Hello everyone! Today I'm linking up with Fourth Grade Flipper for their Linky, "Tried it Tuesday"!
Today, I tried two things- My new dry-erase crayons (read about those here), and a new "Take a Break" area.
1. The other day, I picked up these dry-erase crayons at Target. They were on clearance, so I decided to try them out!
The pack came with eight crayons, a built-in sharpener in the box, and a cloth for erasing.
I used them to write my morning message today. It was super different than using dry-erase markers, but not bad. It just takes some getting used to.
The kids could still read it just fine, and they thought it was sooooo cool that I used crayons on the whiteboard!
So.... Dry-Erase Crayons: Tried them, Liked them!
2. I tried implementing a Take a Break spot today. If you haven't heard of Take a Break, it is a positive way for students to calm down before returning to the group. It is part of the Responsive Classroom style of teaching. Yes, I probably should have done this from the beginning of the year, but I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted it to look like. I have seen many classrooms use Take a Break as just a chair for students to calm down, and I have seen classrooms where students have to record what they did to need to Take a Break.
Here is my Take a Break area in the back of the room. I used an extra desk and chair. I hung up a Take a Break sign, and ways students can Take a Break. I also set up some pencils, and a little stack of recording sheets.
When I ask them to Take a Break (for any type of inappropriate behavior), they simply go to the area, choose a way they want to take a break (count to ten, take deep breaths, etc.).
Here is the recording sheet that students need to fill out before returning to the group. It says, "What happened?", "What can you do differently next time?", and "Are you ready to return to the group? (calm, focused, quiet voice, listening ears, ready to learn)".
This Take a Break Kit will be available in my TpT store soon!!
So.... TRIED Take a Break, but (luckily) nobody had to use it today! I will let you know how it goes once somebody has to visit the area.
What did you try today? How did it go?
Until next time,
-Miss Woodward
