Latest / Teacher Approved: Elementary Teacher Tips & Strategies / 235. 4 Teacher-Approved Ways to Manage Classroom Behavior in December

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235. 4 Teacher-Approved Ways to Manage Classroom Behavior in December · Teacher Approved: Elementary Teacher Tips & Strategies

• 0:00
  Heidi: This is episode 235 of Teacher Approved.
• 0:05
  You're listening to Teacher Approved, the podcast helping
• 0:09
  educators elevate what matters and simplify the rest. I'm
• 0:13
  Heidi.
• 0:14
  Emily: And I'm Emily. We're the creators behind Second Story
• 0:17
  Window, where we give research based and teacher approved
• 0:20
  strategies that make teaching less stressful and more
• 0:22
  effective. You can check out the show notes and resources from
• 0:26
  each episode at secondstorywindow.net.
• 0:29
  Heidi: We're so glad you're tuning in today. Let's get to
• 0:31
  the show.
• 0:36
  Emily: Hey there. Thanks for joining us today. In today's
• 0:40
  episode, we're discussing four strategies to help maintain the
• 0:43
  calm despite all of December's chaos, and we have a teacher
• 0:47
  approved tip for designing the perfect reward system for your
• 0:51
  class.
• 0:52
  Heidi: Let's start with a try it tomorrow, where we share a quick
• 0:55
  win that you can try in your classroom right away. Emily,
• 0:57
  what is our suggestion for this week?
• 0:59
  Emily: This is a fun one. It's called a procedure mystery
• 1:02
  photo. So you just take photos of your classroom procedures,
• 1:06
  maybe snap a picture of how books should look in the book
• 1:09
  bin, or what a properly organized desk looks like, or
• 1:13
  how students should line up at the door. Then you show these
• 1:15
  photos to your class and have them guess which procedure is
• 1:19
  being modeled. You can even turn it into a little game, like zoom
• 1:22
  way in on the photo so it only shows part of the whole picture.
• 1:27
  Take a screenshot, and then zoom out a bit and repeat the
• 1:29
  process. Then you have a series of photos that get progressively
• 1:33
  easier. So you start by showing the grainy, zoomed in photo, and
• 1:36
  challenge students to guess it before you reveal the full
• 1:39
  photo.
• 1:41
  Heidi: I feel like this is like a game show game like, you get
• 1:45
  more points the more zoomed in the photo is.
• 1:47
  Emily: For sure.
• 1:48
  Heidi: And this is kind of sneaky brilliant because you're
• 1:51
  reviewing expectations, but it really does feel like
• 1:53
  entertainment. And if you do this in November or December,
• 1:56
  you are setting yourself up to hit the ground running in
• 1:59
  January, because five minutes of reviewing procedures today can
• 2:03
  save you 30 minutes of having to redirect everyone in January.
• 2:07
  Emily: Oh, yeah. So grab your phone, take a few pictures and
• 2:09
  try it out. Super simple.
• 2:12
  Heidi: If you like this idea or anything else we share here on
• 2:14
  the podcast, would you take a second and give a five star
• 2:17
  rating? Ratings and reviews are one way that new listeners find
• 2:20
  us, so it really is a huge help to us.
• 2:23
  Emily: If you're listening the day this episode comes out,
• 2:25
  welcome to December. Can you believe it? We're here.
• 2:29
  Heidi: It doesn't feel possible. And you know how December goes.
• 2:33
  Winter Break feels so close, and yet it is still so far away.
• 2:37
  You're probably counting down the days while simultaneously
• 2:40
  trying to keep your students from bouncing off the walls.
• 2:43
  Emily: And you are not alone. So let's just acknowledge that at
• 2:46
  some point this month, almost every teacher looks around the
• 2:48
  room and thinks, I give up. My kids are off the rails.
• 2:52
  Heidi: Yeah, there comes a day where the normal management
• 2:55
  strategies that carried you through September and October
• 2:58
  and most of November are just not cutting it anymore.
