Class-Yes Reeeemix!

It’s about that time of year…the time of year where the buildup of indoor recess, post holiday lethargy and the same old routine, causes both students and teachers to EXIT out mentally! In my classroom it was clearly time to shake it up, and so I began with a Class-Yes revamp!

Of all the WBT techniques, this ultimate attention getter is the one most often used in my classroom. The key to ensuring it has lasting effectiveness in your room is as simple as keeping it FUN! The word ‘fun’ may have different meanings for individual adults, but for a kid it’s pretty much the same!

• Fun is NOT screaming CLASS-YES to get your students attention! 

In reading The Challenging Kids e-book, Mrs. Maestra says you don’t need to be loud or yell to get your student’s attention! The best advice is to PROJECT and have a firm voice. Yelling at your students WILL NOT gain their respect. This is a Classroom management MUST! If your sounding like a drill sergeant, don’t be surprised when students don’t give their attention immediately to you. Yelling only invites opportunities for challenging behavior!

• Fun is NOT saying “CLASS-YES” a thousand times a day without any variation! 

If you tell a toddler “NO” a thousand times a day, guess what? They are going to TUNE YOU OUT! Believe me; I have 2 toddlers at home! Eventually hearing the same thing becomes BORING, the opposite of fun! My kids grew bored of “Classity-Class,” and “Class-a-doodle-doo,”  a while ago. One day I went around the entire room and had them each make up their own version of Class-Yes! That day forever changed our ultimate attention getter! Some favorites became ..

CLASS ARE WE ROCKSTARS? YES WE ARE ROCKSTARS!
Class-ah BOOM BOOM! Yes-ah BOOM BOOM
CLASS ARE YOU READY? YES WE ARE READY!!
Ca Ca Ca CLaaaaass! Ya Ya Ya Yeeess! 

Also,  make it a rule that students cannot repeat a particular version during a single session. This forces them to constantly be inventive!           

                                                    

• Fun is NOT keeping everything focused on the teacher's interests!

Even though we think of ourselves as so hip and interesting, the reality is students may not always tend to agree! Sometimes we need to mix in our students interests. Last week we began the day by looking up APPROPRIATE songs on the Billboard Top 100, that we could use in some new remixes! It only took a few minutes, and we had a lot of FUN reciting them. It will definitely earn you cool points with the middle schoolers! Here are some we came up with: 

WARNING: If you are too cool to sing in front of your class, these options are not for you!

Class, we are on Fiiiire! Yes, we are on Ffffire! -Alicia Keys 

Class, shine bright like a diamond! Yes, shine bright like a diamond! -Rihanna 

Class SCREAM AND SHOUT! Yes, let it all out!- Will.I.Am and Britney Spears 

Class you are a firework! Yes, let all our colors burst! - Katy Perry 

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Class-Yes is a very simple, yet effective tool in the classroom, if used in a way that is FUN and not predictable! If your students aren't responding in a crisp manner, then you need to be sure you are consistent in expecting an immediate response! Class- Yes and The Scoreboard work together as an unstoppable team! Once you do some Class-Yes Remixes, it may also  be time to switch up your Scoreboard! More on that very soon... 

If you have not started using Class-Yes in your classroom, read this old blog post HERE on how to get it started the RIGHT way!