In one of my classes I began using the Independents part of the scoreboard for three of my students today. One student has already asked to be removed from the group and I told him tomorrow he would be back with the class. However, the other two students were quite proud to be singled out and acted out even more. Should I just continue with the independents group and hope that as they see the rest of the class receiving rewards that they are not receiving they will want to behave better or is there a better alternative?
Also, I had a question about practice cards...is there a way to use them at the middle school level? We don't have recess and I can not pull them out of another class to practice. I also can not require them to stay after school because many of them do not have parent transportation.

Remember, you're not holding them for an hour detention, you're holding them for 2-4 minutes of rules practice. Most students take that long talking to friends after school gets out. If you need to, talk to the bus driver, but otherwise have them stay after school for 2-4 minutes. A presenter at one of the conferences has them do 2 minutes of rules practice or 5 minutes of silent "detention," their choice. That usually gets them to practice the rules.

WBT Intern
2011-2012

Hang in there with the Independents - give it time and it will work for you. You may have to give it a couple of weeks - the first day will always be the toughest. Also, make sure the rest of the class wins a super awesome reward with the Scoreboard - pick something you know that your two Independents would really love and watch how they turn against one another.

Finding time to have them practice the rules is tough at middle school level. Can they come in at lunch or before school? I know it would infringe on your time, but it might be worth it to give up a couple of minutes now in order to prevent bigger challenges later on. As far as using cards at the middle school, I have not used them. You might try and simply tell them they need to report to your room at whatever time you choose, practice the rule for the prescribed amount of time and see if that helps. I do agree with the fact you must give it time to work before switching to something else. Otherwise, you will find yourself running in circles trying to find the magic bullet. Good luck.
David

I am just getting started. I have been using Class-Okay for long enough that they know it. I have one student in particular who totally messes it up on purpose. Peer pressure is not working.

Can I begin "practice" sessions so soon? It is very obvious to the class that he is trying to make the class lose?

What kinds of things have you found to be good scoreboard motivators in middle school?

While you want to hold off on things as long as you can, because it's a looooong year, I think your year is just going to feel longer if you have someone who's not getting on board. Try rules practice first, then see where you need to go.

WBT Intern 2011-2012