Star of the Week

Today I had a new student join my class and I am so proud of my "originals" haha. The group did a really wonderful job of explaining all of the different incentive programs I use daily to encourage everyone and by the end of the day I feel like he just fit right in. Fantastic day!

There are two things I want to share today...
First up, the old "Star of the Week" routine. I thought earlier in the year about eliminating this "position" from my classroom - the students didn't seem to really care about it. Instead, I created "Star of the Week" reflection pages. I know, I can hear you yawning from here. Here are a couple samples:

I'm sure it's self-explanatory, but the rhyme reads: "Grade two helps me learn and grow! Here is something I now know." On the top is a note for families. Easy peasy. Click the images if you would like a copy. Here is how I use it as a display:

{I had to ask the Arabic teacher if I could steal part of her bulletin board! There are only two in my room and the other is dedicated to our clock display for the time unit...} I LOVE that this student brought in a baby picture of himself {he looks the exact same!} AND that he wrote about the three states of water for what he has learned in grade two. I'm getting through to them - hurrah! On the top, I use a sign I printed from Technology Rocks. Seriously that the kids are all really excited about: "You Rock because..." I think it has renewed the "Star of the Week" ideal and I'm happy about that.

Next up, the latest whole-class incentive program. Last time, I made a paper birthday cake with twenty candles on it. Every time the class was working well {listening, contributing to discussion, walking in a straight line - yep, something we have to practice daily. It's tedious but they are getting it!} I would "light" a candle. It took a LONG time but we finally had our "birthday party" a couple weeks ago. You can read about it here. This time, I decided to cater more specifically to the boys in my classroom since the girls I have are actually the sweetest students ever. I made this and laminated the pieces: 

I just tape on the matching black patch as I did the birthday candles. They have three spaces covered after two days! When they are filled we will enjoy a class soccer game. How do you present whole-class incentives? I'll be looking for the next great idea after this one!

Take care, all!

I can't forget to send out a HUMONGOUS THANK YOU to my new followers! It's so nice to see people reading my blogs :) Thanks for the support!

- Amanda