If you've found this blog post, it is likely because you've read my previous post about low-to-no prep classroom management strategies like the T-graph for Social Skills and Team Points. In this blog post, we'll dive into a classroom management tool that has a little bit of prep involved but also ties in nicely with the content you're teaching: Literacy Reinforcers. While I think this strategy is most effective for elementary teachers, I've included some modifications for a secondary setting as well.
Literacy Reinforcer Examples:
(click on each image for a larger view)
Literacy Reinforcers are a great way to get text into the hands of our students and encourage positive behavior and good decision-making in our classrooms. While these reinforcers require a bit more prep than Team Points, they are a worthwhile use of time as students can use them as a learning resource. There are many variations of Literacy Reinforcers and below we'll dive into some creative options recommended by Be GLAD. First, we'll cover how to implement this strategy in your classroom.
Literacy Reinforcers can be teacher or student created. They're relatively small and made on various colors of printer paper. They contain realistic images of content knowledge and also labels and/or informational, academic text about the area of study. Reinforcers should be stored in a gallon zip-lock bag for easy access. Before the teacher begins any direct instruction, they will select a "scout" who will be on the lookout for students showing expected behavior. You can modify expected behavior to match your school's behavior expectations (e.g. PBIS: Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Positive), the Be GLAD 3 Personal Standards (Make Good Decisions, Show Respect, Solve Problems), or even from a T-Graph for Social Skills. At the end of direct instruction, the scout will identify 1-2 students that were showing expected behavior. The scout will name the expected behavior and provide an example of how their classmate met the expectation (e.g. "Colton showed respect by having his eyes on the teacher the whole time"). Students can keep the reinforcers in their reading folders to reference during literacy time, take them home to share with family, and at the secondary level, these could even be used for test prep/review or as a resource on an "open note" assessment.
Below are some Literacy Reinforcer suggestions, directly from Be GLAD:
Study Guides
Try using the Literacy Reinforcers as a study tool for students. By hole-punching the corner of the Reinforcer, students can now place the ones they earn on a binder ring, and clip them onto their backpacks and belt loops, where they can easily access them to study from (similar to flashcards!). Be GLAD LLC, 2019
Bookmarks
Another creative way to use Literacy Reinforcer is by creating a Literacy Reinforcer Bookmark. Simply take your LR, hole punches the top center, and tie a small string or ribbon on the end. Now, students can use their LR as a bookmark when reading other texts.
Image Curtsey of Be GLAD LLC, 2019
Teacher-Created Reinforcers
A quick Google search of your current topic of study will generate lots of images that can be used to create literacy reinforcers. Simply grab the image you'd like your students to learn more about and add some text relating to the image. Voila! You've done it!
Puzzles
Still, feeling a little puzzled about how to spice up Literacy Reinforcers for your students? Try creating puzzle pieces! Start with a content-related sketch or picture, add some relevant text (such as a fun fact, or vocabulary word), and cut it into puzzle pieces. Now, when students earn Literacy Reinforcers, they are earning pieces of the puzzle, and they can trade with other students to collect all the pieces they need to complete the puzzle.
Be GLAD LLC, 2019
Wild Cards
If you have minimal teacher-prep time, this last idea is for you! One of our favorite ways to increase student engagement is with a Literacy Reinforcer called a “Wild Card”. It is our favorite because it is minimal prep work for the teacher. Like all of our strategies, we want to follow the Gradual Release of Responsibility process. A few weeks into your unit, start introducing Wild Cards into your mix of Literacy Reinforcers. A Wild Card is a colored piece of paper that is blank. Once students earn a blank Literacy Reinforcer (a Wild Card), they earn the job of creating their content-related Literacy Reinforcer using the content from around the room, in books, etc. They will find a fact, cite their source, and add a sketch. At the end of the week, collect the student-generated Wild Cards, and make copies of them. Now, you have a whole new set of Literacy Reinforcers to use for the duration of your unit. And the best part- the students created them for you!
Be GLAD LLC, 2019
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