Behavior Management: Always a Homerun!

Spring.  Birds are chirping, flowers are blooming and the grass is turning green.  As a Middle School teacher, naturally, my thoughts turn to.....

Behavior Management!!

As my students progress towards the end of the year, as rambunctious as a rowdy group of baseball fans, I've decided to run a Home run Derby in my class.  Combining a little bit of baseball, some tried and true behavior management techniques and a little bit of technology I've generated a little controlled excitement in my classroom!

 Here's how it works...

#1.  Each student is assessed through assessment sheet that measures their weekly classroom performance.  It rates them on Behavior, Materials, Participation and Homework.  Their goal is to keep it CLEAN each week.  If it's clean....that's a home run!!

Google Doc:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3AEouy2jvX5SEdySkluTXMwcmM/edit?usp=sharing

(Note:   ClassDojo is GREAT for monitoring student performance using technology.
For more on Class Dojo, see my livebinder

#2.  Students can earn additional home runs (baseball stickers) during the course of the week. They can place the stickers on their assessment sheet.

#3.  Students are combined into 'teams' (Groups of 3 or 4) and select their MLB 'team'....here's a great app for selecting.  (Decide Now)  I included every MLB Baseball Team, printed and laminated a logo for that team.

#4.  Students are then given this roster.  On the roster they must rank themselves based upon the likelihood that they will achieve home run(s) by the end of the week.

Google Doc:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3AEouy2jvX5aVlQRWdWSUlSZkk/edit?usp=sharing

#5.  You will note there are 6 spots for players.  Not every group has six students!  Here's where real life comes in.  Provide students with iPads.  Direct them to the statistics for their team.  Encourage them to evaluate player statistics and decide who the home run hitters are for their team.  Students can rank their MLB player in ANY slot.  If they rank them first AND that player hit 3 home runs during the week, they will earn 18 points.

#6.  I run my derby from Friday to Friday with a clean slate each Friday (and a chance to rearrange rosters).  Students decide upon rosters (using the roster sheet above) and points tally up throughout the course of the week.  The winning group earns prizes each Friday!!    

#7.  If you teach multiple classes, and added incentive is to create a total home run challenge....keep a running total of home run points earned by each class and reward the winning class!

To Tally Points

 For the BRAVE TechEd Teacher, this Google Doc is a GREAT way to tally up stats.

Google Doc: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1ihm8mXs4koAK5q57k6XLyeS4xOH_49ywuBY4ufojra8/viewform?usp=send_form

#1.  Provide students with an iPad and the link to the form  (I like using a QR Code for this)

#2.  Allow students to work with their groups to enter their 'home runs' or their 'non-home runs'

#3 Use this spreadsheet to aggregate all of the data!  

Google Doc: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AnAEouy2jvX5dGpialpRWnQ5TUl6cnB2WlZCUm0wRHc&usp=sharing

• Enter teams and rosters into the Rosters and Scores tab
• Copy and paste assessment form data into the Assessment Form tab
• Copy and paste MLB statistics into the Weekly HR Data Tab
• Watch as the formulas automatically tally and total the scores
• Declare your winning group!!!

Scoring a home run is TRULY using Your Smarticles!!!

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Gladiator Style Classroom Management

The inspiration for this unique classroom management system came from my sons and the years of experience they have had playing battle games such as Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh. So, when I was faced with a particularly challenging set of behaviors in my Social Studies classroom AND we were about to study Ancient Rome, I decided to create my own interactive battle game using Gladiators.

Essentially the game is an incentive device whereby positive student behaviors are rewarded with 'coins'. The behaviors I focused on were turning in homework, being prepared, behaving and participating in class. Once students had collected several Roman coins, they were given the option to purchase a part of their Gladiator (arms, legs, helmet, shield, sword, attack points, defense points and health points). The objective for the students was to build the most powerful Gladiator that they could for the Gladiator Games to be held at the end of the marking period.


There was no promise, however, that the most prepared student would be the winner of the battles because the game inherently had a strategy built in. The items they purchased all had different values that applied to the attack, defense or health of their Gladiator. Students were able to select what to 'buy' and purchase it through a fulfillment station. They would then fill in their order forms and put their coin(s) in an envelope.

A Brief Look At The Point System

An Attack Sequence

Materials

Gladiator "Parts":  https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3AEouy2jvX5TG93RTRObmZkV1E/edit?usp=sharing


Gladiator Order Form  https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3AEouy2jvX5NXRadThac0dLNm8/edit?usp=sharing


Gladiator Attack Auto-Scoring (Excel)  https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3AEouy2jvX5OVZ3UXlKOEpjTlE/edit?usp=sharing


Now THAT's Using your Smarticles!!

Ancient Rome 

(QR Code Webquest)

Packet contains a QR driven webquest of Ancient Rome. It covers Rome from beginning to end. This works beautifully as a cooperative learning activity with iPad or other devices that can scan QR Codes. Packet can work as a webquest too, as each QR code corresponds with a website link that is included in the packet.

Packet contains a QR driven webquest of Ancient Rome. It covers Rome from beginning to end. This works beautifully as a cooperative learning activity with iPad or other devices that can scan QR Codes. Packet can work as a webquest too, as each QR code is hyperlinked.

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THIS ROME QR CODE WEBQUEST