Monkey Business

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To handle the mid-year slip in classroom conduct, Mrs. Szalkowski thought it would be a good idea to come up with a classroom management system that would promote teamwork in cooperative groups. I came up with the theme, monkeys, and she and I refined the positive reinforcement system of points to drive the system. Here’s what it looks like:

Colored monkey’s hang from vines above each cluster of three student desks. A group earns a monkey (game pieces from Barrel of Monkeys) whenever their entire group is caught on task or participating. Only under extreme circumstances can a monkey be taken away. To keep the kids from becoming too competitive, we established the idea that it is each group’s individual goal to earn four monkeys every day.

You see blue monkeys and red monkeys because the classroom is shared by two different classes. The fourth graders come in first, so their monkeys (the blue ones) ge hung first. The red monkeys are for the third grade.

So far, it has been working pretty well. It was quick to make, and the kids really seem to be getting into it. These things have time limits, though. It will be interesting to see how long it takes this method’s effect to wear off.

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Tags: citizenship, class competition, classroom conduct, classroom management, monkey business, monkeys in a barrel, positive reinforcement strategy