There is no doubt the 2020 is different in so many ways, but one thing that hasn't changed for me is CELEBRATING students!!
I believe in celebrating the big, the small, and everything in between!
Our words mean so much to our students and can build them up or tear them down.
I love celebrating students with words but also certificates. They are tangible words that they can take with them. I'll share a few I use to celebrate behavior, effort, and growth. All can be used with F2F by printing them off or Connect students by emailing to them.
1. LEADer of the Day-
I highlight one student each day that is exemplifying our PBIS matrix of LEAD. It is a quick, simple way to reinforce our LEAD behavior throughout the day and highlight positive behavior. Students get their picture taken in front of our LEAD background with their certificate. You can easily edit it to your campus' acronym or a GRIT award. Click here to grab a copy.
2. Golden H Awards-
It may not be the Caldecott Award, but it's even better!
This is specifically for writing! Now I celebrate student writing all the time in many different ways (another post for another day:), but this is a way to highlight outstanding effort in writing. Students receive a Golden H award, sign the golden H sign, and share their writing with the class!! Grab a copy here you can edit for your class!
3. Strategy King and Queen-
I love to shout out students who are showing strategies on check points and DPMs. You can use this for any subject and personalize your note to them. I love to staple it to their assessment for them to see when we go over them! Click here to grab a copy.
4. Keep the Quote-
Each week our class focuses on one quote. We discuss what it means and how we can apply it to our lives. At the end of the week, students vote on who gets to "Keep the Quote" based on who is a great example of the meaning. I love how it helps build positive character traits in the students and gives them ideas for their essays. :)
Click here to make a copy.
4. Positive Notes-
I love using these Bitmoji notes to celebrate any piece of good news. Click here to grab a copy.
Even though it is something rather small, I believe these acts of celebrating on my part help increase student effort, motivation, and self worth. Which all have pretty high effect size on Hattie's list!
I also hear all the time from past students and parents that students keep these celebratory notes on their dressers, cork boards, scrapbooks, etc! It means a lot to a kid to be celebrated by their teacher!
What are you doing to celebrate your students?
