I have been using WBT for a month now. I need to make sure I am doing things correctly. question: is the scoreboard for rewarding following rules and procedures? If it is for that, which I thought it was..and I have one or two who routinely do not follow one of the rules such as obeying the class/yes should I give a frownie for all? Or does the group get the smiley and the rule breaker get a practice card? This is in first grade. Thanks

Yes, you should be using the scoreboard to mold the behavior of even one or two in the room. Without pointing out who the offending party is/parties are, give a general explanation after marking a frownie, such as, 'Some people forgot rule 1 which says...' The power of peer pressure should kick in so that the ones who were the offending parties 'get it' and want to do better next time. By the same token, if you 'need' to find a positive, find a student/students who are doing something well and award the class a smiley to reinforce that behavior/work habit. Make sense?

HTH!

Joni

Joni is right ... I would only add that you should try to use the Scoreboard for as long as possible ... at least a month ... before going to the practice cards which are used to target individual behavior ... start with the white cards first, then the white and purple cards, then the white, purple and green (continuing with the Scoreboard) ... stay with each of these stages as long as possible ... because, as we say "it's a long year!" For a quick review of the year long system, see the "Levels" menu above ... and then look at the "Practice Cards" download under "Free Downloads"

Does anyone ever give rewards for the winning team of mind soccer or any other academic games? Or is the game its own reward?

Any other suggestions of rewards or incentives to give students for getting more smilies than frownies?

Mike
5th Grade Teacher