• 3:01
  Emily: But it really doesn't have to be like this. You can
• 3:05
  keep the calm even in December.
• 3:08
  Heidi: Okay, but like, let's manage expectations up front. We
• 3:12
  are not promising perfection. There's only so much you can do
• 3:16
  when there's an assembly every other day and your students are
• 3:20
  just zipping around the room like cartoon characters, but
• 3:24
  with the right strategies, you can prevent total chaos.
• 3:27
  Emily: Behavior management in December really comes down to
• 3:29
  finding that balance between structure and spark. Of course,
• 3:33
  in December, spark is basically pouring through the doorway, so
• 3:37
  we gotta balance that flood, and our students need us to provide
• 3:40
  structure, to keep the energy balanced.
• 3:44
  Heidi: So today we're going to walk you through four ways to
• 3:46
  increase the structure in your room, and these don't require
• 3:50
  you to turn into the Grinch. We're talking about keeping your
• 3:53
  expectations alive, maintaining your routines, using structured,
• 3:57
  festive fun and adding short term rewards when you need a
• 4:00
  boost.
• 4:01
  Emily: Alright, so let's jump in with the most important thing
• 4:04
  you can do to manage behavior in December, and that is to keep
• 4:07
  your expectations alive. When those kids are extra chatty and
• 4:11
  you're running on caffeine and Christmas cookies, this might
• 4:15
  not seem like much of a solution, but it really is a
• 4:17
  powerful way to keep structure strong despite all of that extra
• 4:21
  spark.
• 4:21
  Heidi: Now, again, you know December's still going to
• 4:24
  December. You're going to have to adjust to some extra
• 4:27
  chattiness and some extra wiggles, but if in September,
• 4:30
  you wouldn't accept students calling out during a lesson,
• 4:33
  don't accept it now just because December's feeling crazy
• 4:36
  already.
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  Emily: And this is so simple to implement, all you need is a
• 4:39
  daily check in. Start by finding a spot for this in your day. You
• 4:42
  can add it to your morning meeting if you have one, just
• 4:45
  take a minute at the end to review an expectation for the
• 4:48
  day. Today let's review our list of recess rules.
• 4:51
  Heidi: Or you could use transitions for this. Before you
• 4:54
  head to the library, pause and say, Okay, let's talk about what
• 4:57
  respectful hallway behavior looks like. What should we be
• 4:59
  doing?
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  Emily: Now if things have gotten really off track, or if you've
• 5:03
  skipped this in September, you might need to do some co
• 5:06
  creating of expectations with your students. This works really
• 5:09
  well for those times of day that are causing the biggest
• 5:12
  headaches right now. So pick one of those trouble spots and you
• 5:15
  gather everyone for a quick discussion.
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  Heidi: And really, this can be quick. So let's say enrichment
• 5:21
  rotations have become a disaster. Students are getting
• 5:24
  loud in the hallway, touching stuff that isn't theirs, taking
• 5:27
  forever to rotate the next bathroom. Ugh, I can feel it. So
• 5:31
  you make a T chart, or you pull up a blank slide and title it
• 5:34
  enrichment rotations, and then ask students, if everyone is
• 5:38
  being respectful and responsible during rotations, what will it
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  look like?
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  Emily: So easy, the kids will just share their ideas and you
• 5:44
  write them down, and then you ask what it should sound like,
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  probably silence or whisper voices in the hallway.
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  Heidi: This type of T chart discussion works really well
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  with younger kids. If you teach the older ones, they might roll
• 5:57
  their eyes a bit, but you can just make this more of a simple
• 6:00
  discussion. Just ask what's working well during math centers
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  and what could be smoother, and then list their responses.
