing what is right - it is one of the perks for choosing to do what is right regardless, then all is well. The expectations are already in place, but those who choose to challenge themselves are rewarded. Both incentives and verbal praise can help students' inward motivation to stay alive and thriving.

So, to my fellow first year teachers: Candy in the classroom is not so bad. And it doesn't take much. You'll be amazed how much motivation a third grader can muster up for a M&M or two ;)

Morning Duty

This morning as the cars of parents are dropping off their kids for school, a first grade boy opens the door of his dad's trash laden truck. He's a tiny little thing which makes him a bit clumsy. So he drags his feet as he's climbing out of the truck, causing all of the trash from the floorboard of the pickup to fall to the pavement below. His father smiles, then hollers, "Thanks for cleanin' out the truck!" and drives away ...leaving behind an impressive pile of McDonalds cups, coke cans, and school papers (possibly with this year's report card in the mix).


Thanks Mr. T for telling me this hilarious story :)

Secrets

Me: "I'm just not sure I can trust you to keep a secret."

Student: "I can keep secrets! I have some right now...and I'm keeping 'em. ...Three of them."

Exactly.

Compliment Corner

More than anything else, it seems, I find myself teaching my students how to be polite and respectful (somewhere in between I teach math and reading too). We have consistently focused on using kind words. You wouldn't believe how cruel my third graders can be. After years of elementary school, they have managed to learn the difference between 'right' and 'wrong' (mostly), but have failed to understand the contrast of 'kind' and 'rude' behaviors. They have very limited experience learning how to deal with their frustration/anger in a positive way, and even less practice actually reaching out to encourage others, just for the sake of being nice. In an effort to extend our many conversations on the issue, I introduced 'Compliment Corner' - a place where they can practice giving meaningful, genuinely kind words to one another. Instead of always finding surface level things to say, for example "I like your shirt"; we are working on finding more "special" ways to compliment our peers.
Each student has their own mini envelope with their name written on it. Students use small slips of notebook paper to write thoughtful notes about the positive behaviors they notice in others. There has only been one instance in which a student chose to write a hateful note and deposit it in someone's envelope, and I took the opportunity to nip that in the bud real quick. Overall, Compliment Corner is proving to be a very sweet addition to our classroom :) I think it is helping to build friendships and a positive environment (we all know students learn better if they feel secure!).
After the first week, my students demanded that I add an envelope for myself. Below are two notes I received the other day - one brought a smile and the other, a bit of laughter...

Winding Down

After an entire sleeve of Thin Mints (thank you Girl Scouts) and a tall glass of milk, I think relaxation is finally setting in :)
It's been a long week, working extra late on both Tuesday and Thursday for parent-teacher conferences, speaking spanish to the point of mental exhaustion.
Proof that my mind has just about turned to mush: About an hour ago I went to the fridge to refill my milk, and the carton was MIA. After searching for a bit, I thought I was losing my mind. It turns out I was. I decided to retrace my steps exactly from where I'd originally filled my glass... This is where my carton of milk finally turned up.

Wow.
I mean, I was honestly flabbergasted.

All You Need is LOVE

Most teachers I've encountered feel class parties equate to extra large headaches. I, on the other hand, disagree :) I have warm memories of the various class parties I experienced growing up, especially on Valentine's Day. Naturally, I attempted to recreate my experience verbatim with my third graders this year.

I wanted my students to decorate shoeboxes to hold their Valentine cards JUST as I had when I was younger. So, I stocked up on stickers of all sorts (both of the shiny and foamy variety) and I utilized the heart-shaped dicut in our workroom to provide red, white, and purple paper hearts for decoration. I also tore off large sheets of colored butcher paper for us to wrap the boxes in.

Now, I must say wrapping 19 shoeboxes in butcher paper was a bit more time-consuming than I'd envisioned (taking a full 45 minutes of class time). Thankfully a few of my students have experience wrapping Christmas gifts. Between the three of us, we were able to assist those who were a bit more...shall we say..."challenged" by the task.

