Whole Brain Teaching {The Scoreboard}

I have to tell ya, I am loving connecting with so many of you through comments, facebook and instagram about WBT. I LOVE that there are so many of us trying it this year and so many experts out there that we can ask lots of questions!

Need to catch up on old posts? No problem!

Chapters 1-3 can be found{here}

Chapters 4 & 5 can be found  {here}
Chapters 6 & 7 can be found {here}
Chapters 8-10 can be found {here!}

Out of the request, I have made my version of rules available {here!} I discussed my rules on Chapters 6 & 7. If you grab them, I would love some feedback! :)

After the last couple chapters focused on Teach-Okay, my main question was "how will I continue to motivate my class to work hard?" Well this chapter introduced just that...The Scoreboard!

The Scoreboard

Now this has to the most simple motivator to implement and will not cost you a dime. Think about all those marbles in the jar or tickets or prize box, copies of behavior charts and everything else that you spend time and money keeping up with the system. This is so easy and all you really need is a marker and a board or a simple poster to enlarge. Nothing Fancy!

Just make a T-chart. On one side have a smiley face and on the other side a sad face. THAT IS IT! You introduce the scoreboard as a game. Tell your students we are going to play a game. All you have to do to win is to keep the scorekeeper happy....guess who the scorekeeper is..you! You will explain when I put a mark under the smiley side that means you are doing something that makes me happy and when I put something on the sad side that means that you are doing something that makes me unhappy.

Start it off pretty easy by saying by following the 5 rules...you make me happy. You want to be sure to find ways to put marks in on the smiley side. You can give them things to work for. Such as, if there are more marks on the smiley side, we will have 1 extra minute of free choice or choose your seat or pick a read aloud...choose something that is easy to do and fits with the dynamics of your class.

The FUN part! When they earn a mark under the smiley, they earn a 1 second party. All say "Oh, yea" and do quick fist bump in the air.

When they earn a frowny, its a mighty groan. Shoulder up to ears and give a big groan. This is important because it gets their frustration out QUICK but they are back on your side because they will find it fun!

Some examples of why you might put a mark under the sad side in the beginning:

• not using gestures
• not following rules
• not answering to Class

Tips to Implement the Scoreboard

• Keep a +- score of 3 on the scoreboard
• Do not give more than 3 frownies in a row 
• Reward too much and  your students become lackadaisically
• Have the score end equal on some days
• It is okay that the frowny might "win"
• If the score is always the same it will lose its novelty and students will not be motivated
• Understand your class. Are they motivated by "coming from behind" or do they need an extra boost in the morning?

You can grab the free poster {here!}   It is perfect to project on your smartboard or print and enlarge for your classroom!

And for all of the visual learners like me, this video shows a snippet from various classrooms using different versions of the scoreboard!

 

 Jazz it Up!

When your scoreboard starts losing its novelty, these are ways to help jazz it up/different strategies. Just remember you don't want to do all of these at once. June is a long way away! These are a few of my fav. These are not near all of them in the book!

1. Boombox: Go in with a boombox and place it far away from where it would be hooked up. Each positive mark on the scoreboard gets the boombox closer  to the outlet.Eventually it gets plugged in, you see negative behavior it gets unplugged. Eventually they get to hear 30 seconds of music. By the end of the year maybe 3 minutes. Make those kids word for it!
2. Doubler: Perfect for the end of the year. Everything gets double the points!
3. Girls vs Boys: Change your scoreboard to show boys vs girls. Maybe they could be competing for who lines up first or something simple.
4. Pirates: Label the scoreboard "captain, Crew" When crew gets a point you say Yo, ho, ho! When the captain gets a point you hold your hand out in a hook and say "arggg" You could change this to "Farmer vs Turkey, Queen vs subjects etc"

What are your thoughts?? Comment below!