Back to Basics-Practice Cards

Back to Basics-Practice Cards

I have a chart in my classroom that has a pocket for each child. Throughout the day if I catch someone doing the right thing I can ask them to put a purple card in their pocket. If however I catch someone not remembering to follow a rule I can ask them to put a white card in their pocket. If a child gets a white card they need to practice the rule they have broken at the next break time. The children accept that they need to practice the rule to help them learn it. They love getting purple cards and feel happy with their choices. 

I love starting the day with giving out purple cards. The children actually pray for purple cards. So cute! It is good to start in a positive way as it encourages others to do the right thing. This is the WBT individual tracking behaviour  system and stands separate from the class scoreboard. At the end of each day we check how each child went during the day. This is one part of our end of day meeting.  The children know they are accountable for their actions and that will be acknowledged for making smart choices. 

This year our school introduced a green slip system to communicate with parents when children are not following the rules. It has evolved over time to equal three white cards in a day gets a green slip. This is not a WBT strategy but a school based strategy. To balance this I give a reward certificate for three purple cards. Last Friday we had a very purple day and five children achieved reward cards. We were all so excited we took a photo of the chart and the children. 

I really like the way this chart tracks all behaviour in one place. I like the way the pockets are emptied each afternoon and the children start each day with an empty pocket nada fresh start.  I like the way it is not a big fuss to give a practice card. It is a simple fact that the rule has not been followed. It also helps with consistency in our classroom. 

There are other elements in the practice card section of WBT but these are the  only parts that I have used in my year one room. 

Back to Basics- Power Pics

Back to Basics-Power Pics

A Power pic is something we use every day in our classroom. A power picture is a colourful picture prompt in the middle of a card. Around the card is a coloured border. At the top of the card is the question and answer for the children to learn. The bottom of the card has the gesture to use with the answer to the question.  Power pics are colour coded on the border. A blue border is for English power pics. A red border is for Mathematics power pics. A green border is for science power pics. 

You can make power pics for any topic, question and answer.

We use power pics to help us learn a specific fact. At this point in time I have two walls set up. One is for English and the other is for Mathematics. I have them on display all year round so the children can refer to them whenever they need to. 

Last week we reviewed expanded form. Before I could point to the power pic I saw several chn looking at the wall and looking for the appropriate card. We used the card as a prompt with Mirror activities. It was also used for teach o.k. and other strategies in the lesson plan. During the same week we made a graph and again I saw children referring to the wall to help them explain what a graph is. 

The visual cortex is a large area at the back of the brain and it is really important that we use this area in all our lessons. The more areas of the brain we use in every lesson the higher the opportunity for learning. Power pics are an essential part of daily lessons in our classroom. I am a visual learner so this appeals to my way of learning and I know it helps my students have success in learning.