Walk into Jenna May’s fifth-grade classroom at Garfield Elementary this January and you will see a banner filled with squares under the heading “January Bingo”. Within those squares are goals for the class such as “random act of kindness” or “awesome partner work”.
After experimenting in December with Classroom Bingo as a way to reward good behavior while funneling attention toward classwork, Mrs. May’s students enjoyed it so much they requested she continue the game.
“My kids really bought into it which was very encouraging,” she said. “To have all my students buy-in and be motivated to work together as a team on behavior goals was great.
“When we came back in January, the kids had the idea to do it again this month. That first day back we decided what each square was going to be as a class. They took a lot of responsibility in making it and even got to choose their own reward.”
The spaces are used to get students to focus on individual and classroom goals and that focus helps Mrs. May teach more effectively. If the students fill up those spaces throughout the month of January, they will be rewarded with a root beer float party.
“They got to pick their prize,” she said. “I told them anything they could think of within reason would be a good prize. They picked their top three and voted on it. I always want them to buy into things. I’ll ask them (in February) if they want to do Bingo again and if they would like to pick a new prize.”
Giving students ownership in their education and rewards is essential to Mrs. May having a successful school year. She wants to give students as much choice as possible in both behavior goals and academics.
“This has been a great visual reminder for self-regulation,” she explained. “This is a very changing behavioral goal for our students, and bingo has motivated them to use our class Zen Zones for breaks rather than acting out.”
She takes the tact that giving positive rewards is more effective than doling out negative consequences and the use of Classroom Bingo, which lines up perfectly with the district’s use of PAX and PBIS, helps ensure that students are banding together to remain on the right track.
Working together toward a common goal has really helped the classroom dynamic, according to Mrs. May.
“I think collaboration is what we have really seen grow,” she explained. “Starting this year, before we started Bingo, I was seeing kids kind of thinking of themselves. Now they will help each other with gentle reminders, and it’s been really cool seeing our students step up as leaders and help each other grow.”