Classroom Management

Happy July fellow teachers! The coming of July can only mean one thing for me...

However, I am really looking forward to August because I get to take a tool that I have used the last three school years (successfully)! One of my favorite tools is Class Dojo! I cannot rave about how it has connected families and my classroom. Over the years, it has become less about the points and more about the stories that students and myself share.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Class Dojo, let me give you the five second run down. Class Dojo has you create your rosters for your classes and then decide what positive behaviors you will be looking for in each student (assign those behaviors positive values) and which behaviors will be considered inappropriate (assign those behaviors a negative value or zero). Once your class is set up, you can then print parent invites. They can link up to their child's account and monitor their behavior from home. Parents can also view the class story and message the teacher at any time. I use the app on my phone for access to students and points at all times but like to keep Class Dojo opened on the desk top so students can hear the chimes when they get points.

Here is a few shots of some of the stories on my Class Dojo (ELA and SCIENCE) Class Story...

Now for why I am excited for Class Dojo this coming school year! I have decided last school year to use Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone as a novel study and paired it with my mixtures and solutions science kit (potions). This coming year I am taking that idea to a whole new level. Room 103 is going full Harry Potter. I will be teaching four different groups next year. Each group will be assigned a Hogwarts House (Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin). These groups will compete in a House Cup, just like the houses in Harry Potter. The best part of this, is that Class Dojo is completely customizable (that includes the avatars that I will be using to keep track of the house points).

House Cup Main Page on Class Dojo

Point Screen

This will be displayed every day so each class will know how they stand between the other classes. Each nine weeks there will be a small reward for the winning house. At the end of the year, there will be a large award for the house with the most total points throughout the school year.

My school is making a large movement toward more Positive Behavior Support, so on top of each individual class having their own dojo and their own monsters, I will be keeping up with this one. I cannot wait to report back after the first nine weeks and letting everyone know how successful (or unsuccessful) this adventure has been.

Let me know if you have a management system that works for you!