Classroom Management Part Four: VIP Students!

V.I.P.

What does that mean to you when you hear that someone is a VIP?

Typically, I think of A-list celebrities and folks who have boatloads of cash. People our society deems "important." I also think of backstage passes to concerts. Generally, that's called a VIP pass, or something. Again, something society deems as "important."

I first saw the idea for this classroom management strategy on Instagram, and WISH I could remember who posted it and even came up with this fabulous idea. I know several of my teacher friends are implementing this in their classrooms, but I want to give credit where credit is due. If you are the originator of this idea, or know who is, and happen to be reading this. My props to you! This idea is fantastic. I love it and give you all of the credit for it! I can take none whatsoever.

That being said, I of course took it and ran with the idea, putting my own spin on it as I always do with anything I see. I would hope that's the mark of a good, creative teacher... I would hope...

Anyhow, here's what a VIP means in my classroom and how I use it for positive motivation.

Right away this school year, I knew I would need a large handful of tricks and tools to implement to keep up with my new students. In my class of 18, twelve are boys. TWELVE! That's a LOT of eight-year-old boy energy. So, when I first saw this VIP idea last school year, I didn't think much of it because I had a well-behaved class of 15, with 13 of them girls. It didn't seem necessary. But this year, boy did it EVER!

So, I finally decided to jump into it when I saw some cool school supplies on clearance at Target one day. There was also this really cool shower caddy that was on clearance for about $4 so I picked up (thinking there was no way I could fill it!) and set out shopping.

You see, the premise for the VIP Student acknowledgement is that these students display above and beyond role model behavior. They are students who really don't need classroom management, because they are responsible, well-behaved, on task, respectful, everything a model student exemplifies. It doesn't mean they are the smartest, brightest, coolest, most popular, prettiest, whatever. It is none of those things. It is about their HEART, in my eyes.

So, after I bought A BUNCH of awesome goodies (more about those in a bit) I thought about what I expected of my VIP students. The next day at school, I asked my students what it meant to them when they heard "VIP" and then asked, "what should that look like in our classroom?"

I was blown away by their responses.

These all came from them. I had no part of it - I just wrote them down. They NAILED it!

I made these signs and badges. Every day, I select 2 student VIPs, and that day they wear these badges and display the signs on their desks. (the little plastic display signs are from Michaels)

I don't have room in my for a special VIP table, so instead the VIPs can choose to sit back with me and the tub of supplies at my table. (I don't have a teacher desk - I sit at our kidney table).

If you like the signs I use, you can download them HERE AS A FREEBIE!

I choose two VIPs almost every day, but sometimes, there aren't any. I don't force the VIP issue. I really make sure my students EARN it. Sometimes, I make notes about who should be VIP (and have even had a wait list before!) but other times, I just go off of memory. Plus, as with every class, I have a handful of "go-to" students who are always on task and reliable.

What I love most about this program is that it really DOES motivate students. I have a boy who comes in EVERY morning when he unpacks and looks to see who are the VIPs. He is highly motivated to earn it, and though he has only twice so far this year, I have seen a notable change in his overall behavior! How fantastic! I also love that I can acknowledge and reward the students who are always strong, positive role models. They earn a positive reward, rather than my giving a negative consequence to the rest of the class. This class has been together for many years (they are the only class in the grade) so they have had their share of challenges over the years. What has also been great about having VIPs, is that parents have also told me they appreciate that students are being recognized in a positive manner, rather than negatively.

So, here are all of the goodies, which I add to frequently!

Glitter glue, glitter markers, neon markers, metallic markers, metallic crayons, glitter crayons, special highlighters, giant highlighters from Target, a fun tape dispenser, Mr. Sketch scented markers, color changing markers (from Dollar Tree), scented erasers, fun-edged craft scissors, and twistable colored pencils.

I will say that it was a bit of an investment, but SO worth it. I keep my eyes open when I am out and about, especially looking in clearance sections. I was able to get the Mr. Sketch markers on clearance at Office Max after the back to school season.

The first day I brought this in, the class was so excited about using them. They were practically DROOLING over it! Their affinity for school supplies rivals my own.. I love it!