This experience made me thankful to have third graders - any younger and I would have been pre-wrapping each box on my own… which I wouldn't have consented myself to do… which would have meant no decorated shoeboxes for VDay :(
Yay third grade!

When all the wrapping was finished, I cut a mail slot in the top of each box for special deliveries to be inserted. Finally, (my favorite part) each box was personalized with a slew of VDay decor! The more gaudy the box, the better!!
Afterwards, I lined up our handmade mailboxes in a row, and we were ready for business.
Valentines were passed out, and we had a spread of sugary sweets to stuff our bellies with while we enjoyed opening our cards!

The kids really loved their mailboxes, and I'm so glad we took the time to create them :) However, next year there are a few things I will choose to do differently:
1. Make the mailboxes during the first week of February instead of two days before VDay. This way students have two full weeks to bring their Valentines to school to be delivered - avoiding a mad rush of students cramming cards into boxes as I experienced on VDay this year…
2. Save empty Kleenex boxes to use instead of shoeboxes. I have another teacher in my building to thank for this fantastic idea! Using old tissue boxes not only promotes recycling, but it insures all of my students will have a box to decorate (Lord knows we go through PLENTY of tissue boxes from August to February!). This year, only about 5 of my students showed up with shoeboxes from home. Luckily, some kids brought an extra box or two; and I was able to scrounge some old tissue boxes from other teachers to supplement what we lacked. Also, Kleenex boxes have a pre-cut hole for mail - genius!

My third graders did not neglect an opportunity to butter me on up this holiday… I don't know if I have ever been so spoiled with VDay gifts. I guess those little boogers do have a sweet side ;)

Steps to a Successful Bulletin Board

1. Cover the area with a gigantic sheet of colored butcher paper.
And find a good friend to help you :) [Thanks B!] Simultaneous stapling and positioning of the paper can prove to be quite challenging on your own.

2. Decide on a creative phrase to define your theme.
(Heads up - following is an important tip) Laminate whole pieces of cardstock paper first, then di-cut the individual letters from the pre-laminated paper. Doing it this way will save you so much time and effort! If you've ever spent time cutting out each individual letter from a sheet of lamination then you can understand how valuable this piece of advice is.

3. Tap into your artistic side and muster up something cutesy to stand as a central focus for the display.
If you're not very artistic or simply don't have the energy, purchase something pre-made at Dollar Tree. (More on the goodness of DT in a future post.)

4. Laminate anything and everything you can before it is displayed.
In my opinion, this is a must. Well, at least for those of who plan to save their bulletin board creations and rehang them next year. Do yourself a favor - reuse. And don't think you'll get away with preserving anything you choose to hang in the hallway if it has not been sealed with the protection of laminate. Elementary students looove to run their hands along the hallway walls when then think their teacher isn't watching. If they happen to tear or damage something in the act, it doesn't phase them one bit.

5. Don't neglect the details!
Finding the "just right" position for this snowman's arms was quite fun :) B and I felt this particular stance was very diva-esque. I imagined the snowman saying "hoollleer!" in a very sorority girlish tone of voice. (I'm easily entertained.)

6. No bulletin board is complete without trimmer.
Trimmer is like a nice belt. Imagine, if you will, a man wearing slacks and a collared shirt. Without a belt, he looks presentable. With a belt, he looks professional.
(Did I just pull that analogy out of thin air? Yes. But I'm going with it!)
7. Student work is what makes a bulletin board SPECIAL!
Making your students a part of the design is possibly the most important step. If their work or creation is integrated somehow into the display it makes them feel good! It also grows pride for their quality of work, and lets them know that you think their effort is important.
Each snowflake on this bulletin board was made by my students after we learned about the lifework of Snowflake Bentley. (And, yes, I laminated them too.)
(The snowflakes, not the students.)


A special thank you to BK for her help creating this wintery display! Work is always more fun with friends :)