Nameplate Help and WBT Scoreboard

Happy Friday, blog friends!

Where I live, the local teacher store is called The Chalkboard. I am lucky to have one a few minutes from my house and one a few minutes from my school. I love everything that is in the teacher store, but it is so stinking EXPENSIVE. That's why I am so happy to have found some wonderful ideas through blogs because I can get creative AND save money. Well, I can't make everything and there are just some certain things I have to get from The Chalkboard. In my classroom, my theme is Poppin Patterns from Creative Teaching Press so of course I have to get a lot of that stuff from the teacher store. I decided to go there today to take back the previous nameplates I bought. I am having a the hardest time with nameplates this year. Every year, I buy these desk reference nameplates for my class:

I love how they have the number line, hundreds chart, shapes, color, and money. As I think about it, my students actually use the nameplates as a resource. The thing that drives me absolutely insane is the size. They are huge! They take up almost half of a desk. I am also not too fond of the colors. Couldn't they come up with something a little brighter? So I decided to try something different. I would get these basic nameplates that match my theme:

and then purchase, print off, and laminate my first grade helper from Michelle over at Fabulous in First

for the students to reference. I love the way everything is on one page and the kids have a resource that they can actually take with them. Well, I go to the teacher store to do just that, but instead spend 30 minutes contemplating the idea. I thought I had my mind already made up? After 30 minutes of arguing with myself in my head, I decided to just get the reference nameplates that I always get. WHAT???!!!! I am not satisfied with my decision at all. I need help friends! What do you do for nameplates? Should I get the desk reference nameplates or should I get the basic nameplates? PLEASE HELP!

So, back to whole brain teaching. I am still, after two days of being back from the conference, in a whole brain teaching bliss. :) I am so excited to try the techniques in my classroom! Another core aspect of WBT is the scoreboard. The scoreboard is another management strategy that involves the whole class and increases motivation. On your board you would create a section that has a smiley on one side and a sad face on the other. Anytime the kids do an awesome job listening, following rules, etc., you praise them by saying, "Give me a oh yeah!" and the students clap and say "Oh, yeah!" and the teacher puts a tally under the smiley face side. The idea is for the praise to be quick. If students are having a hard time and not following directions, for example, you say "I see we aren't following directions, give me a mighty groan." The students give a mighty groan and the teacher puts a tally under the sad face. The idea with the scoreboard is to really motivate the students. In older grades, you might reward the students with extra recess or early dismissal. With my firsties, I am going to reward them with marbles in the jar. At the end of the day, the amount of tallies on the smiley side is how many marbles are going to go to the marble jar. When the class earns 100 marbles, they will be able to vote on a class reward.

Here are some key things to remember about the scoreboard:
-Always keep the score close. Try to stay within three points. If you don't keep the scores close, the students are going to give up.
-Never make a mark on the scoreboard for one single student. You can single out a group of students, For example, you might say, "I saw some students that were talking while the teacher was talking. Give me a mighty groan."
-Generate some sad faces early.

I had to think a lot about the scoreboard, after learning about it. It may be something that you may not feel fits in your classroom. I am a strong believer in trying things at least once, so I am going to start it with my class on the first day of school. I have heard some really good things about the scoreboard, so I am feeling pretty confident. :)

I think I am going to save classroom rules for tomorrow. I might actually have a FREEBIE to go along with it. Yes, my first freebie! Now, I am feeling some pressure...maybe I shouldn't have said anything...
If I don't have a freebie tomorrow, please don't be mad at me...I'm a huge perfectionist. :)

Dog sitting is going okay. This is Louie's first time being away from his home, so he's adjusting. He cried for the first couple of hours after my parents dropped him off. :( Now, he seems to be doing a little better. The only problem is he barks whenever he hears something outside. When he barks, Lexi barks, and it is LOUD. I live in a condo and I sure my neighbors can hear everything. The only solution I have is to turn on the TV really loud...
So it sounds like a movie theater in my house!

Alright, I'm off to work on school stuff...and watch Laguna Beach. It's on MTV! Can you believe it??!! I'll fill you in later on my obsession with reality TV...
:)