How I Use Brag Tags AND Class Dojo Together

Lots of teachers use Class Dojo, and lots of teachers use brag tags...but do you use both?  

I do, and it works really well. In short, I use Dojo to communicate with parents and

reward/manage behavior, and I use brag tags as rewards.  I wanted to share a few easy

ways to tie the two together.

At the start of each week, introduce and display a specific brag tag. Explain how students can

earn this tag- Do students need to display a specific behavior? Do they need to complete a

specific task? Add a Tag of the Week category in your positive Dojo points. When students

earn the brag tag, they also earn the point. To make it even better, make it worth 2 or 3 points.

I like to display my tag of the week on the board. I put the brag tags on a binder ring, and hang

them from a magnetic hook. I try to choose tags that are seasonal or related to
topics/characteristics that we've been working on during our Leadership time. My school uses
Leader in Me, so I often choose those tags for my tag of the week. I’ve created a Brag Tag of
the Week sign for you to create a small display. You can download it here.

As my students reach specific milestones in their long totals, they earn a brag tag. We reset
their bubbles every other week after the kids cash in with our Dojo store, which you can read
about here, but we keep a running total in my notebook. Our milestones are 24, 50, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, and so on. I don’t think I’ve ever had a student go beyond 600 points. My
Dojo-themed brag tags are in my TPT store.  

This is a simple one.  Each week, the student with the highest number of points earns the
Monster of the Week Tag. They also get to color a monster labeled with their name which is
then hung with our Dojo display. Monster of the week tags are in my Dojo brag tag set, and the
coloring page can be found here.  

Our specials teachers choose a student or two who showed leadership during the class period.
Those students earn a Dojo point under the category of Super Student in Specials. I also have a
brag tag that I created specifically for the specials at my school. If you're interested in those,
please email me.

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Teaching Friendship with The Fruit Salad Friend

I have been a long time fan of Maria Dismondy's books.  They're wonderful for character building lessons.
Maria recently published a new book titled The Fruit Salad Friend.  In this story, a little girl named Chloe faces some challenges with friendship.  She learns and uses different strategies to to help herself feel better and find friends that lift her up.  She learns the recipe for friendship.  Super cute! ...and if your classroom is anything like mine, then everybody could use a little springtime refresher on friendship- I'm looking at you little drama queens!

Maria has collaborated with Emily Yost to create a free readers guide for you to use in your classroom.  It is EXCELLENT!  Comprehension, writing, drawing, etc.

In my own classroom, after reading the book, I focused my lesson the the traits of a good friend and on using I-Messages.  We used the I Message poster in the readers' guide along with with the scenario cards.  My students could really connect with the scenarios.  We practiced using I Messages together and in pairs.  I love using I-Messages, because it gives the students ownership over their feelings and their words.  It also helps them to figure what exactly is making them mad.  We talked about how much more powerful an I-Message is compared to whining and bickering.

Using the materials from reader's guide and some clip art from Dancing Crayon Designs, we created a display to help us remember how to use I-Messages and ways to calm down when we feel upset or angry.  I am in love with how it turned out!  They love finding their fruit, and it's nice to have the visual available when conflicts arise.

Afterwards, we made a friendship fruit salad together- naming the traits of friends as we added the ingredients.  It was fun and nutritious.  Everything is better when food is involved, right?

After the lesson, each child received a 'Friendship is Sweet' brag tag to add to their collection.  You can download it here or by clicking on the picture.  We LOVE brag tags!  They really do brag to each other about them. Haha!

Here are some quick links for finding everything you need to use The Fruit Salad Friend in your own classroom:
Book (Amazon Affiliate Link)
Reader's Guide
Brag Tags

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5 Super Simple Ways to Bring the Olympics Into Your Classroom

We are 1 month away from the PyeongChang Winter Games, and I am so excited!  I have loved the Olympics since I was a kid.  I remember my mom letting me stay up late to watch the Lillehammer Games.  It is such a special event, and it's something that I have wanted to share with students.  Since I teach at a Leader in Me school, we are always talking about leadership.  Olympians are such great leaders!  Sportsmanship, physical fitness, strong work ethic, the ability win and lose, you get it.

The Olympics are not in my curriculum, but I just cannot stand not to bring them into my classroom and get my kiddos excited for the Games.  So, I had to get creative, and I bring you....

1. Books!
Let your students read about the Olympics.  I have a Winter Olympics collection that I created on Epic! that is perfect for 2nd and 3rd graders.  (If you're not using Epic! in your classroom, get on it!  It's the best! and free for teachers!) Reading A-Z also has some great books about the Olympics that you could easily use during guided reading or in book bags.
Here are a few of my favorite Olympic-themed picture books:

   

  

Each picture is linked to Amazon using an affiliate link.  Click on the picture to find the book on Amazon.

2. Medal Count
My students will be checking the medal count for the United States each morning during our morning work time.  I created a simple graph that I blew up on our school's poster maker that they'll add circles of yellow, gray, and orange to create a large pictograph in our hallway.  Click on the picture to grab a copy.

3.  Finger Print Ring Craft
Super simple craft!  Trace a plastic cup 5 times in the pattern of the Olympic rings- 3 on the top, 2 on the bottom, interlocking/overlapping.  Then use the pointer finger to trace over the rings with the appropriate color of paint using a finger print method.  These turn out very cute, and they only take about 10-15 minutes.  Another activity that can be done during morning work!  These make a great bulletin board.   I have lots of other crafts saved on my Olympics Pinterest board.

4. Brag Tags
I'm a brag tag loving teacher, and I was so excited to create a set to use during the Olympics.  It might just be my favorite set! Students earn brag tags for making good choices and exhibiting strong student behaviors.  Mine store their brag tags on large binder rings on Command hooks.  They LOVE looking at and comparing their brag tags.  Brag tags can be found here.

 

5. Classroom Display
I love a display that I can put up and leave up for a while.  I have this one up in my classroom right now and plan to leave it up through the end of February.  I have some books that I'll put out with it along with some past Scholastic News articles that I have laminated.  My kids love current events displays.  The bulletin board set is in my TPT store, and the vocabulary cards are in this vocabulary set.

Let me know some of your favorite Olympics activities in the comments below.  It's such an exciting time!  If you're looking for some other classroom activities, you may want to check out the Olympics category in my TPT store.  

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If Teachers Earned Brag Tags...

You all know that Brag Tags are all the rage right now.  I use them in my classroom, and my students LOVE them! So I got to thinking, what if teachers earned Brag Tags, too???

Because I feel like a champ when my "to grade" bin is empty...which is rare.  

It's October, which means your bladder stamina has been building for the past month and a half.  Just think how strong you'll be by the end of the year! 

Be honest, how many times a day to you think WTF to yourself?  I mean really, everyone does it, even fabulous teachers like you and me.  

I always pack my lunch the night before school...and leave in the fridge at least once a week.  So annoying!  Do you do this, too?  

You all know those meetings that I'm talking about...the ones that make you feel inadequate and unappreciated.  I'm pretty good at staying mum, but I know it's hard for some of you. #amiright?

My club always welcomes new members.  Are you going to join me?  

You can grab all of these tags and a few more for free by following this link.  What would you add to the list?

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