Just the other day, I asked them to share with me how it feels to them when they are VIP and why they like being the VIP for the day. Most of the responses I received were something along the lines of  "because it is awesome!" and "I get to use cool supplies!" or "I like using smelly markers." But a few of them touched me and completely blew me away. The impact of the VIP bin and a badge was more than I had ever expected.

This one got to me instantly. As soon as I read it, my heart broke. What must this little boy be feeling when he ISN'T VIP?? I am so glad he shared this, and that I can provide a way for him to feel important in the classroom. I want my students to know that they are special. To know they have value. They were created on and for a purpose, and in my classroom that means something. They are a VIP in God's eyes and I will not deny that either!

They are oh, so special. I want for them to feel special. To know that they are noticed. They are working hard. They are doing well. That I am proud of them and that I see it. I think sometimes it is so easy to focus on the negative behaviors and punishments in the classroom. I say that because I have been and continue to be guilty of it sometimes. I am by no means perfect. But, I am always reflecting and cognizant of where I place my attention. Some negative behaviors warrant addressing, some don't. I prefer to focus on the POSITIVE things my students are doing. The POSITIVE ways they are treating one another and honoring God with their actions, work, and speech every day. It's a choice I can make in response to the choices they make.

I look at it most simply as this: how will they remember feeling in third grade? If they remember that they felt special, I'll feel as though I was successful. If they don't feel as though they were special to me, I'll have failed. Simple as that.

I really loved reading this one too. I was glad this little boy realized that in our classroom, being VIP is EARNED, not given.

About a month ago, I caught two of my sweet girls passing notes to each other. As I read it, it say "student A and student B are so lucky!" (I won't use their names) and she meant they were lucky because they were chosen to be VIPs that day. Though I needed to punish and discuss with them the note passing, I instead focused on the "lucky" part of the note. It bothered me. That word always does. Lucky. I don't like it. It's a major pet peeve of mine... and I will save you from that rant. That's all you really need to know so I'll move on to the rest of the story.... What bothered me was that she didn't see that those two students had EARNED being VIP that day with their hard work the day before. She missed it completely. So, we stopped and talked about it as a class. We reviewed the anchor chart we had made about being VIP, and how it isn't "lucky" to be able to do those things. It comes from discipline and hard work. We are not jealous of those who are VIPs, we are excited for and encourage them because they earned it.

I think it goes along well with the feeling special from above. I certainly don't want them to feel "better than" someone else. I don't allow bragging or boasting in anyway either. But I hope that it instills within themselves some small amount of pride and confidence that they are doing well, that they are loved, that they are special.

Because they are.

Classroom Management Part Two: Managing Students with OCD

I said in my previous post that I do not claim to be a classroom management expert. I also do not claim to be anywhere near an expert on OCD, children with OCD, or anything in any realm of any of those things.

I am a teacher. I am teachable. I like to learn and become the best I can possibly be! So, this year, when I presented with a new student and new challenges to face, I knew I would need to learn and adapt even more. I was able to tell right away that this student had some compulsive, almost anxiety-related behaviors, and our intervention specialist who comes in my room a few mornings a week noticed them as well.

They typically didn't (and still don't) interfere with our learning throughout the day, but they were starting to become a bit overwhelming for me to deal with on top of other behaviors and typical day to day learning activities.

Post Your Daily Schedule

One of the biggest things that would happen constantly throughout the day would be questions about our schedule. "What time is snack?".... "How much longer until lunch?" .... "What are we doing after this?" were questions I heard multiple times a day, every day at the beginning of the school year. He would get out of his seat and come ask me these things whenever he wanted to know the answers as soon as he thought of them, no matter what were doing. It was becoming a lot to handle, as I said before, so I now make sure to post our classroom schedule every single day.

It's a lot easier said than done, as my schedule changes almost daily with individual tutoring pull-outs, a teacher who joins us three afternoons a week, and a special that disrupts two of our days. I have A LOT of these schedule cards (and even have to make a few new ones within the week!) and I have to change it every morning, but it has been SO worth it. The questions about what we are doing next and when a specific activity happens no longer occur. He can look at our posted schedule, look at the clock, and know when every thing will be happening. With a constantly changing schedule, it also helps keep ME on track, especially for all of the students being pulled out every day.

