No P.A.W.ing Allowed (Classroom Management Tip)

This year, in our upper grade classrooms we are trying something new. We are going to rotate our 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students for three 80 minutes periods for the foundation classes: Reading, Writing/LA, and Math. The rest of the day will be used for science, social studies, art, and music. We will also do a bi-weekly rotation of mixed grades for PE and Health/Character Ed.

As upper grade teachers, we are very excited about this change. Not only has it forced us to address some common issues in our classrooms, it has caused us to work closely together to come to a consensus on many things- like rules, procedures, report cards, grading, planners, consequences, etc. Thus, we will have a very cohesive plan in place that everyone agrees on. Consistency will be key in the many large changes we are planning to make.

We have been working weekly for up to three hours each meeting during the summer to get everything ready to go. We still have a lot to get done, but we are really making some good headway!

I will be sharing our final outcomes over the next few weeks, as well as some of the posters, etc, we will be using (at least the ones that I created and feel I have the right to share with you!).

Today, I wanted to start with the one pictured above. I LOVE this. Our 5th grade teacher said that he started using this last year with several students on the advice of our school counselor. For some, it may not be new, but for me it is exciting and a refreshing way to approach those problematic students that want to pout, argue, and/or whine.  To get this poster, click HERE.

Then, I had a brainstorm (usually I just get flash flooding, so this was exciting!):

I have several of these posters up in my classroom (a tour is coming as soon as my room finds some resemblance of organization- we have been meeting in my classroom and I am waiting for its annual cleaning so I can start setting up the room). But, even with the posters on the walls, I wanted a way to let those few little stinkers know that they are on the verge of a serious problem. Hence, I also created a sheet with 6 mini posters (shown above) on it so I can simply set a card on the desk of a student who is in violation, or is PAWing, if you will. That way I can avoid the power struggle, and they get the message that they need to get their act together.

I am excited to try this out. It should work great! If you would like to download this set of six, click HERE.

I made several other versions of this sign, but this is the one I liked the most. Hope you can find a use for this idea and/or the posters.

If you do download, leave a comment so I know you were here.

Later...