On another note, with Classroom DOJO so up and coming, I am curious how other teachers use DOJO's in their classrooms. It goes without saying, that Class DOJO has been a life saver this year and I am so sick of the clip chart system, or colored cards. This is a new day and age and students don't respond to the clip chart anymore! Out with the old, and in with the DOJO! Anywho, not sure if any other teacher feels like I do, but I hate giving out negative DOJO's...and my students know this. They have even written stories about me- "Ms. Wilfert loves giving out DOJO's, but she HATES taking them away!" It's a fact, I love showering my students with positive reinforcement, and I hate taking their points away. Of course, you will have the students that don't do their homework (minus 3 DOJO's) or the students that use undafe classroom behavior (minus 4 DOJO's) or the students that are off task (minus 1 DOJO) with which you almost HAVE to take the DOJO's away to let them know that they weren't making the best choices at that point in time. BUT, again, like my students said, "Ms. Wilfert LOVES giving out DOJO's!" So I wanted to share with you today, a fun and effective tool that I use daily to help reinforce positive behavior without taking DOJO's away.
This fun and easy tool is simply called, "Knock Ms. Wilfert's Socks Off!" I have a small pocket chart hanging below my Smart Board (only because space is limited, and it is a very reachable and accessible place for students. I have a pocket for each student and all of their names are listed. Here is a picture...
Every day, we start with a clean pocket chart. My classroom assistant knows to clean it out at the end of each day... (I love this age where they LOVE having important roles in the classroom, which means one less thing that I have to do!)
If the students do something that goes above and beyond what is expected of them, then I tell them very simply, "I love how you are _______, will you knock my socks off?" OR "I love how you _____________, that is totally something that knocks my socks off!" And then they know that once they hear those 4 magical words, they go to the pocket chart and put a shape in their pocket. Why a shape you ask? Mostly because it was what I had on hand when I thought of the idea, and they fit perfectly in the pockets, so I guess- why waste my time making something else if these cute little shapes work so perfectly?!
Here is what the pocket chart starts to look like throughout the day...
Now, if a student is doing something undesirable, I can simply say "Is that something that would knock my socks off?" And from there, the student immediately knows to quit, and therefore I don't have to be a DOJO drill sergeant and take TONS of DOJO's away for minor things. Lets face it- kids will be kids, you just need to know how to level with them. Also, if a student knocked my socks off throughout the day, they never want to lose their shape, so they usually are on their best behavior. Now...why do they not want to lose their shape, you ask? Well...at the very end of the day, I reward each student who went ABOVE AND BEYOND by knocking my socks off, with 2 DOJO Points...
I do this at the end of the day, whole group, on the big screen, and students LOVE to see their points go up! Now, it doesn't stop there! After I reward the students that earned it with their points, I then have a random drawing with just those students that knocked my socks off! You simply press the "Random" button on the screen, and the DOJO will randomly select a student. If that student has a shape in their pocket, they win! If the DOJO selects a student with no shape, then we hit 'Random" again, until it lands on someone with a shape.
Once a student who has a shape has been selected, they win a prize! I usually buy Double Bubble Bubble Gum, Starburst, or Hershey Kisses. Just something quick, small, and easy. Honestly, I don't think it's about the candy, really, I think they love the excitement of the drawing more than anything.
And there you have it! I only give out negative DOJO's when absolutely necessary, and I use this fabulous tool throughout the day to help promote POSITIVE behavior! Out with the negative, in with the positive. How do YOU use DOJO's in YOUR classroom? Please feel free to share below!
Thanks for reading!
