While I was teaching third grade, I did a rainforest theme to go with State Standards.
During my student teaching we used Red, Yellow, and Green lights.
And something about that style wasn't me.
So.
I fished around online to find something that was gellin'.
Before I settled on layers of the rainforest, I read a blog about adding a 4th color to create a paradigm shift.
If students start their day on green, and can only get worse, where is the incentive to do better.
Sort of that GOOD, BETTER, BEST mantra was living by.
I didn't want my students to just be good.
I wanted them to be their best.
This particular teacher added PURPLE at the top.
Everyone started out on green.
If they needed to be redirected they'e go down to orange.
If they did something above and beyond, say for example, give up their spot in the front row of a class show for a fellow student or sharpen pencils during recess or my personal favorite purple moment, tell an teaching aid how lucky they were to have them as a teacher, then they move to purple.
Purple is reserved.
Not everyone gets to purple.
Purple days aren't every day.
Green becomes GREAT.
Purples because EXTRAORDINARY.
See what happens there.
Suddenly, yellow, is less "you need to work on it" and more "hey, pretty good, you can do better."
Anyhoozle, stepping off my soapbox, this system doesn't work for all.
I used rainforest to reinforce learning.
When you move over to the EMERGENT LAYER...you were being EXTRAORDINARY.
EXTRAORDINARY EMERGENT layer was heard a lot in our room.
That and, "Can I get off the floor?"
Bahaha, oh 3rd grade.
I used magnetic snakes with the kids #'s on them on our chalkboard for this chart. Behavior Management
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