I'm not sure where I originally saw this... I'm sure somewhere on Pinterest. This is my version of the picture that was circulating. I was able to get cups donated from Starbucks and Cows donated from Chic-fil-A. I put candy in the bottom of the cup, stuffed in the cow, and crumpled up some tissue paper. I punched a hole, using a hole-puncher, in the side of the lid so that the straw would go in. Looking back now, I would have used a pixie stick instead of the straws. After I snapped the lid on, straw in place, I stuck a red tootsie pop in like a cherry. Each student gets a "milk shake" birthday treat on their birthday. Some have even said they still have it, in tact, at home. They thought it was too cute to take apart!
I've tried a number of restroom procedures over the years. I never have really had a problem with frequent trips. Usually, I handle the abusers case by case. However, this year I tried something different. What works for one group doesn't work for all, that's for sure. So, we were in desperate need of a change in order to regain control of the frequent trips to the restroom.
First of all, it is a standing rule in my class that students MAY NOT use the restroom when someone is speaking to the whole class. It is just rude. Also, we all take a restroom break as a class after lunch. That being said, students are allowed one other trip to the restroom before lunch. I also have sanitizers labeled 'boys' and 'girls'. I am now using a magnetic board with student names to monitor who takes restroom trips. I keep it on the side of my desk, in plain site from my small group table. Not a lot of traffic passes by this spot, except if students use the restroom. The procedure is to come get the boys' or girls' sanitizer off the shelf (if it is gone, they must wait-my rule is one boy and one girl out of the room at a time). Once they have confirmed that no one else is out using the restroom, they move their name down on the board. If they don't use their 1 pass before lunch, or their emergency pass, they earn a ClassDojo point for the day. If students need their emergency pass, it is certainly available, but no ClassDojo point is earned that day. Students went from going 3-4, and even some 5-6 times a day, to only 2 times or less! What was ridiculous has become fantastic! Bottom line - the more time students are in the room, the more instruction they receive. Magnetic Restroom Board = Success! Our students loved creating models of the 3 types of fossils we learn about in 3rd grade.
For the model of a Mold Fossil, we used model magic. Students used Vaseline and Q-Tips to grease up our "organisms." We pressed our "organisms" in the model magic so that it could take the shape. We used shells, shark teeth, anything we could find to represent an organism. We let it dry 2-3 days.For To create the model of a Cast Fossil, we use Play Doh and pressed it into the Mold Fossil models. The, we gently pulled them out. For Preserved Parts, we used Jello to represent the sap, or resin, of Amber. A gummy worm was used to represent the insect that was trapped in the resin. We put the worm in a cup, mixed the Jello up according to the directions on the box, and poured it on top of the worm. I suggest using the sour worms. They are brighter and are colored in sugar. Ours were regular gummy worms, and the color seemed to dissolve in the warm Jello mixture. You could barely see our insects. The kids loved the hands on activities to create models of the fossils. We have been lucky enough to get a grant from Donor's Choose. Most of the donors were from students' family members, friends at our District Office, and friends from our local University. Anyway, each student has one in place of their chair.
It took several weeks to phase them in. I originally saw another teacher's blog who had her stability balls on frisbees. So, frisbees were generously donated. I tried mine out for a few days first while I waited for the rest of them to be shipped. (I wanted to be sure I experienced all of the challenges I would face with the balls first hand.) I'm not afraid to admit my ball slipped off the frisbee when I sat down on it during the first two days! We can't kids slipping off their balls and frisbees getting hurt. We also can't have balls just rolling around. So, I thought students could just put their ball of the frisbee once they stood up to move around. However, that just takes too much time. (I am a stickler for keeping transition time to a minimum.) I gave the problem to my students, and one came back and said, "Did you ever think of putting sand in them?" Genius idea! I did some research and realized that many balls are even sold with 2 lbs. of sand. It made perfect sense to me... so I funneled 2 lbs. of sand in 20 balls! Time consuming...yes, but TOTALLY worth it! When we are leaving for the day, the balls will even sit on top of tables without rolling off, all because the sand weighs them down. Once our problem was solved and all the balls came in, I introduced out stability ball contract to the students. With clear guidelines, students have been very successful! I have only had to take three... and each of those was within the first day the student received their ball. I introduced 3 a day to the class. I also use ClassDojo, so the students with the most points received their ball first. This worked great because those students were perfect candidates for modeling correct use of the stability ball before others received theirs. It has been fun and enlightening watching the students on their balls. Some things my intern and I have noticed: 1. Students who are more athletic bounce higher. (Even though they are only supposed to make small movements that don't distract people, their "small bounce" is higher.) 2. When students are not directly engaged, they bounce higher (Examples of times students aren't directly engaged: a student is sharing at the end of workshop, or I am fiddling with my technology pulling up materials or fixing something, another adult walks into the room and needs my attention and interrupts a minilesson) The balls are supposed to help with students' attention. Instead of using that energy to distract others, pick at things, or doodle, their small movements and balancing on the ball helps keep their focus. Only, when they aren't engaged, their movements get bigger! It definitely clues you in to how many are engaged during a lesson. It also helps build core strength, along with a long list of other benefits. Even though I have been very nervous, (because with anything new there are challenges) I LOVE THEM! |
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