I've been thinking about how I'll be doing things this coming school year and I've run into a small problem with my scoreboard. I'll be teaching in a departmentalized situation with two classes of the same grade(3rd) - half day with one, half with the other. I'm not sure what kind of scoreboard winner reward I'll be giving and on what time span that will be awarded.

More/less homework would possibly cause a problem with parents since it's expected that both sections would have the same homework. I'd love using Mind Soccer/Volleyball/etc., but because we're on a time crunch with switching classrooms, I'm worried that I won't have enough time for a minute or 2 as this will be the first time these students have had to change classes - at least not until much, much later in the year. Recess time wouldn't be an option since I cannot take away time from my coworker's time with the classes.

This problem would also occur if I were to need to use practice cards later in the school year, but I'm trying not to think quite that far ahead yet. I'm positive someone out there in WBT land can give me some amazing solutions!

Take a deep breath, and relax, my friend. When you first start playing you will likely find that just beating the frownies on the Scoreboard may be enough for the first couple of weeks. When you introduce the Mind games as a reward at the end of the period plan to use them that last two minutes or so every day. If the kids lose on the Scoreboard then you will get that extra couple of minutes to catch up on anything that poor behavior has slowed you down on.

If you find getting to the reward game is a consistent problem, then put the game in the middle if the class period, or toward the end but not the last thing. Segment your activities during class to make it easier to manage what activities you are doing. Research tells us that kids have an attention span about equal to their age. Thus you can break your activities up into sequences if 8-10 minutes for each, and you should find it easier to keep the kids focused on each activity. If you make the transition between classes a part of the Scoreboard you will likely see the kids getting used to making fast Smith transitions pretty quickly.

Southern Teacher...As Jeff says, it'll all work itself out as you go. Let's keep it simple for the first few weeks of school while they are learning the lay of the land. Make the reward "You Bet Your Talking Time". This way they get what they want, and you will also. They want to talk to their friends about anything other than school work, and you want them to focus on the school work. If they win, the few minutes before you go, clean up and let them spend the last few minutes talking, and then dismiss.

As the year goes on, you will find this transition time much easier to handle and you will be able to play those great mind games that we have. Don't bite off more than you can chew...just keep it simple and it will work itself out. They will be begging you to play, so just keep reminding them that they are in control of that by how they work in the classroom.

Power to the Teacher!
Chris

Hey there Southern Teacher~

I was just wondering if you have been using Whole Brain Teaching and the 5~step lesson plan already? Only because you will find that you be "buying back" many instructional minutes with less time used on Classroom Management, transitions, reteaching, re~explaining, etc. And don't forget that mind soccer is a review of what you just taught so it is a great way to check for understanding. As Jeff and Chris pointed out~ you can spread out the rewards~ if you need to. One great way to do that is to check out the "Mystery Road". Farrah shared at the national conference that when she used the "mystery road", there were times that the class "somehow" made it to the "mystery prize" (this will make sense when you check it out~ I believe it was on the "Scoreboard Webinar") it "just so happened to be" when she was on Step 4 of the lesson. Since in Step 4 you are essentially checking for understanding~ she could use this as a replacement for the "yes~no way". The kids loved it!!!

Also wanted to add to Chris' variation "You bet your talking time"~ I have heard that another one that works really well is when the kids get to sit where they want. You can add that in to the talking time (after that one is not as exciting~ because you will need lots of tools in your backpocket...cuz as we say "it's a LONG year") OR you can use it to bank up points for a long term reward and work towards sitting where you want for an entire lesson (oh my!). For long term rewards~ they "bank" points on the days they win. They get one point each time they win the scoreboard. Then you determine how many points the reward is worth. Once they get the amount~ they get the reward

Lastly, I wanted to encourage you~ you really have a cool set~up by having the two sets of kids. Here is why~ you keep the scoreboards up (have two~ one for each group). They will naturally compete against each other. And the day when one group gets the reward and the other one doesn't.......look out.....the competition will be fierce!

Have fun, keep us posted on how it works out

I wanted to second a point that Andrea made in her post. You will have two groups of students and two scoreboards. Yes, keep both scoreboards up, as the two groups will absolutely compete against eachother, which will keep them motivated to do their work in class. In fifth grade, we trade for Science and Reading and then have a homeroom class as well. Last year, my students loved to compete against the other classes and earn Mind Soccer! It worked like a charm. Good luck and take things slow!

Laura Caisse
WBT Intern, 2011-2012