I was all pumped up to do this the week back from Christmas Break! The first 2 days the kids were SO attentive and listening and had a lot of fun! I was very happy.
3rd day:
Scoreboard--- "oh yeahs" turned into "oh yeah oh yeaaaahhhh" to which it became a mighty groan which turned into "ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" instead of "oh!" I gave them another mighty grown and they STILL did it. Did it again, it continued. All of a sudden they had 5 more frowny faces than smiley faces because they didn't care! I tried to find role models who were doing it correctly to get "oh yeahs" but then when the class got a mighty groan they again did the "ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" They also had no motivation to earn anything. THEY DIDN'T CARE and these are 2nd graders!!!!!

Gestures--when mirroring, not a problem. When teach-OK only 4 out of my 31 students are doing it. When doing shoulder shrug and "oh yea" in the air about 1/2 the class is doing it.

Papers/papers/papers or go/go/go- not working. They can't handle it. They either stop doing it or are screaming even though I tell them how to do it over and over.

HOWEVER,
When I excuse them to go places it's going a LOT faster BECAUSE I tell them "When I call your row I want to hear EVERYONE say 'recess recess recess' (or if it's lunch say lunch or art/music/pe/library they say that 3x) and for the most part they do it.

My huge concern though is this class seriously does not care if they earn something. They are not showing me it with their behavior whatsoever. I don't want to give up but I'm still very frustrated = (

What do the kids win with the scoreboard? Mine win free time and it's working so far but I foresee down the road having to change what we're working towards. Maybe what they are working towards with the scoreboard isn't "cool" enough in their minds thus they aren't giving you as much enthusiasm. Every time I don't get enthusiasm I turn my frustration into more enthusiasm and make them do it again. Keep going! Sounds like you're on the right track!

They earn the right to go out first before everyone else for recess. I have also have tried to give them free time. They didn't earn it.

Okay ... I'll guide you through this but it may be slow going and you'll have to be patient.

Part One: The first step is to read chapters 3 and 4 of "Whole Brain Teaching for Challenging Kids." Chapter 4 has an evaluation system for you and another for your class. Post your personal score here and also how many kids in your class are Alphas, Go-Alongs, Fence Sitters and Challenging. Then calculate your average classroom management score. A good goal is merely to raise this core by .1 per month ... that will mean that by the end of the year, every kid will have moved up one level. All you can control, absolutely, is your own behavior ... that's why the self evaluation score is important. And, because it may be slow going with your class, you need a baseline score for their behavior, so that you can judge their progress.

Part Two: In the meantime, be sure you are rehearsing the rules at least five times per day. Make the rules rehearsals fun ... without making them hysterical. After awhile, let your most charismatic kid, who is with you, lead the rules. Eventually, you might have one of your challenging kids lead the rehearsals. In instruction, focus only on the class-yes (vary your tone occasionally) and the Scoreboard ... don't worry about papers-papers-papers, or anything else that is difficult for your class. Before you even start actually using the Scoreboard, practice the correct and incorrect response. "Okay class, I want you to show me how we DON'T groan ... I want you to really draw it out ... " Then, pretend to make a mark on the Frownie side ... congratulate them on how excellently they showed you the wrong way ... explain why that is the wrong way ... it takes too long ... then practice the right way ... do this a few times during the day before you even make actual marks. But before I go further, I'll need to see your scores from Part One above.

Don't despair and finish every note with something positive ...

Ok...my first helpful suggestion...well Biffle beat me to it...but yes read the ebook and do the evaluation on you and your class....

Next suggestion..PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!

For my kinders it was somewhat easy to get back into the routine but there were some times that I thought they had just left their WBT brains at home!!! LOL! Practice makes perfect!!! My 1 sec parties were getting lazy also...so we practiced...one day we practiced instead of...hold you gasps....playing mind soccer!!! Yes the kids were so disappointed in not getting to play mind soccer they picked their 1 sec parties right back up!!!

You gotta figure out what makes your group tick!!!

HTH
Farrah Shipley
2010-2011 WBT Intern
Kindergarten

Thanks....

Personal score: 14

Alphas: 9
Go Alongs: 11
Fence Sitters: 9
Challenging: 2 <~~~surprising to me ...makes me feel a bit better

combined--89 31 in class= 2.87

Good job!! ... now you have a clearer picture of your class ... it's amazing how a few challenging kids can seem like 10 challenging kids. Write a blog at the end of the day describing how things went in regard to my suggestions above ... and work hardest of all in bringing your personal score up from 14 to at least 16 ...

When you get to this point, I have a suggestion on the papers problem. My 3rd grade class also went a little crazy with the papers passing out and handing in, so we came up with a chant to say as we hand out papers. Instead of cheering and clapping, my class says, "Papers go papers, papers go papers," and so on until all the papers are passed out. The last person with papers still brings them to me. I time them and they can earn a smiley or frowny depending on if they beat their previous time. And as far as the scoreboard goes, we actually do teacher vs. students, so they can beat me or I can win. They like to beat the teacher, and they are pretty on top of it. The chant isn't out of control and they keep a steady rhythm, which is nice. They like it and as soon as I hand the first stack out, the chant begins.

For rewards, I have also rewarded with mind soccer and they love that, but I have also made them only complete odd number problems on homework...easy stuff that doesn't make a whole lot of extra work for me! Of course, sometimes I win too, and then they come back the next day and work even harder to beat me!

I hope this helps out too!