I'm doing this for my freshman and it works!! They are holding each other accountable!! They are making it a competition between classes !! Their reward is a movie day when they reach the 15 minutes
Very clever strategy for several reasons. It’s positive. It creates a collaborative effort. Students hold each other accountable. Well done. I may use it for my high school students. Keep being awesome!
Great strat! I use 2 minute breaks. I have 80 minute long classes and I build 3 to 4 two minute breaks into each class period. If the students come in as expected and start their work, they get their first break after about 10 to 15 of a BR. If something went wrong with the way they entered, I use their first 2 minute break to talk about entering expectations. So basically they either work towards their next 2 minute break, or I use that 2 minute break to talk about an expectation that went wrong during a certain time of class or chunk of information I was teaching. They keep each other accountable because they want their 2 min breaks to be free time and not an expectation review. 2 minutes is enough to for them to get up and walk around, but not enough to start getting on each other's nerves or run around. I teach 6th grade at a completely free lunch, title 1 school. So my students tend to get toxic with each other due to poor social skills or just by seeing how their toxic parents talk to them etc.
I know this video is old but I just came across it and LOVE this idea. I will be a middle school teacher in the fall coming from elementary and will definitely be doing this!!!
Sure! It can really be anything you can imagine. I always loved to have a "piggy party" and let my students bring in a snack and drink to class to enjoy. Endless possibilities! You may even want to have your students help you come up with some reward ideas.
This would work if my principal wouldn’t tell me to teach bell to bell. I used to give students a 10 minute break based on their behavior, and he came in and said that it was too long. 😒
I am one of those strict teachers and I am aware that I get burned out if I always try to have my students follow expectations. Thanks for this. I will try it with my kids, but it may also be hard to keep track of or come up with a reward.
some ideas for middle school if they’re allowed, technology games put head down and nap draw, coloring pages maybe try getting them up and out of their seats to stretch or try asking them/ giving them options to pick from
@@EBAcademics @jackiebentsen3894 My suggestion, if your class wasn't able to earn the time for, say, missing a transition, would be to say something like, "I really liked how Suzy and Johnny moved quickly and got their supplies ready, but unfortunately our team wasn't able to move quickly together so we didn't earn our seconds that time. Let's try again later!" or something like that.
@@ttpowell8111 if you use high levels of motivation for positive behaviours, you *should see a decrease in a lot of negative behaviours. For kids with long learning histories of problem behaviours, you might see it take a lot longer.
Great question! I give them the whole class period! Members in our EB Teachers’ Club do a wide variety of things, so anything works, really! As long as the reward is good! 🥳
How long do you think it usually takes to reach the 15 minutes? My concern is that they would reach it too fast and then get too many rewards? If that is possible... lol
I can see my students trying to figure out why I arbitrarily converted a simple classroom reward point system into seconds and minutes. It makes sense if the reward is that they get to choose how to use the 15 minutes they earned, but the way it is being used here it's a completely unnecessary layer of complication added onto what is essentially the class trying to earn 900 points to win a prize.
I'm doing this for my freshman and it works!! They are holding each other accountable!! They are making it a competition between classes !! Their reward is a movie day when they reach the 15 minutes
This is so great to hear! We love when students are invested and motivated!
Very clever strategy for several reasons. It’s positive. It creates a collaborative effort. Students hold each other accountable. Well done. I may use it for my high school students.
Keep being awesome!
Thanks for your feedback! Let us know how it goes in your classroom.
Great strat! I use 2 minute breaks. I have 80 minute long classes and I build 3 to 4 two minute breaks into each class period. If the students come in as expected and start their work, they get their first break after about 10 to 15 of a BR. If something went wrong with the way they entered, I use their first 2 minute break to talk about entering expectations. So basically they either work towards their next 2 minute break, or I use that 2 minute break to talk about an expectation that went wrong during a certain time of class or chunk of information I was teaching. They keep each other accountable because they want their 2 min breaks to be free time and not an expectation review. 2 minutes is enough to for them to get up and walk around, but not enough to start getting on each other's nerves or run around. I teach 6th grade at a completely free lunch, title 1 school. So my students tend to get toxic with each other due to poor social skills or just by seeing how their toxic parents talk to them etc.
What a great idea!
I know this video is old but I just came across it and LOVE this idea. I will be a middle school teacher in the fall coming from elementary and will definitely be doing this!!!
