Rewards

V Methodology
B. Elaboration of significant episode:
Today is our reward day. Each day every student will get at plus (+) or a zero (0) based upon behavior. The students can get penalties, for talking, arguing, traveling, etc. An automatic zero is given if homework is not turned in. If students have 4 plus days during the week, then they get a reward on Friday. Our "Friday Films" had to be changed to Thurdsay because there were so many students gone because of specials. Today was a reward day, so the students got a fun snack (popcorn) and got to finish watching "Flipper." The reward is also not earned if there are more then 2 worksheets/seat work in their mailboxes (on the front of their desks.) Today there were about 5 students that did not earn the reward. They had fo finish their seatwork on the opposite side of the room, where they could not see the movie. It was hard for the students to focus because they tried to keep turning around to watch the movie. Some students had tons of seatwork, of which they were just frustrated with.

C. Analysis of Episode:
Usually on reward days, one teacher will take the students out into the hall, if they were not done with their work or did not earn the rewards. We didn't have enough staff to do everything, so all of our students had to stay in the room. The students who had to do work had lots of seatwork to do. I am not personally a fan of worksheets. If it were my own classroom there would not be hardly any worksheets given. The students do not do well on the worksheets, but my cooperating teacher insists on giving worksheets. I feel it is because it is just something to entertain/ocupy the students while we work with the other reading groups. I would love to do more hand-on activities, but with so many reading groups there are just not enough hours in the day. The students today doing their work are students who just seem to work slower on worksheets, so they have a whole pile by the end of the week. Behavior-wise most of them earned the reward. I think for a couple of the students, it would have boosted moral and work ethic if they could have at least earned one reward day. (Some students have lost it every week.) It seems like rewards will never be perfect.