How are you managing classroom behaviors? How effective is your system you currently have in place? Think about those questions.
I currently use Classroom Dojo to manage and track behaviors in my classroom. I have been using Dojo for three years now, and I have used it more this year then I have in the past. My sixth graders are enjoying all the features that are included. They love to see points added to the totals and to see what percentage of positives they have.
I work at a PBIS (positive behavior intervention system) school. We focus on ways to reward the positive and teach ways students how to make better choices. The language at our school is the same. We acknowledge students who are doing the right thing ("Brittney I like the way you are standing in line facing forward") in hopes that the others that are not doing the behavior will want fix it.
When I see my studens doing these behaviors I give them points the add up to a percentage. My students use their points in our class store on Fridays. I do this so all students can participate. Every Friday we have Friday Specials; the last hour of the day on Fridays we spend doing something special such as an extra recess, movie, play on iPads, games, etc... Students can only participate if there behavior on Dojo is 80% or higher. The same goes for the PBIS parties at the end of the month.
I can also connect with my teammates class and give her students points when I am with them.
I like to keep track of my students attendance and Dojo makes it easy. Dojo lets you take attendance and it saves it for you to look at later. It also shades the student's name that is absent so they don't get any class points accidentally. Absent student don't accumulate points.
The message sending is new to Dojo. I can now send messages to parent through the Dojo app or the website. This is a really convenient way to stay in contact with all my student's parents.
To connect your parents just print the parent invitations and send home. Parents download the app and put in the code specially generated for them. Once they are connected they can see their child's total percentage, when they get points, lose points, and parents can send messages to the teacher.
The teacher can also send individual messages or a whole class broadcast. Each month we have to make a positive phone call to our parents. Sending a positive message through Dojo makes it quick and easy.
So far I have 14 out of 24 parents connected. It is my mission to get the other 10 connected. I can also say my parents love that they can send me a message anytime and they can see how their child's behavior is in class. Parents alson send messages to let me know if their child will be absent, if they forget what to do for homework and they can ask questions when needed.
If you have not joined Class Dojo, it is the best kid/parent/teacher friendly classroom management system ever, so go join!!
