Motivational+Ideas

=Motivational Ideas =

Tickets:

 * Dispersed based on behavior, not academic achievement.
 * Can be given or taken away.
 * Kids tally up their total tickets earned and lost each day and again on Fridays. (uses basic math skills)
 * On Fridays, kids can choose to spend their tickets at the class store or save them up for another time or better prize.
 * List of prizes ranges in value: candy to technology day.

Student of the Week:

 * On the first day of school, each student fills out an informational form about him/herself.
 * It includes favorite color, sport, food, hobbies, pets, and biographical information.
 * Each week, one student is put in the spotlight as student of the week.
 * Chosen based on alphabetical order.
 * This student gets to be the line leader all week, is allowed to take the ice cream money and form to the office each day, and is allowed to use the computers during free time.

**3 Stars and a Wish: **

 * In order to encourage students to edit and share their work, especially their writing, teachers should plan for a brief period of time after writing for students to read their works aloud.
 * After each student reads, have 3 students compliment his or her writing. (3 stars)
 * <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Then, have one student make a suggestion. (a wish)
 * <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Make sure the compliments are specific such as "I like how you used a lot of adjectives to describe the main character. I could really see her in my mind."
 * <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Suggestions should also be specific while remaining positive: "I like your idea of the rocket traveling through space, but I think you should describe the setting more."

**<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Explain: **

 * <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Some students do poorly because they simply do not understand the assignment or the teacher's expectations.
 * <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Always explain the requirements of the assignment specifically and what you expect the student to do in order to receive full credit.
 * <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Tell when the task might be useful in life.

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Participation:

 * <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Have students actively involved in their own learning.
 * <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">If the students feel needed, they receive a boost in self-esteem and correspondingly in motivation.

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Teach Inductively:

 * <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Avoid giving conclusions first. This robs the students of the joy of discovery.
 * <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">First, give examples and have the students make sense of them, generalize about them, and draw their own conclusions.

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Visualizations:

 * <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Attaching images to the concepts that we want to convey can provide better learning.
 * <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Encourage students to make connections and mental images in order to better understand and remember people, places, and events.
 * <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Graphic organizers such as KWL charts, webs, and story boards are very useful.

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Use Positive Emotions:

 * <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">People remember better when the learning is associated with strong emotions.
 * <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Make learning exciting and new each day.
 * <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Some ideas to use in the classroom are:
 * <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">role plays
 * <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">experiments
 * <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">personal narratives
 * <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">share time

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Feedback:
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">
 * <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Make it prompt, sincere, and task-directed.
 * <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Never be sarcastic when giving feedback.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Speak Softly:
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">
 * <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">This is a helpful technique when you walk into a classroom and there is a loud chatter going on.
 * <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Stand directly in front of class and begin speaking in a low soft tone of voice.
 * <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">First one student will notice you are saying something, and then several others.
 * <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">What occurs most often is onestudent will tell the others to be quiet.

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Classroom Tree:

 * <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Display a tree on the classroom wall or bulletin board with a box of blank leaves at its base.
 * <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Encourage students to write something nice that another student might have done during the week.
 * <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">At the end of the week the teacher reads these reports to the class, giving positive feedback to the actual ‘good deeder’ and to the person who noticed.