Mascot Management: Reduce Noise in the Classroom

      I have been given advice from multiple teacher friends that a great way to eliminate a noisy classroom is to take away a portion of the students' passing period time. This idea really only will work for middle school and older, assuming that elementary students do not have passing periods.

HOW IT WORKS:
      Using your school's mascot,  spell out the mascot letters on the board where it is visible to all students. When students get too noisy, start counting down from five. If you get to zero before all the students are quiet, one letter of the mascot is erased or taken off the board and the students lose 10 seconds of their passing period. For every letter that is removed during a given class period, multiply by ten and that's how many seconds after the bell the students must remain in the classroom.

WHY IT WORKS:
       It's simple, middle school students love socializing! Taking away the few times during the day where they are able to talk with friends will motivate them to cut the chatter.

I plan on giving this tactic a try in my classroom this year. I am always looking for an excuse to craft and I love glitter so I came up with this. Obviously my school's mascot is the Jaguars and our school colors are green and white. 

WHAT I DID:

I bought wooden letters from Hobby Lobby. They were around $1.25 but HALF OFF! Score!! I then painted the letters green. Once the paint dried, I sprayed mod podge over each letter and sprinkled on green glitter. Finally, I used hot glue to adhere heavy duty magnets to the back. I used two magnets, however, one may be enough.  I wouldn't recommend magnet tape because it is not strong enough to hold up the letters.

I love how it turned out and cannot wait to hang them up in my classroom (photo to come!). It's purposeful and incorporates school spirit in the classroom. WIN.WIN.

For the Love of Students,

Emily