Last year around this time, Matt Uselton mentioned in a meeting that WWE wrestling was coming to town. After a few phone calls, WWE Superstar, Sheamus came to Jackson and inspired our kids to "Be a Star." In a casual conversation in the cafeteria, a few teachers were talking about how crazy our students were for Takis. We ordered a bag for every student in the school who worked hard on their SOLs; over 500 bags!
Now's the time to brainstorm what we're going to do to top last year. I think we're already planning to do some really exciting things like "The Harlem Shake" this Friday and we're starting to plan a pep rally for when we return from spring break. What else can we do? All ideas are welcome...
Food still seems to be the number one motivator in the classroom. I often use peppermints for recall for the previous day’s topic, for upper level critical level thinking or questions or even for a student who has struggled with self-control and finally has a successful day. One of the advantages to having the students graph their grades in a linear graph has been to give them a clear visual in their progress or problems. I have heard comments like: “I really had a hard time the first of the 9 wks., but I really improved the last part” or “I never went below 80 except for one quiz”. One student even asked to show Mr. Shepherd her graph.
ReplyDeleteI tried another food motivator that worked really well, but it can get expensive. For each topic, I created a short quiz that required higher Bloom’s questions. Students had to make 90 or better to receive an apple. They could only take the quiz one time and the grade was not recorded for this quiz. They were surprisingly very enthusiastic about doing this.
I also offer packs of crackers part way through a tutorial. Students are aware of this and they are present and pay attention knowing that if they come in to play they will not be fed.
Our students really need to learn that working rather than handouts will be their key to success and nothing should come free.