How Is Your Day?

Through my experience subbing I've had a chance to learn different classroom management mechanisms. I decided on one that I think would work best for my class. I wanted a "How Is Your Day" pocket chart. There would be a pocket for each child containing several colored cards. The cards would represent a different level and consequences:

Green = Excellent
Yellow = Good = Warning
Orange = Fair = Time Out & Writing Assignment
Pink = Poor = Note Home

If a student disobeyed one of the classroom (or cafeteria) rules, they would have to change their card. The cards also correspond with a Conduct Sheet that would be sent home daily and have to be signed by a parent.

I went to the educational store to look for the ready-made chart. Then I saw the price...$25!!! Yeah, no!

So I decided to make the chart on my own, especially since I LOVE arts and crafts. I only bought the pockets from the ed store. They're the same pockets you see in the back of library books. I went to Walmart and got a posterboard and colored index cards. Staples had glue on sale for a quarter and I had a Sharpie lying around at home.

Cost breakdown:
Posterboard: $0.39
Pockets: $3.79
Index Cards: $1.29
Glue: $0.25
Sharpie: $0.00

TOTAL: $5.72

I saved almost $20! That's gas money for a week! Woot! A teacher in the educational store is like a kid in a candy store. But sometimes it's best to be creative and think of ways to cut costs rather than spending frivilously.

Let's see how this behavior chart goes in class tomorrow.