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  Emily: And then, once you've made your list of expectations,
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  keep reviewing them. Before you go to the library tomorrow, grab
• 6:11
  that chart and spend 60 seconds going over it. Remember, in the
• 6:15
  library we use walking feet and whisper voices. Look at our list
• 6:19
  and pick one thing to focus on extra hard today.
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  Heidi: Then you have your students turn and tell a
• 6:24
  neighbor which expectation they're going to focus extra
• 6:26
  hard on. Of course you want them to do all of them, but what are
• 6:29
  they really going to focus on? That way, they've made a little
• 6:31
  commitment to themselves, and their buddy can help remind
• 6:34
  them.
• 6:35
  Emily: In our December teacher survival kit, there are pages
• 6:38
  you can edit to include your behavior expectations and blank
• 6:42
  T charts to fill out with your students. If you use the
• 6:45
  survival kit in the past, make sure to download the updated
• 6:53
  version so that you get all these new pages.
• 6:54
  Heidi: Yeah, that's problem with us and digital products, because
• 6:54
  we can just tweak them forever and ever, and we probably will.
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  Emily: Yep.
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  Heidi: You can find a link to the survival kit in the show
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  notes, and that will help you get started with your December
• 7:00
  behavior management plan. Keep those expectations alive through
• 7:04
  quick daily check ins and visible posted guidelines.
• 7:07
  Emily: And this whole process doesn't have to take a ton of
• 7:09
  time, but doing it consistently will make a big difference in
• 7:12
  your students' behavior.
• 7:14
  Heidi: Okay, now that you're keeping expectations alive,
• 7:16
  let's talk about maintaining your regular routines. This is
• 7:20
  such a powerful way to disperse all that excess spark, but it
• 7:24
  does take extra work this time of year.
• 7:26
  Emily: Yeah, that's because we're in those swiss cheese
• 7:29
  weeks that we always talk about, and that's when the calendar is
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  full of holes. Maybe you've got an assembly on Monday, a concert
• 7:35
  on Wednesday, early dismissal on Friday, and half your class is
• 7:38
  out sick or traveling.
• 7:40
  Heidi: Oh, yeah, December is no joke. You technically have five
• 7:44
  days of school, but it's more like a hodgepodge of lessons
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  between festive interruptions, and that's where the swiss
• 7:51
  cheese strategy comes in. Instead of fighting the chaos,
• 7:55
  we are going to work with it.
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  Emily: Right. So here's the framework we're going to use.
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  First, protect your mornings. Even if the rest of your day is
• 8:02
  as mixed up as laundry tumbling in the dryer, do everything in
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  your power to keep your mornings as normal as possible. The more
• 8:09
  disrupted your schedule, the more your students need the
• 8:11
  predictability of your routines.
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  Heidi: We really cannot overstate the importance of
• 8:16
  this. Guard this time fiercely. If your morning is off balance,
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  the rest of the day is going to be much harder to manage, but if
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  you can maintain a calm, predictable morning, it's much
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  easier to keep everyone on track, even if there are
• 8:29
  disruptions later on.
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  Emily: When kids start the day calm and grounded, that
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  foundation carries them through whatever weirdness is going to
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  come later.
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  Heidi: Yeah, but you know when your morning is off balance?
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  Good luck.
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  Emily: So look at whatever disruption is coming and decide,
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  how can I protect my morning? If there's an afternoon assembly,
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  great, keep your morning routine exactly as it normally is.
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  Heidi: Now, on those days when there's a morning interruption,
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  it gets trickier. Keep things as normal as you can but remember,
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  you can always reset later. You can come back from an assembly
• 9:01
  at 10:30 and do morning meeting then if that is what it takes to
• 9:05
  channel that energy in your room.
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  Emily: The second part of the swiss cheese strategy is to keep
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  your routines consistent, even if the content changes. So you
• 9:14
  still do math during math time. You still do writing during
• 9:16
  writing time, but maybe instead of teaching a new concept,
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  you're doing review.
