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Home : 2004 : July : 19

Tokens
By Kathy

Your plan sounds creative, but it would be a little complicated for me! I try to find the plan that takes the least amount of teacher time!! It gets pretty hard for me to keep up with elaborate behavior plans. So for
me, easy is best. (And I'm sure children will play with them unless you tell them you will take away a token if they are fiddling with them.)
Here are some other ideas that have worked for me in the past:
#1 Color card warning systems (Easy and visual--I've used this--with variations--for the past 16 years My latest modification has been a green sticker oon the right hand

corner of their desk that we change as needed.)

#2 Placing students in groups and having a cup on the table where you can add or take away tokens as behavior warrents. When group gets a certain number, the whole table gets a prize. I like this because it encourages them to work as a team. If you change groups you just divvy up tokens in the cup with number of students and they add them to their new group's cup. (Instant math lesson!)

Another variation of this same idea is to have table numbers on the board and add stars by group numbers. This is great for transitions!

#3 Give each child a three by five card and have them write their name on it. Then you can punch holes in their cards to reinforce good behavior. They can trade cards with a certain # of holes (Say 25) for a prize. (This is great for kids who can't keep track of things because they have to start a new card every time they lose the old ones and eventually they figure it out!! I won't let them add up holes on more than one card to equal 25! It has to be a card with 25 punches on it.)

This actually sounds like it would be more time consuming than it is although it was a bit of a hassle. I have used it with classrooms of 32 children with success. (I can punch fast!)

#4 My most recent plan (along with the color coded dots) is giving children a small manilla envelope to keep at their desks and having them earn (or lose)fraction pieces. (Different colors for different fractions Yellow--1/8, blue --1/4, Orange--1/2 Green--1 whole circle)
I like this plan because it's easy, you can vary the reward, and it teaches math!!! (They can easily see that 4 yellows equals an orange for instance. And they have to add the pieces together to make a whole since I only accept whole circles for trade-in.)

Every month or so we have "store" and they can trade in their circles for various prizes. I have prizes from 1 circle up to 8--plus a few larger items. I also use other rewards. I will take them out to eat if they have 50 circles, let them choose who they sit by for 25, whatever motivates that particular group of youngsters. We have an auction about 4 times a year and that's lots of fun.

You can take away pieces as you wish. I usually choose three behaviors I'm working to eliminate each month. I list these on the board and I fine a whole circle for those. (No name on paper is usually one of them!!) For other things, they just have to bring me any fraction piece. (which is where the eighths come in handy!!)

This isn't a foolproof system, but I've used it the last three years and have liked it.

Incidentally, I teach 3 and 4. Every idea I've listed I have "stolen" from another teacher!! (My philosopy is that most good teachers are "thieves"!!)