These are a part of my behavior management plan. The student can earn tickets in class. 100% papers, doing a classroom job, returning things in a timely fashion, good behavior, etc. will earn tickets. Once they have earned a ticket I will never take them back. I do reserve the right to remove the privelege of earning future tickets if a situation warrants it. Once a student has earned 10 tickets, they may turn them in for a treat. The treat varies during the year. I usually have candy, school supplies, stickers, etc. available. The students can only turn in tickets right before lunch and at the end of the day. Some students like to turn them in as soon as they collect ten. Some like to save them to see how many they can collect. Either way is acceptable.

Our new Math series contains assignments called Home Links. These are homework, and you'll probably see a few of them a week. I very rarely assign any other "homework" . Students are given time to work on assignments in class. If the students do not complete assignments during class, then they are expected to take them home to complete them. If students use their time wisely in class they will probably have little, if any, homework during the week.

Don't worry, we're not training heavyweights in class. This is another part of my behavior management plan. Each week the students get a new punch card. There are 3 "punches" available each day for problems or misbehavior.
1st punch = a warning
2nd punch = miss 5 minutes of recess
3rd punch = miss entire recess
A trip to the office and/or a phone call home may accompany the third punch dependent on the problem.

The first reason would be getting 3 punches on their punch card. The second reason involves homework. If, for any reason, a student shows up with missing or incomplete homework they stay in for recess that day to complete it. If they complete the assignment before recess is over, they may go outside for the remaining recess time.

Each morning I check homework assignments. If everyone has turned in all assignments, the class earns a "mark." When they collect 10 marks they earn something special- a movie, pizza party, kickball game, etc. For each round of 10 marks, students get 3 strikes. If they forget their homework, or have incomplete homework they get a strike. If they get 3 strikes before we earn 10 marks, they cannot participate in the special event. They will go to the hallway or another classroom and work. Each time a new round of collecting 10 marks starts, the students also start over with their 3 strikes.

I don't think it's any secret I do love all things Harry Potter. I only use the Harry Potter house names to organize groups in class. It makes it a bit more interesting than calling them "group 1" and "group 2". Each grading period we have a friendly House Cup contest. Groups earn points by turning in assignments on time and doing a good job in class. Winning teams get a treat at the end of the grading period.

Yes. Students can correct and return D and F papers. I will regrade them and average the two grades together. The only exceptions are tests and quizzes.

All the students' graded papers are kept in their Friday Folders during the week. These folders are taken home on the last day of the week. There is a signature paper for parents to verify they have seen the folder and papers. The signed Friday Folders come back on Monday.

We use the student planner to try and help the kids stay organized. The students are asked to fill them out near the end of each day. They then take them home each day and share that information with families. They do not need to be signed, but do need to come back to school the following day. The student planner can be a bit overwhelming for some students. While I hope all students are using it effectively, it is not something I constantly monitor. That responsibility falls on the student.

Stay At School folders shouldn't leave the classroom. They help keep the kids' desks clean and organized (at least in theory!). Take Home folders go home every day. This is the folder to take home newsletters and homework. Friday Folders only go home and the end of the week and come back to school at the beginning of the week.

Email and phone calls can be made at any time. Visit the Contacts page for that information. I am usually available at school from 8:00-8:30 a.m.; 10:10-10:50 a.m.; and 3:20-3:30 p.m.

Don't worry, Big Brother is being held at bay. The numbers coincide with their alphabetical order. If your student is # 5, that means they are the 5th name on my class roster. This number helps me keep papers, grades and classroom materials organized.

Ummm... yes.