Tis the season for the holiday grumps!
That is what I like to call those up and down student behaviors associated with breaks in schedule, stress, and maybe just a little too much sugar or not enough sleep. If your students are affected, now may be an excellent time to add a new strategy for behavior management.
Class Charts is a free online behavior management tool that is easy to use and has options for student and parent accounts for communication.
To get started, go to: www.classcharts.com
You will need to sign-up for a free teacher account. Once you register, when you login you will be taken to your homepage.
There is a short tutorial and a video to give you an overview of how the website works. You will also have a demo class to start with. To add your actual students you click on the green "Add Class" button.
When you add a class, you will see the screen above. You can add your students and class information, then click "Create Class".
When you click on a class from your homepage, you will see all of your students. You can create a seating chart by clicking and dragging the student icons. You have several options across the top of the screen. You can award points or take away points from multiple pupils, take attendance, pick a random student, and create printable lists and seating charts. You can also click on a student to bring up a snapshot of that students information and behavior.
This is an example of a student snapshot. From this screen, we can give Claire additional points for positive behaviors or take away points for negative behaviors. We can also see the activity log for this student and recent behaviors. To change the avatar for the student, click on the current avatar.
You can choose one of the pre-selected avatars or upload your own image.
Across the top of the screen, you can click on "Pupils" to view a list of all students and their information.
This list will show all of your students. Click on "enhanced report" to view a detailed report.
You can print this report as well as see what the parents or students see when they login to their accounts. If multiple teachers use Class Charts, the parents will be able to see data from all classes that use Class Charts. The pupil report is a powerful tool for students and parents to be able to see behavior patterns.
There are many ways you could implement Class Charts into your instruction. Maybe you open the class chart on your SMART Board and leave it open while students are working independently so they can see positive or negative points. Some teachers also create a weekly competition to see which class can earn the most points for a small reward. Sometimes students just need a visual reminder of your expectations.
I hope Class Charts is a behavior management strategy you consider for your classroom!
Questions or Comments?
Please email me at: pamelabatchelor@johnston.k12.nc.us