When Coach B. first introduced us all to the Scoreboard Version 2.0 back in the fall, I immediately began using it in my classroom. Since then, I have been sharing with all of you my class's progression through the scoreboard game. Each level has definitely brought with it a new degree of excitement, energy, and motivation. A couple of weeks ago my class finally reached the level that I have been anticipating the most - The Victory Line - and I have to say that it has been everything that I had hoped it would be.
Before I get into The Victory Line, I would first like to recap for those of you who are not familiar with it, how the Scoreboard Version 2.0 works. It works very similar to the basic scoreboard, which is basically a two column grid drawn on your whiteboard. A smilie face is drawn on one side and a frownie face is drawn on the other side. When the class, or even a few students, performs well, the class is told what they did (ex. Great diamond eyes and folded hands.) and asked for a "mighty oh, yeah". Students will quickly clap their hands together and say, "Oh, yeah!" While they do this, they are given one tally mark on the smiley face side of the scoreboard. On the other hand, if the class does not perform well, they are briefly told what they did (ex. Too slow.) and asked for a "moaner groan". Students will quickly shrug their shoulders and groan. A tally mark is then placed on the frownie face side of the scoreboard. It is important to note that children can be singled out for positive choices (smilies), but never should a student or group of students be singled out for negative choices (frownies). When using the scoreboard the + - 3 rule should always be followed. This means that smilies and frownies should always be within three of each other. As coach B. says, "If you reward too much, the students become lackadaisical. If you penalize too much, the students will become resentful." This is why the +-3 rule is in place.
The main difference is that with the 2.0 version students progress through ten different levels, beginning with Base Camp. Each level is slightly different. When students have earned ten wins at one level, they then move on to the next level. My students began at Base Camp in the fall, but they have now made it to level five, The Victory Line. To understand the power of the Victory Line, I first need to back up one level and talk about level four, NO Traitors.
Level four is when the competition becomes between the boys and the girls. It was a very exciting time in our classroom. There was a lot of "funtricity" in the air, as students worked together to earn a victory for their team. It came at the perfect time of the year. Spring break was quickly approaching and it was time to shake things up a little. No Traitors did just that. The best part, however, was that a couple of my boys who are in special education began consistently making gestures. This is something that we had been working on all year. They would do so sporadically, but not on a consistent basis. It wasn't that they weren't paying attention to what we were doing, they just weren't comfortable with the gestures. No Traitors changed all of this. As soon as I told the students that I was going to be looking for who did the best gestures, the boys or the girls, these couple of boys stepped up to the plate and began gesturing beautifully. I was amazed! They were determined that their team was going to win and they were going to do their part.
The Victory Line took No Traitors to the next level. As the students got closer to ten wins at the No Traitor level (A win is when the boys and girls combined get more smilies than frownies.), I began to really promote the next level. I told students that the boys and girls would still be competing against each other, but there was a special prize to be won at this level. The class could hardly wait to level up. They worked hard, and when they did, I explained to them the prize. The winners (boys or girls) would get to line up first all day. So if the boys won on Monday, then on Tuesday they would get to line up first for the entire day. They loved it! This new level brought a newness to the boy girl competition, keeping it fresh and exciting for the students.
Next up is blue dubs. At this level I will be giving blue tally marks for certain things, like making good gestures. The secret is that the blue tally marks will count as double. The competition will still be between the boys and the girls, and the winners will still get to line up first. The Blue Dubs will just continue to build on what has already been a huge success.
If you have not tried using a scoreboard in your classroom, I would highly encourage you to do so. It is very easy to implement, will not cost you any money, and will motivate your students and keep them motivated throughout the school year.
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