Can you please share some examples of ways your students spent their 15-minute reward?
Sure! It can really be anything you can imagine. I always loved to have a "piggy party" and let my students bring in a snack and drink to class to enjoy. Endless possibilities! You may even want to have your students help you come up with some reward ideas.
This would work if my principal wouldn’t tell me to teach bell to bell. I used to give students a 10 minute break based on their behavior, and he came in and said that it was too long. 😒
Are you referring to the SSR time? Reading is such an integral part of ELA instruction.
I am one of those strict teachers and I am aware that I get burned out if I always try to have my students follow expectations. Thanks for this. I will try it with my kids, but it may also be hard to keep track of or come up with a reward.
some ideas for middle school
if they’re allowed, technology games
put head down and nap
draw, coloring pages
maybe try getting them up and out of their seats to stretch
or try asking them/ giving them options to pick from
Absolutely going to implement this in my new social studies class! Thank you for sharing!
Wonderful! Let us know how it goes.
I like that.
I love this! I am going to implement after winter break!
Wonderful! Let us know how it goes!
Would it be wise to take off seconds for bad behavior or is it better to just keep it positive and simply award no seconds for bad behavior?
Hey, Jackie! We never take seconds away. Always keep it positive. 😀
@@EBAcademics @jackiebentsen3894 My suggestion, if your class wasn't able to earn the time for, say, missing a transition, would be to say something like, "I really liked how Suzy and Johnny moved quickly and got their supplies ready, but unfortunately our team wasn't able to move quickly together so we didn't earn our seconds that time. Let's try again later!" or something like that.
@@EBAcademicshow do you deal with bad behavior?!?
@@ttpowell8111 if you use high levels of motivation for positive behaviours, you *should see a decrease in a lot of negative behaviours. For kids with long learning histories of problem behaviours, you might see it take a lot longer.
Thank you for sharing :)
Curious-how long does your whole class reward last? Is it 15 minutes? Or whole class period?
Great question! I give them the whole class period! Members in our EB Teachers’ Club do a wide variety of things, so anything works, really! As long as the reward is good! 🥳
@@EBAcademics So you give them a reward everyday?
Sorry I missed what kind of rewards you give? Class party? Free time
This is so clever! So going to steal this idea
Awesome! Let us know how it goes.
What is the average time to get to 15 minutes?
What are some examples of rewards they have chosen/you gave them for their time?
My students always loved a "pig out party." They get to bring a snack and drink to enjoy during class.
LOVE THIS!!!
Yay! Let us know if you implement it in your classroom.
This is great! Could you suggest an attractive visual aid to ďisplay the seconds adding up?
You don't have to make it complicated! You can just write it on your whiteboard.
How long do you think it usually takes to reach the 15 minutes? My concern is that they would reach it too fast and then get too many rewards? If that is possible... lol
You can control the amount of time that works for your class. Just don't be overly generous awarding seconds if that's your concern.
i don't understand would be better if done in the actual classroom and showed to us😔
What do you for 15 min they can do whatever they want?
Hey! You can come up with the reward, or have the class decide together!
How does this work for multiple class periods? You just keep the seconds in different spots? I have two really good classes, and four wild periods.
Yes, exactly! Just have a section on your board, or wherever you keep track of points, for each class period.
LOVE!!!!!!❤
Let us know if you try it out!
What are they doing with the time when they get?
Hey there! You can come up with a reward for them, or give them a list of options to choose from.
I’d love to hear some other options the kids suggested
For rewards? They love simple things like a snack and drink in class or getting the chance to wear silly socks or a hat!
Did not work in the slightest
We're so sorry to hear this didn't work for you. You may need to find what motivates your students.
I’m assuming you don’t have any inclusion students? (SPED)?
Hey Shannon! All of our strategies can be modified to meet the needs of your individual students. 😄
This works with my sped kids !
Have you ever tried taking seconds away for poor behavior?
I haven't. I usually strictly to reward good behavior.
I can see my students trying to figure out why I arbitrarily converted a simple classroom reward point system into seconds and minutes. It makes sense if the reward is that they get to choose how to use the 15 minutes they earned, but the way it is being used here it's a completely unnecessary layer of complication added onto what is essentially the class trying to earn 900 points to win a prize.
Hi! They can absolutely choose their reward.