And The Award Goes To…Class Dojo

I love award shows, but I especially love the Oscars.  This year's Oscars weren't great, but there's always something that I can find enjoyable.  

This year an older man by the name of Ennio Morricone won for best composer.  He's 87 years old and has never won an Oscar in his life.  You could feel the sense of gratitude and accomplishment he felt as he slowly made his way to stage.  For the first few seconds he stood with his head down, filled with emotion.  

I'm not a huge fan about giving awards or rewards in my classroom.  I want students to become higher level thinkers and become instrinsically motivated.  Occasionally, usually at the end of the year, I do give out awards to some of my students.  This is for students that have gone above and beyond both behaviorally and academically.  It's important to celebrate accomplishments.

One way you can do this in your class for free is by using ClassDojo.com.  It's a quick and easy way to award students for being good examples and constantly reinforces good atitudes and behavior.  One way in which I use it is by not showing them the website, but giving them points on my cell phone through the ClassDojo app.  This way students can hear that someone has received a point, but they don't know who.  This makes everyone look at their own actions and they get to decide whether that point was given to them or not.  It helps them monitor their own behavior and act accordingly.  

Teachers use ClassDojo in many ways, whats a way you use it or will use it in your class?