The schedule cards I use are from Amy Groesbeck on TpT. They are completely editable and she tells you in the pack what fonts she used for each part. I printed them at 50% onto cardstock so they were small enough to fit into this pocket chart. She has them sized for a half-sheet of paper. I just made the schedule headers to mimic them and created the clocks using clip art from Ashley Hughes. I cut and laminated them all and keep them in a little paper pocket on the wall next to it so they don't get lost!

The orange pocket chart is from the Target Dollar Spot. I was so excited when I saw it, I bought the last 4 they had. Orange is my favorite color (if you can't tell!) and is one of my main classroom colors. I HAD to have them!

Board Reminders

Another organizational tip that has helped manage his anxiety and compulsion is this student is posting labels all throughout the classroom, especially at the board. Here's what my whiteboard looks like...

Whenever my students need to take out items for specific activities or subjects, I made these cards for the board. I put a check mark next to them as I tell them what to get out, and it prevents the "What do I need!?" question that ALL students ask repeatedly! I write on or under the "workbook" and "notebook" cards for the specific subject they need, such as Science, Language, or Math. Those have been the MOST helpful, since some students take out one instead of the other (we use a lot of interactive notebooks!)

I also get asked "What can I do now?" A LOT. Still. It's frustrating. 

But I have these "All done? Pick one?" choice cards posted in the front of the room. My students can choose from any of these activities after they finish an activity or independent work before our next part of the day. Slowly they are learning that these are choices they can ALWAYS make WITHOUT ASKING, but we are getting there. My student with obsessive compulsive issues understands this very well. My students who struggle are my rule-following people-pleasers. They want to make sure they are always doing what they are supposed to, so they constantly ask to make sure they don't get in trouble. I completely understand that. I am the same way.

If you like the board signs I made above, you can download them HERE FOR FREE!


Stay Consistent

This is a difficult thing to do sometimes (well, maybe not for you, but for me it is!) When you tell your student who has an obsessive-compulsive personality, they will remember it. I promise. They won't forget. So be consistent in what you say. I have noticed that my student can have a difficult time adjusting to change, so I make sure that routines are consistent because they are important. My overall behavior management system stays the same all year. I pass out tickets for positive behavior choices. If I want to change it up or encourage better overall behavior as a class, I make them additional to our current system. They still earn tickets individually, but I also add in a whole class reward or small group rewards that they can earn. This excites and engages him, without the anxiety of change to overall routine.

If something will change, I make sure to tell him one-on-one so he knows. I don't make it a big deal. I just explain what is going to be different and why, and make sure to answer any questions he may have. Then. the change isn't sprung on him during the day and he is prepared for it in advance.

I also have to stay consistent in my prep. He expects there to be VIP students chosen every day (more about that coming soon). He'll come in the classroom when he unpacks in the morning and look to see if I chose VIPs already. If I haven't, he'll ask. "No VIPs today?" (He says it like "vip" as a word, rather then the three letters - it's adorable!) or "Will there be VIPs today?" So, I have to be consistent, or he'll remind me. Being consistent in MY daily routine helps keep me on task and helps prevent those questions and anxieties for him.

Remove Distractions

My student with these tendencies this year loves to read. I mean absolutely LOVES to read. So much so that it becomes an obsession. He would read all day long if I let him. (Great problem to have, right!?) Well, not really. With my Daily 5 set up, my students have personal book bins at their seats with them and I encourage them to always be full of high-interest books. For this little boy, that can be a problem because he won't stop reading. In the middle of a math lesson, he'll have a book out and be completely engrossed in it.

One day, genius struck, and I realized that I didn't need to take away the books. I never want to discourage a student from reading! But I did need to take away the distraction of the books. So, he still has a book bin, he just doesn't keep it next to him at all times. Instead, his bin is kept across the room on the chair of our writing center. When he finishes all of his work, he may then go get his book bin to read. It has helped him pay attention to lessons MUCH better now. He hasn't needed reminded of this either, and always remembers the rule (a plus to his obsessive tendencies). I do have to remind him to clean up when we are finished reading during Read to Self time, but I don't think that will change. But the difference of asking him to stop reading during our lessons has been tremendous in the past two months with this one small change!