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  Heidi: Or, you know, instead of your regular writing lesson,
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  everyone does a seasonal writing craft. The consistency of, we do
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  writing at 11:15, helps students feel safe and grounded. Even
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  though the activity might be different, the rhythm of the day
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  is staying the same.
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  Emily: So do your best to keep the when and how consistent,
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  even if the what changes. This consistency gives students the
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  support they need to make positive choices. It signals to
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  their nervous systems that today is still a normal day, even if
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  there's a lot going on.
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  Heidi: Now, an important part of surviving December is having the
• 9:55
  right mindset. Remind yourself that these swiss cheese weeks
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  are not going to be your most productive weeks.
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  Emily: Unfortunately, no, and that is okay. Go back to last
• 10:04
  week's episode where we talked about must do's. Make sure you
• 10:07
  know exactly what content you need to cover before winter
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  break, and prioritize getting those lessons in, even if you
• 10:13
  have to get a little creative to make it work.
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  Heidi: Now, outside of your must do's anything else you manage to
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  get done is a bonus. Your goal right now is not to power
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  through your curriculum. It's to keep everyone calm and engaged
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  through a busy, spark filled season.
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  Emily: And hopefully not get behind so you can start back in
• 10:31
  January without having to play catch up.
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  Heidi: Now, when the frustration starts to mount, and it will,
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  take a deep breath and remind yourself that this is normal.
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  Given all of the chaos, things are actually probably going
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  better than you think.
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  Emily: So to sum this up, when your week turns into swiss
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  cheese, structure is your stabilizer. Protect those
• 10:50
  mornings, keep the rhythm of the day, even if the song changes.
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  Heidi: Alright. Now, you know what might actually save
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  December? Adding more novelty to what's already going on.
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  Emily: And you may be thinking, we've lost our minds, but truly,
• 11:05
  sometimes the best way to fight fire is with fire, and sometimes
• 11:09
  the best way to manage classroom spark is with more spark.
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  Heidi: Okay, but the key to all of this is to use the motivation
• 11:16
  of novelty to increase structure, and that's where
• 11:19
  festive breaks come in. We love these.
• 11:22
  Emily: Festive breaks are short, low prep, seasonal activities
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  that you control. We're talking 5 to 10 minutes of fun that give
• 11:28
  kids something to look forward to and gives you leverage.
• 11:32
  Heidi: So you might say something like, if everyone
• 11:34
  works quietly on this assignment for 15 minutes, we will do a
• 11:37
  festive break. But if talking starts, I will have to reset the
• 11:41
  timer.
• 11:42
  Emily: That one sentence gives instant structure. Kids know
• 11:45
  exactly what's expected, and they're motivated to do it.
• 11:48
  Heidi: Plus, this takes all the emotion out of your management.
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  You aren't nagging, you're not reminding. The system is
• 11:55
  managing the behavior for you.
• 11:57
  Emily: And the great thing is, festive breaks can be so simple.
• 12:00
  It can be flashlight reading, a short video, directed drawings,
• 12:03
  a favorite game, or a quick craft. Honestly, anything quick
• 12:06
  and seasonal feels like a festive break.
• 12:08
  Heidi: Now, you know we're looking out for you, so if you
• 12:10
  want this already done for you, we have a whole system waiting
• 12:14
  for you in our shop. It includes cute holiday themed cards that
• 12:17
  you can display to increase interest, and on the back of
• 12:19
  each card, you can just write down a fun activity.
• 12:22
  Emily: Our festive break pack includes a bunch of Print and Go
• 12:25
  no prep activities like Tic Tac Toe, unfoldable joke tellers,
• 12:30
  things that are fun but they're not going to spike anyone's
• 12:33
  adrenaline.
• 12:34
  Heidi: Yeah, we worked really hard to come up with chill fun.
