Submitted by Jessica Rogers, Louisville, Kentucky
Idea posted February 14, 2003
This is a sure-fire thing that will work... especially on BEHAVIOR.
Put the kids in groups of four or five. You pick a leader of the group. That leader is in charge of keeping their group in order.
If you know recorders, have the students (or you can just order them as a school) bring in $3.00 for a recorder.
Put a chart on the board like this:1 ___________________
2 ___________________
3 ___________________
4 ___________________
5 ___________________
(or however many groups you have)
Whenever a group has bad behavior (like tattling, playing out of turn, or playing while you are talking), you walk to the board and give all the other groups a check mark. I assure you... just to get their attention, all you have to do is walk to the board. They shut up.
Pick a time span that you like and that is reasonable, e.g. 6 weeks, and whatever group has the most checks at the end of the 6 weeks gets a PIZZA PARTY, or a MOVIE after school... make a big deal out of it. If you can't get your school to pay for the pizza, charge the kids say $2.00... they will STILL love this idea. OR if you can, pay for it yourself... trust me, it's worth the money not to have the aggravation of discipline that you have.
Your kids need to know the basics of RHYTHM and NOTE READING before you start, but you can still have them in groups while you are teaching that... and give checks on their behavior. OR you could teach it by ROTE first, and just get started now.
I have used this method for the last 6 years, and the kids LOVE it. I have taught in INNER city and in the country schools, and it works everywhere.