Put a CAP on it!

     Behavior- every teacher's worst nightmare. But it doesn't have to be. In my opinion, students typically want to please you. We cannot expect that a student will have learned how to behave at home. It just doesn't work like that. So a teacher must rifle through her handy bag o' tricks and give the students the tools they need to become super stars.
     I will be honest that I do like a fairly quiet classroom. My students can talk at the appropriate time, as long as they are not getting off task. But sometimes they need a little reminder of when the right time is and when to get back on task. So I came up with 'Put a Cap On It!'.
     Husband and I are guilty of one thing- we drink a LOT of water in plastic bottles. So, in my best attempt to be 'green' I found a use for the plastic caps. My students didn't think it was fair when I assigned them to groups, so now, they are in a sense, picking their group.

Here's What I Did:
I cleaned and dried 12 (that's how many students I currently have in Summer School) bottle caps.
I put a drop of glue in the lid (I prefer Beacon Fabri-Tac), although I'm sure Aleene's Clear Gel Tacky Glue would do the trick.
I placed a number sticker face down (the sticky side of the sticker will soon become unsticky or you can cut out some paper and stick it on if you don't want the kids messing with it).
Let them dry and now I have a nice new way for students to pick one and get in their group.

You can make a whole class set-just pick how many groups you want and use those stickers. Mine have 4 groups, however, if I wanted less I could say even numbers together, odd numbers together. Or I could form groups 1, 2 and 3 and put their caps back then have the people with 4's draw again (1,2 or 3). There are so many things you could do with them.

Next, I had some odd shape caps left. I took some more circle stickers and just stuck them to the top of the lid. I am going to use these during reading groups. The caps will stand for Cooperate And Participate. If I have a student who is not cooperating or participating appropriately, I will simply place a cap on their desk. They will know that they need to 'Put a Cap on it!' (their bad behavior). Once they think they are calm enough and ready to cooperate and participate, they can give me the cap back, however, if they misbehave again, they will get it put back. If you get a cap 2x's, you will owe me recess time!

You could also use it the opposite way. If a student IS cooperating and participating, they get a cap on their desk. The goal is to try and have the cap on your desk all day!

Voila! A simple, easy and recycled behavior plan! You can also do alphabet stickers or number stickers and have them put them in order, yes/no answer chips- What would you do with your leftover caps?

Confessions of a 'First' Year Teacher

Okay, so technically last year was my first year teaching, but it was so 'not-what-I-thought-it-would-be' that I don't like to consider it my first year teaching. You see, from the time I was in 2nd grade, I wanted to be a teacher. Hours upon hours were spent in my room solving math problems on my white board and grading fake assignments. Over the years, teaching is not just my job, it's my passion. People ask me what my hobbies are, and I tell them that I love making stuff for work! Some people don't get it, but others just might. I've come to share some of my ideas, and steal some of yours.
     I graduated in Dec 2010 from the University of Nevada, Reno with a teaching degree in Elementary and Special Education (confession time- Spec Ed was my fall back plan, however, it did land my my first teaching job). My plan was to teach younger elementary- but the state of the district was such that you took what you were offered. I took a one year position as a Resource English Teacher in GASP...High School. It taught me so much and inspired me to move on down the grade levels to get those kids' minds in tip top shape for when they become high schoolers! It was a definite adventure, and I'm looking forward to a new adventure this next school year. For now, I'm content teaching Summer School for 5th grade resource. I love it! Here are some of my ideas. Feel free to take whatever ideas you like. Hope they help other 'first' year teachers like me!

Now, let's go create!

~Juliann