• 12:37
  Chill fun is kind of our zone, isn't it? Once kids have met
• 12:41
  your goal, maybe they came back from library with a good report
• 12:44
  from the librarian, then a student gets to choose one of
• 12:46
  the cards. The surprise factor keeps kids interested in earning
• 12:50
  the reward.
• 12:51
  Emily: And then in the teacher's guide, we've included several
• 12:54
  suggestions for how to display the cards. You can hang the
• 12:57
  cards on a string, tape them to the board, or draw them out of a
• 13:00
  hat, whatever fits your vibe.
• 13:02
  Heidi: And one thing we love is combining festive breaks with a
• 13:05
  work packet. Remember last week when we talked about those?
• 13:09
  They're just basically a stack of review worksheets organized
• 13:12
  around a theme, with a few just for fun pages mixed in.
• 13:15
  Emily: So you give your students the packet to work on, calm,
• 13:18
  structured focus, and then you add the festive breaks as little
• 13:22
  bursts of excitement, work, break, work, break. That rhythm
• 13:25
  keeps engagement high and chaos low.
• 13:28
  Heidi: And bonus, when students are working on their packets,
• 13:31
  you get a little pocket of prep time. You can tackle some
• 13:34
  teacher tasks or start getting ready for January.
• 13:37
  Emily: We talked a lot more about maximizing those pockets
• 13:40
  of prep In last week's episode. So definitely check that out if
• 13:43
  you haven't already.
• 13:44
  Heidi: Alright, so far you are working hard to keep your
• 13:47
  expectations alive. You are protecting your calm mornings,
• 13:51
  and you're sprinkling in fun with festive breaks. But what if
• 13:54
  that is not enough?
• 13:56
  Emily: This is where a reward system might be helpful. Now,
• 13:59
  normally, we are not huge fans of reward systems, at least not
• 14:03
  for day to day classroom management.
• 14:05
  Heidi: No, but that's not because rewards are bad. It's
• 14:08
  because rewards don't work in the long term. Students get used
• 14:12
  to them, the novelty wears off, and then you are stuck in the
• 14:15
  cycle of having to constantly up the ante. And if your whole
• 14:19
  management plan relies on rewards, you're going to be
• 14:22
  burned out well before April.
• 14:24
  Emily: Right. But in high energy times like December, a short
• 14:29
  term, that's key here, a short term reward system can be
• 14:33
  exactly what you need to boost structure and motivation. It
• 14:36
  gives students a reason to push through all the distractions and
• 14:39
  stay focused. And actually, Heidi, didn't you use a reward
• 14:43
  system one December when things were really chaotic?
• 14:46
  Heidi: Oh yeah, this is one of my clearest teacher memories. It
• 14:49
  was a Friday afternoon in mid December, and we had everything
• 14:53
  go wrong that day—you know, an assembly, the snowstorm rolling
• 14:56
  in, I'm pretty sure it was a full moon. I was standing in my
• 15:00
  classroom feeling completely helpless, surrounded by Lord of
• 15:04
  the Flies. But after school, instead of collapsing on my
• 15:08
  couch like I wanted to, I dragged myself to the craft
• 15:11
  store.
• 15:11
  Emily: I'm impressed that you made it to the store after that
• 15:14
  kind of day, especially because I know the craft store was not
• 15:16
  that close in those days.
• 15:17
  Heidi: It was not. I was desperate, Emily. I grabbed a
• 15:22
  cardboard reindeer banner, I disassembled it, and then I
• 15:25
  stuck a red pom pom on one of the noses. And as I'm thinking
• 15:28
  about it, I don't know if I went to the craft store with that in
• 15:31
  mind, I think I was just like, I need something that's going to
• 15:35
  get the kids engaged, something I could use to make a reward
• 15:37
  system out of. And those reindeer fit the bill. So on
• 15:41
  Monday, I introduced the new system. If my students made
• 15:44
  helpful choices, they would earn one of those reindeer cutouts.
• 15:47
  When we had all nine reindeer, including the one with the pom
• 15:49
  pom nose, of course, we got to include Rudolph, they earned a
• 15:52
  fun surprise.
