tickets

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Home : 2001 : December : 7

tickets
By Cathy

I teach fourth grade also and I use a ticket system with my students (and it works!!!) I do this in conjunction with another thing. I have magnetic frogs with the students' names on them that are on my front board. All
students begin the day with their frog at the top of the board. If I need to speak to them for behavior problems, excessive talking, missing homework, etc. their frog goes down to the bottom of the board. At the end of the day I give those students whose names remain on top a ticket. If the whole class remains up for the day, everyone is given 3 tickets each, which makes them really

pull for one another. I also give tickets throughout the day when I notice kids doing "the right thing" Some of my kids have real problems with active listening skills for example, so if I ask them to do a simple task like take out their math workbook and a pencil and 5 or 6 out of the entire class do it, I nonchalantly give each student a ticket. Kids notice and they learn to listen and do what they are supposed to do anyway. I work in an inner city school and some of our kids are tough, not the type that you would imagine would go for something like this, but it really works. I have a class store set up and at the end of the day kids can come up and buy items with their tickets (5 tickets for a jolly rancher, 8 for a lollipop, 12 for bigger candy, 15 for a fancy pencil, 25 for a bigger prize) I have some kids that spend their tickets as soon as they get 5, and some that hold onto them like they're worth gold. Don't be turned off by what the principal told you. Give it a try and if it doesn't work, you'll find something that does. It doesn't hurt to try though. Good luck!