Finding Power Teaching is giving me hope that I might survive the rest of the year and come back for more. I'm a middle school Social Studies teacher of a total of 190 students. I can't imagine what giving 10 pages of homework would look like. Do you really run off worksheets? I have a class set of texts with about 50 extra available for check out as needed, so I can't really give all students 10 pages of reading. Plus checking out the texts would be a nightmare for me... and I'm tired of nightmares.

I'm thinking I could use time as a reward - giving so many minutes of games, music, a nature walk or ??? as the insentive. I avoid giving candy. Any suggestions?

Should I give the reward/punishment daily, weekly, or let the points reach a certain number?

I'm still worried about my VERY cranky girls. I've introduced the 5 rules, the class-okay, and the teach-okay last Thursday, with mixed results. I'm hanging in there, but could use some advice.

"I can't imagine what giving 10 pages of homework would look like." - nor can I! I don't know what American school books look like, but our books offer about 100 - 200 pages of texts and tasks. I would have finished my book within two weeks!
Nevertheless, I have made the experience that homework is a good incentive and it doesn't cost me a cent! I usually write the homework on the board at the beginning of the lesson, but it is a little more than what I really want them to do. If the students win (which can only be by three points maximum), I will cross out the extra task, and they will feel they have gained something. If it is a draw, they'll have to do it. I usually don't add any tasks - even if I win - because that would arouse a feeling of injustice with my good students. They shouldn't be punished for their classmates' misbehaviour.

The key to using the Scoreboard is to slowly advance in levels ... Chris Rekstad has posted a nice level summary on the forum. Also, don't worry about getting all your students involved early on ... your goal is to simply get as many to go along with you as possible, initially. The levels are designed to tame more and more of your rebels. And take heart! Some of the most successful Power Teachers, as you'll see on this forum, teach middle school. Try using Mind Soccer, see download on this site, as a reward, but please read the directions thoroughly.

I teach math so the more/less homework is really easy for me I can assign more/less problems quickly. Usually what I do for more/less homework is have a pre-made sheet with maybe 10 problems, I really only need them to do 5 of them, so I might let them win that day and they do 8 problems instead... it just depends.

Some weeks we also play for game time..they will bank points all week long to play Mind Soccer, or other games (these always review class material).

Here is the thing about middle school students, they really think they can wear you down enough that you will quit Power Teaching... they should see that you never quit!! In the begining I never address their lack of particpation... now I have broken down my cliques and my problem students, so that it is one person here and there that gives me trouble, and I have zoned in on them. Eventually the class will turn on them and start saying things like, "Why do we always get more homework because of one person? That's not fair when we do it right!"... that's when I changed to level two and started doing more with independent groups and leaders.

I think the concept of "independents" is a good instrument to help the students feel treated fairer since they don't have to pay for their rambunctious classmates' misbehaviour.
I wonder whether this would also work the other way round. If you have a really difficult class with only two or three students staying on task and you make a group of independents for these - will the other students try to be taken into this group and thus improve their behaviour? (Just an idea)