• 15:53
  Emily: And how did it work?
• 15:55
  Heidi: Oh, gosh, it was like magic. Suddenly, I had my
• 15:58
  September class back. They were focused, making good choices,
• 16:01
  and reminding each other to stay on track.
• 16:03
  Emily: And the thing to keep in mind with that story is that it
• 16:07
  wasn't the reindeer that made the difference. It was the
• 16:09
  increased structure that the reindeer provided.
• 16:13
  Heidi: Yeah, exactly. The novelty of December was so high
• 16:17
  that my students needed that boost of extra structure to
• 16:21
  counteract the overflowing energy.
• 16:23
  Emily: So if you're thinking about adding a reward system,
• 16:26
  there are a few things to keep in mind. First, we recommend
• 16:28
  making it class wide. When everyone is working toward the
• 16:31
  same goal, students will help keep each other on track because
• 16:34
  they want that reward.
• 16:35
  Heidi: That might not seem important, but it's the key to
• 16:39
  all of this. It means that you don't have to be the enforcer.
• 16:42
  You just calmly walk toward the reward board, and your students
• 16:46
  will self correct immediately, and they will help each other
• 16:50
  get back on track.
• 16:50
  Emily: Oh yes, they will. Now an effective reward system also
• 16:54
  needs to be visible. So maybe you are adding letters to spell
• 16:57
  out movie day, or you're adding pieces to a puzzle or marbles to
• 17:02
  a jar.
• 17:03
  Heidi: When kids can see their progress, that's what keeps them
• 17:06
  motivated to keep working toward their goal.
• 17:08
  Emily: And then, this might be controversial, but we think it
• 17:12
  helps. The system needs to allow for progress to be lost as well
• 17:16
  as earned. So if behavior goes off the rails, you can remove a
• 17:20
  letter or take out a marble, because this is going to help
• 17:23
  with that peer accountability.
• 17:26
  Heidi: So when you're choosing rewards, pick something that
• 17:28
  will actually be motivating for your students. Since it's
• 17:31
  December, you might need to go bigger than you would in
• 17:33
  October—a glow in the dark party, hot chocolate and a
• 17:36
  movie, extra recess, whatever your kids would work for, makes
• 17:39
  a great reward.
• 17:40
  Emily: And the nice thing about doing this before a break is
• 17:43
  there's an automatic end date built into it. You don't have to
• 17:46
  worry about how you're going to transition out of this reward
• 17:48
  system. The kids will come back in January, and then you can
• 17:49
  just start fresh. They probably won't even remember that you
• 17:54
  ever did that.
• 17:54
  Heidi: That'll be old news by then.
• 17:56
  Emily: Yep.
• 17:57
  Heidi: In our teacher approved tip in this episode, we're
• 17:58
  diving deeper into how to choose the right kind of reward system
• 18:02
  for your specific class, but for now, just know that rewards can
• 18:05
  be a helpful tool when everything else feels chaotic
• 18:08
  and you need extra structure.
• 18:10
  Emily: And if you want the reindeer reward system for your
• 18:12
  own class, you're in luck, because we have that available.
• 18:15
  It includes pictures and prize cards and a complete Teacher's
• 18:18
  Guide with all the important details to walk you through it.
• 18:21
  You can find a link to that in the show notes.
• 18:23
  Heidi: And that reindeer reward system comes as part of a larger
• 18:26
  December behavior help set. So we've got lots of different
• 18:29
  systems if you want something for individual students or teams
• 18:33
  or multiple whole class rewards. So you can change things up mid
• 18:36
  month, because after you reindeer rewards for a little
• 18:38
  bit, the motivation to keep going tanks. You know how it
• 18:42
  goes.
• 18:43
  Emily: Yeah, for sure, that's exactly what happens. So we gave
• 18:46
  you all the options, and you can find a link to that in our show
• 18:49
  notes.
