PBIS Boot Camp First Grade Style

This is a late post, but one I really wanted to make sure I shared!!! Back in December, my team was asked to discuss initiatives to improve some of our identified behaviors.  We are a PBIS school and we are continuously working to reinforce our expectations.  We chatted about a boot camp and decided the first week back after Winter Break, was the prime time to hold it!!! 

My wonderful and talented teammate Stephanie took the green light and began planning!!! She ordered rewards, created schedules of the topics we would cover, planned the rotations, and even put together an Animoto showcasing Cafeteria expectations, starring my team!!!

What went well?

Our enthusiasm and commitment! We greeted students that first day in full "military" gear and about 98% of our firsties were on board to becoming First Grade cadets. 

How did it look?

The rotations were great. We have four teachers and we each took an expectation. Students rotated through and every first grader heard the same thing! Rotations were 20 minutes long and were repeated at the end of the week. The four major expectations that were showcased in the rotations were Hallway focus, Arrival, Dismissal, & Bathroom.  Each class covered classroom expectations individually. We also viewed the first grade teachers starring in the Cafeteria Expectations video, as individual classrooms. We gathered together in the gym and practiced Assembly Focus! Students had paper dog tags with each expectation, as the week progressed and students demonstrated their competence, they received a punch.  

How did we evaluate the success?

Students who had all their punches, graduated during our closing ceremonies that Friday!  At the closing ceremony, each graduating cadet was invited to the front of the room. They received official PBIS dog tags, as well as a camo pencil and bracelet.  In my class, 80% of my students graduated!!!

What would I do differently?

Try to incorporate the teaching of expectations even more! Including assignments and more hands on experiments.  More videos of the teachers!  The kids loved those! I would also create a plan for those students who don't graduate, allowing them the opportunity to also get all their punches in order to receive their real dog tags.

I loved that we set the stage and our firsties were engaged!!! This will definitely be an annua experience!!!

Twin Tuesday

We are back and excited to share with you a look at Classroom Management at the beginning of the year!  I will share my First Grade perspective and my twin (aka Molly) will share the Kinder perspective over at Miss K's Little Rays.

The beginning of First Grade is COMPLETELY different then the end.  And I am sure I am not the only First Grade teacher who will tell you, that it is hard to remember until you are smack dab in the midst of it!  I mean they leave you little learners who read and are gaining their independent wings.  Then Fall rolls around, and the new firsties arrive and you are like WHAT!!!  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE every aspect of new firsties, as much as I love every aspect of the soon to be second graders...it is just a whole different world!

Classroom Management is always a work in progress!  However, at the beginning of First Grade I try to take the approach of being a little tougher, yet with a soft side.  For 80% of my students they know our school expectations, which is FANTASTIC!  However, it is necessary for a great review of them, as well as my personal expectations!!!

Our school's expectations are Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be Responsible (Yes, we are a PBIS school!) So we start off the year, with what these look like and sound like!!! We always start with RESPECT!  It is our Core Value for the months of August and September and so VERY important!!!

We use our school PBIS matrix to discuss all the areas of the school, and what these expectations look like.  This year, I tried to be more thoughtful in my planning and repeated teaching of these expectations and so far that has paid off!!!  One thing with firsties, expectations can be boring!  I mean "they are big kids now" and they know the expectations, but knowing and showing are TWO completely different things.  **REFLECTION MOMENT...this is an area that I want to tackle this summer!  Making re-teaching of the expectations more fun and exciting!!!  A themed activity of course!!!  

I also roll out the Dojo's!!!  Most of our kiddos used them for a portion of Kinder, so it isn't new! However, teaching them ownership of their Dojo's is a First Grade skill!  We talk about what we should receive Dojo's for and choose their pictures together.  We also discuss what behaviors might require myself or another teacher to take away a Dojo!  As the year progresses, we will start giving ourselves our own Dojo's, both positive and negative.

This year we are off to a great start!  However, as we all know CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT is an on-going issue.  We are always tweaking and spicing it up.  As teachers we all know we have to do this because there is always a holiday around the corner, a drastic change in the weather, or a FULL moon that is out their messing with our kiddos and getting them all sorts of CRAZY!!!

This is a little bit of how we do it in FIRST GRADE!!! What do you do in First Grade to manage your firsties?  Leave me a comment and let me know!!! And if you are a KINDER teacher (or not, because really she is so fabulous everyone will want to read her post) head over to Miss K's Little Ray's and check out her take!!!!!