Student Contributor: C.Kane Three before me is all about students being able to independently ask three peers within the classroom Before going to ask their teacher. students may use the strategy when asking for help in repeating directions as well as other general questions that they may have before confronting the teacher.This tool is simple and effective due to the ability that you can teach it beforehand at the beginning of the school year in order to … [Read more...] about 3 Before Me
Collaborative & Teacher Directed
Count Down & Pick Up
Student Contributor: J. Valenzuela When a task needs to be done, count down from a reasonable number, once the counter reaches zero, pick the student’s spirits up by congratulating them and thanking them for their cooperation.This tool works best if you need a large chore done. It is an all-inclusive tool that allows for every student to feel connected to the space they collectively share. Let’s say there are paper scraps all over the floor from a lesson … [Read more...] about Count Down & Pick Up
Signal Interference
Student Contributor: C.Kane Signal interference is one of those tools that is a non-verbal way to correct your students when they are doing an appropriate behavior within your classroom. This tool does not cause any distractions towards other students and it is meant to only target one or multiple specific students who are having difficulty that need to be corrected. What’s great about the strategy is that peers around them will not be distracted by this … [Read more...] about Signal Interference
Voice Level
Student Contributor: B. Montano Voice Level is a technique that helps students to visually see where the noise level should be. At any given time of the day, students should be able to know where the noise level should be- silent, whisper, table talk, or presenter.This tool is easy to use and does not require many materials to use. You will need to have 4 push lights that can be found at Home Depot. You will want to put labels next to the lights such as, … [Read more...] about Voice Level
SLANT
Student Contributor: K. Walls SLANT is a tool for getting student attention. In a call-and-response style, the teacher raises their hand and shouts, "slant!". The students all respond, "slant!", and then give the teacher full attention and a zero voice level.SLANT is effective for situations where you need to address the whole class, and it is important that the students are engaged and listening closely. It is especially useful in a louder situation where … [Read more...] about SLANT
News Teams
Student Contributor: R Markofski This tool is used to pick students in their pods/table groups randomly and assign them roles to prevent any arguments and ensure effective collaboration.To use this tool you will need popsicle sticks with every students names written on them. After this we assign roles to our students' table groups, so when they are called upon they understand the role of each student in the group. The roles we used were Reporter (The … [Read more...] about News Teams
Boomer Sooner
Student Contributor: J. Walser This tool is a call and response. The teacher calls out "Boomer" and the Students yell back "Sooner" while stopping side conversation and facing the teacher.This is a call and response taken from the University of Oklahoma fan base. The tool should be used as a quick attention grabber when making small changes to direction during work time. This tool should not be used to bring students back together for long discussions or … [Read more...] about Boomer Sooner
Setting Daily Agenda
Student Contributor: N. Pierce Creating an agenda each day can be very beneficial to students reviewing what is going to take place each day and checking off items as they are completed helps to build a sense of accomplishment and helps students know what is coming up next. This helps students know the classroom routine and gives them a sense of predictability.Each morning, preferably during the morning meeting. The teacher and the students will create the … [Read more...] about Setting Daily Agenda
Classroom Promise
Student Contributor: J. Pruneda-Martinez This is a promise that is made up of students’ expectations for their classroom. This promise really creates the classroom climate that not only they teach would like, the students as well!Creating a classroom promise is a tool that every elementary and even middle school teacher should begin doing! A Classroom Promise should be created in the beginning of the school year. First, you will begin by creating a chart … [Read more...] about Classroom Promise
Mystery Motivator
Student Contributor: J. Pruneda-Martinez Mystery Motivator is a reinforcement strategy that uses anticipation and surprise to motivate students to engage in the desired behavior. This strategy can be implemented with and individual student or the entire class.Mystery Motivator (MM) is a behavioral intervention that teachers use to assist in managing group and individual student behaviors with the element of surprise. This strategy rewards students for … [Read more...] about Mystery Motivator