• 18:50
  Heidi: Show notes are hopping today.
• 18:52
  Okay, so let's recap our four strategies for keeping the calm
• 18:56
  in December. First, keep your expectations alive with daily
• 19:00
  check ins, visible posted guidelines and quick reviews
• 19:03
  before tricky transitions.
• 19:05
  Emily: Second, maintain your routines. Be sure to protect
• 19:08
  your mornings and keep the when and how of your schedule
• 19:11
  consistent, even if the what has to change.
• 19:15
  Heidi: Third, use structured fun. Festive breaks give you
• 19:18
  leverage for behavior while channeling that December
• 19:21
  excitement into focus,
• 19:22
  Emily: And fourth, add rewards when you need a boost, a class
• 19:25
  wide visible system can provide exactly the structure you need
• 19:29
  to get through the chaos.
• 19:30
  Heidi: December doesn't have to be survival mode. With the right
• 19:33
  balance of structure and spark, you can keep your class focused
• 19:36
  and maybe even enjoy this season.
• 19:39
  Emily: We'd love to hear your tips for managing December
• 19:41
  behavior. Come join the conversation in our teacher
• 19:43
  approved Facebook group. Now for our Teacher Approved Tip of the
• 19:47
  Week, where we share an actionable tip to help you
• 19:49
  elevate what matters and simplify the rest. This week's
• 19:53
  teacher approved tip is reflect on what you need before starting
• 19:56
  a new reward system. Tell us more about it, Heidi.
• 19:59
  Heidi: Well, if you are thinking of launching a reward system
• 20:02
  this month, just be aware that not all reward systems are
• 20:05
  created equal. For a reward to be effective at shaping
• 20:09
  behavior, it has to target the correct behaviors. So don't jump
• 20:14
  in without at least a few minutes of reflection.
• 20:16
  Emily: But we've got you covered, of course. The December
• 20:19
  teacher survival kit has a journal page that walks you
• 20:22
  through this decision making process. There are 12 questions
• 20:25
  that help you figure out exactly what kind of system would make
• 20:29
  sense for your students.
• 20:30
  Heidi: Now we don't have time to go through all 12 right now, but
• 20:33
  we can hit the big ones. So first, you need to think about
• 20:36
  what behaviors you're hoping your reward system will increase
• 20:39
  and what behaviors you're hoping to decrease.
• 20:41
  Emily: Once you're clear on your goals, then you can decide, will
• 20:44
  a whole group system work best? A small group system, individual
• 20:48
  or some combination?
• 20:49
  Heidi: We've mostly been talking about whole group rewards this
• 20:52
  episode, where everyone is working toward one shared
• 20:55
  reward. This works really well when you have a general on task
• 20:59
  behavior goal that you're working toward.
• 21:01
  Emily: And we prefer whole group rewards because they can help
• 21:03
  build your classroom community. But small group rewards are a
• 21:06
  great way to increase competition, and they may boost
• 21:09
  student buy in.
• 21:11
  Heidi: Small group rewards could be something like table points
• 21:13
  or team challenges. If a whole group reward system isn't
• 21:17
  motivating enough, you can up the stakes by awarding table
• 21:20
  points. That competition can get kids to buy in very quickly.
• 21:25
  Emily: Individual reward systems are for when you need to target
• 21:28
  very specific behaviors for specific students. Use them when
• 21:32
  they're needed, but they probably won't help much with
• 21:34
  general classroom behavior in December.
• 21:36
  Heidi: Once you've decided what reward system you need, then you
• 21:39
  need to think about the format. Are you doing tickets, marbles
• 21:43
  in a jar, puzzle pieces, or, you know, letters on the board?
• 21:46
  Emily: Younger kids often do well with something very visual
• 21:49
  and concrete, like puzzle pieces that they can see filling in a
• 21:52
  picture. Older kids might prefer something quicker and less
• 21:55
  babyish, like tally marks on the board.