I hope you found some helpful tips and tools for managing students with OCD and obsessive tendencies. As I mentioned before, I am no expert. But having a student in my classroom with some of these tendencies, I have discovered a few things to have helped me to manage the day-to-day routines of our classroom, and save a little bit of my sanity along the way! I hope they can be a help for you, too, now and/or in the future!

Remember Me? [part two]

I'm back again, and quickly this time! :) I promised I would post more often, and by the title of my last post, I HAD to post at least a part two [if not a part three here shortly].

I was back at work in my classroom again yesterday. I got a lot of detail things I had thought about doing done! Most teachers probably don't decorate their rooms to the extreme with which I do, but it's just my personality and I can't help it. I definitely type-A and extremely detailed oriented [and also a tad geeky!] the little accents and things here and there are what really get me pumped! lol

So here's a look at my classroom yesterday standing from my doorway:

What do you think? In my last post it looked pretty much the same. I just got the students' nameplates and Take Home Binders [look for a post about those coming soon!] done and added something to the front of my desk. I also changed up my Reading Corner off to the left there.

I had put my new robot calendar [that I just LOVE] on the wall above the papasan chair near the reading corner. But I just didn't like it there. Last year my calendar was on the middle window [now behind my desk] and loved it being on the window. So I changed up the Reading Corner and took the Book Bin shelves away from the window and put the calendar on it. I then put the book bin shelves against the wall where the calendar was and it looks much better! I just want a rug to put over there now! [in time...because of course the one I want and I won't settle for less is a bit pricey, so I'm waiting for my next TpT payment in September! lol]

So here's how it looks now:

 

I like it so much better.....don't you!?

Here's my Book Bin shelves I was able to finish yesterday too! I got my class list Wednesday [yayy!] so I was able to make the tags and get them finished up. Here's the complete look:

                                                          

and here's how I set them up:

                               

Everyone has their own bin. They will keep their Read to Self books, Reading Group books, bookmarks and a small pack of Kleenex in there. [This idea dawned on me last year when I had a few girls ALWAYS needing to blow their noses while they were reading. This will prevent that. You know those 3 pack of purse-size tissues are only 99 cents - and saves their "hassle" ;)]
I numbered the shelves so they keep their bin with their number. They'll always be in the same place and I won't have to re-number them year after year.

The clips are new for this year; something I am trying. Last year I had a problem with them taking TOO MANY BOOKS! No matter how many times we talked about taking only 6 or 7, they would take at least 3 times that. Well not this year. I am going to number the clips to make their numbers and they are only allowed to take as many books as they have clips. They can take a clip back when they return a book. Right now everyone has 4 clips, but that's because I didn't buy that many when I picked them up at a flea market. I didn't exactly have a plan for them at that time, so two packs seemed sufficient....wrong! So I'm planning to stop out today and pick up a few more.... I think I will give everyone 6, perhaps 8 but I'm not sure. How many do you allow your students to take? Any input would be great!

Yesterday I also put up my behavior management clip chart. I made a new one this year to match the chevron [of course!] and hung it in a new spot. It looks great, I think!

I made matching behavior calendar logs as well. They are available in my TpT store here if you decide you really like it! I posted it on there because whenever I looked for a system I liked, the behavior logs didn't exactly match the clip chart because they were always separate files by different Teacher Authors. Chevron is a huge new craze and the colors match just about any "theme" so I thought it would be about time that someone offered BOTH together to correlate easily. Let me know if you decide to get them and how they work out for you! :)
You'll notice next to it the Homework Club display. It's a round cookie sheet from the Dollar Tree that I hung. I got the Homework Club sign, numbers and idea use from the TpT store of 4th Grade Frolics here for FREE! I love it and hope it will be a great incentive for my students to do their homework! We shall see..... ;)

Well, that's all for this post... I have lots more to show and say but my Hubby wants me to bring him lunch at work :) so I'm off to pick us up some Panera [yum-o!]
I'll definitely be back with a part three [and who knows, maybe even a part four] some time soon [maybe even later tonight]....

Until then, thanks for reading and have a BLESSED day!

Tami :)