Calling year 1 / primary 2 teachers.

[ja9]

I'm about to start a new job as a primary 2 teacher. I've not taught this stage before and was wondering if any of you could give me any 'top tips' for this stage, eg. first day activities that work well, or behaviour incentives, or tips for managment of classroom etc specific to this age?

tia

only one week of school hols left up here!!! yikes!

ds1 was in yr1 last year. the kids all started the week with 20 stars on a laminated chart. if they were naughty they lost stars (scribbled out with a pen), if they were good they earned them back. then all those who had 16 or more left got a treat on friday like face painting, teddy bears picnic. seemed to work quite well.

DD1 has just left year 2 and they had sad side and a happy side on the board, also a marble jar for the class to collect marbles in and when it was full they could pick a reward such as no school clothes, extra snack etc etc.

Charliecat - do you know how the happy / sad board worked?

DD will be starting Year 2. Her school has a tick chart. When a child behaves well they get a tick. When they get 3 ticks, they earn a smiley face. After every 10 smiley faces they receive a certificate. They get a bronze, silver, gold and head teachers award certificate.

I use a happy/ sad board system in my school. anyone doing anything good writes their name on the happy side so you can use it to model good behaviour. anything which breaks the school rules after a warning gets theirname on the sad side. Repeated incidents generate a tick next to their name and then removal to another class on 2 ticks. so it is possible to be on the happy and sad side in theroy but we always try and use the sad side really sparingly and the happy side liberally. doesn't the school have a whole school behaviour system?
good first day activity apart from all the obvious PSHE /getting to know you activites is some 3d paper sculpture. Give the kids a variety of strips of card in differnt thicknesses and various lengths.They have a sheet of coloured A$ card and by sticking the end down only and stciking them to make differnt wave shapes they can make great 3d pictures which can make a whole display on one day.
It's alovely age- good luck. look on the Hamilton trust website if you need planning ideas

A "zone board" works well at our school. You have a small board with three strings hanging from top to bottom. Above the first one is a red cirle, middle string has an organge circle and thrid string has a green circle. Write each child's name on a clothes peg and peg it onto the "green string". You can then move the peg onto the "orange string" to show that they are on a warning, or the "red string" for bad behaviour. It is a very visual way for children to understand appropriate behaviour. They can, of course be moved back at any time of the day as soon as their behaviour is more appropriate.

We also have a class reward board. A sheet marked with squares is put next to the zone board. Everytime a child puts in an extra bit of effort or is kind and considerate (therefore, not necessarily linked to achievement), they are given a sticker to put on the chart. When the chart is full, the whole class gets a pre-agreed treat. For 100 stickers, my class were allowed a video afternoon. If they chose to "cash in" their stickers early, they could get an extra playtime for 50 stickers. This encourages the class to work as a whole to achieve, and it also gives you loads of opportunities to talk about respect, consideration and trying your best.

At this age, the children are usually so eager to please you that a sticker is a great reward (and bribe!) e.g. the first three people to get changed for PE and hang up their bags will get a sticker etc.

Keyworthkid is right, the Hamilton Trust website is great for ideas.

I'll have a think about ideas for the first few days and come back again later.