• 21:57
  Heidi: And then, of course, you have to think through all of the
• 21:59
  physical logistics that come with starting a new reward
• 22:02
  system. How will you organize it? If you're doing tickets,
• 22:05
  where are students going to keep them? If you're adding puzzle
• 22:08
  pieces to a board, where's that board going to go?
• 22:11
  Emily: And this might sound silly, but this is where your
• 22:13
  systems fall apart. You introduce something that sounds
• 22:16
  great in theory, but then you realize you don't have a good
• 22:18
  place to store the materials, or it's too complicated to manage,
• 22:21
  and if the system is complicated, you won't stick
• 22:23
  with it.
• 22:24
  Heidi: Now, you got enough to do in December. Don't make this
• 22:27
  harder than it has to be. So think through those big
• 22:29
  questions, and in the December teacher survival kit, we have
• 22:33
  that whole worksheet that will walk you through all of this,
• 22:36
  plus a few more considerations. Because you know, the last thing
• 22:39
  you need right now is to introduce a reward system that
• 22:42
  adds more stress to your life, instead of making it easier.
• 22:43
  To wrap up the show, we are sharing what we're giving extra
• 22:43
  credit to this week. Emily, what gets your extra credit?
• 22:50
  Emily: I'm giving extra credit to solar powered fairy lights. I
• 22:54
  got some to add to my little free library, and it's so cute.
• 22:59
  So now I'm wondering what else I can add fairy lights to outside.
• 23:03
  Heidi: I love that. And then you could put them in places where
• 23:05
  stretching an extension cord is just not practical. Gosh, now I
• 23:09
  Emily: You need some. I don't know where you what for, but I
• 23:09
  want some.
• 23:09
  think you need them. They're super cute.
• 23:12
  Heidi: I could put them on my porch railing. That's why I
• 23:15
  haven't decorated my porch, really, because I don't have a
• 23:18
  good place to plug things in out there. But maybe?
• 23:20
  Emily: That could work. You could probably put them in your
• 23:23
  trees too, because your trees aren't too tall.
• 23:26
  Heidi: That would be pretty.
• 23:27
  Emily: Yeah. Do it.
• 23:28
  Heidi: Okay, good ideas.
• 23:29
  Emily: What are you giving extra credit to, Heidi?
• 23:32
  Heidi: Well, I'm giving extra credit to season two of A Man on
• 23:35
  the Inside, now that it is out on Netflix. So in season one,
• 23:38
  Ted Danson's character goes undercover in a retirement home
• 23:42
  to find a jewel thief. It's so sweet. This is from Mike Schur,
• 23:46
  who, if you're not familiar with, he was a writer on The
• 23:49
  Emily: yet.
• 23:49
  Office and was a creator for Parks and Rec and The Good
• 23:53
  Place. So if you like any of the shows, I am sure you would love
• 23:56
  Man on the Inside too. It's got big heart, but it's not cheesy,
• 24:00
  really, and it's not afraid to ask some big questions. It's,
• 24:04
  it's very sweet. And my only sadness is he's not at the same
• 24:07
  retirement home this year.
• 24:12
  Heidi: That is it for today's episode. December behavior does
• 24:22
  not have to unravel. Remember to keep expectations alive,
• 24:25
  maintain routines, use festive fun strategically, and add
• 24:28
  rewards when you need them.
• 24:32
  We hope you enjoyed this episode of Teacher Approved. I'm Heidi.
• 24:36
  Emily: And I'm Emily. Thank you for listening. Be sure to follow
• 24:39
  or subscribe in your podcast app so that you never miss an
• 24:42
  episode.
• 24:42
  Heidi: You can connect with us and other teachers in the
• 24:45
  Teacher Approved Facebook group. We'll see you here next week.
• 24:48
  Bye, for now.
• 24:49
  Emily: Bye.