The Bull’s Eye game is one of Whole Brain Teaching's most potent resources for dealing with your most challenging students.  The game is designed expressly for students who are immune to punishment. 

The core idea of the Bull’s Eye game is quite simple.  In a brief one on one session, student and teacher, without letting the other see, grade the student’s behavior in class that day on a 1 to 5 scale (with 5 being best).  If the student’s grade matches the teacher’s, then the student scores two points.  If the student’s grade misses the teacher’s by a point, then the student scores one point.  Points are accumulated over time for a small, agreed upon reward ... anything from stickers to a soda.

Some students will not respond right away to the Scoreboard Game. They want to get into a power struggle with the teacher. They want to have the last word.

As a teacher you are between a rock and a hard place. You cannot let the rebel student win the struggle and allow the rest of the class to believe you will back down. You also cannot afford the battle of wills with the student. If you win, the student will be angry and hurt. If you lose your cool, it won’t matter whether you win or not, you will lose the respect of your class.