It’s time for some Bright Ideas! Today’s idea is very simple but can have a positive impact on your classroom management.
When I student taught my mentor teacher used the ever famous marble jar for any time she wanted to reward the whole class. Kind of like table points, but for all students at the same time. I faithfully did that until one day when I put in 3 marbles and the whole jar shattered. My kids went running to pick up the marbles and were touching broken glass! NOT good! Plus, the marble jar took forever to fill up. Enter my Star Jar AKA Compliment Jar.
I decided to make a jar that could never break, and would be quicker to fill up. According to some sources whole group rewards such as these should pay off quicker rather than later. So I decided on 15 compliments to fill up our jar.
The little star cut outs have magnets attached to them so that they can stay on the whiteboard. You could easily use velcro if you are going attach them to your wall or butcher paper instead.
The class earns a star whenever they receive a compliment from someone. It can be for walking in line nicely, working quietly, being kind to one another, getting ready quickly. Anything like that. When the jar is full my class votes on a small celebration. It can be anything like an extra recess, watching a video, bringing in some treats etc.
My class gets so excited about filling up our jar. Once it’s full, we empty it out and start all over again. My kids love it and it gives us something special to work towards as a class.
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