The concept is simple, every student in your class has their own monster/avatar. During class a student can either earn or lose points from their monster depending on their behavior choices. The first thought that went through my head (and possibly going through your head right now) was "Great... something that works for classroom teachers but would be a nightmare for a specials teacher." Well I am here to tell you that YOU ARE WRONG.
The website is simple to navigate and you can create as many classes as you need (I have one for every class I see). Once you create a class you can import student names from class lists and VOILA! Everything is ready to go! If you're still not convinced, let me show you how it works. Below is a snapshot of my homepage once I log in to the Class Dojo website that shows all my classes.
For an example, let's say I have Mrs. Fogle's class right now. I would click on the start button and then this would show up. Every student has their own monster! And they LOVE seeing what their monster is!
My personal routine is to have this page open on the screen as students enter the class, which is a great non-verbal cue to let students know that I am already looking for who is making positive choices from the minute they enter the music room. To award a student's positive behavior simply click on the student and the "Give Award" window appears. From this window you can add either a positive or negative point to a student's monster. I personally love the great sound effects that go along with the positive/negative, GREAT non-visual cue to keep students on task. Another thing that I love about Class Dojo is that you can personalize different student behaviors to make them applicable to you, which I love because I rarely need a "forgot homework" behavior. My school is a PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports), so we have a simple school motto that we call the 3 R's: Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Ready to Learn. I like to keep things simple so most of my positive/negative awards are simple too.
My negative behaviors are basic expectations I have of all students, but the positive need some explaining. Everyday I am amazed at the insights and observations of my students, which led to the Bright Idea award; One of my focuses this year was to build students' analytical listening skills (which is always a struggle) which led to the Good Listening award. And finally, my own positive behavior system is to choose a class Rock Star at the end of class, so if I see students who are making positive choices across the board, I'll award them the Rock Star Choice award. Quite simply, at the end of music class, the student whose monster has the most points is that day's Rock Star, where they get to write their name on a star cut out and hang it up on the Rock Star bulletin board.
There are tons of ways you can utilize this resource, so I listed some of the ways I use them below.
- Students can change their monster if they have at least 5 points by the end of class
- Students must have a certain positive rating on their report in order to participate in centers
- Need to pick who's going first in a game, activity, etc? Click the random button!
- Download the mobile app on your smartphone or tablet! Great for when you need your projector for instruction.
- View student point totals and allow them to cash them in for prizes at the end of each quarter or term
- For class-class competitions, the class with the highest positive percentage gets an award
- Many, many more!
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