How I Use ClassDojo in My 4th Grade Classroom | Behavior, Rewards & Classroom Management

[music] Good morning everyone and welcome back to another Apples and Tiara's vlog. If you are new here, my name is Charlotte and I'm a fourth grade teacher in Arizona. I'm also a boy mom and I am just trying to get through all of the things being a working mom. Um, but I wanted to pick up the camera and vlog this week because we have a lot of super fun things going on. Um, it is a two day work week for me this week. Um, we are heading down to the valley this week um to celebrate my husband's graduation from um his new job training academy. Um, I don't want to be too specific for obvious reasons, but um, he has been away um, all summer. He's been home every weekend, but he's been mostly away all summer. Um, and so he is finally done with his training and he is going to be coming home um, after this week. So, we are very excited. He is graduating. Um, Cash has a baseball tournament. We have just like a fun-filled weekend. We're going to spend the whole weekend down in the valley um doing various activities and uh we'll be home on Sunday. So, uh today's Monday, I have tomorrow and then Wednesday we take off and we're gone through Saturday. Before I get too deep into this vlog, I decided that I am going to start sharing some information about my outfits um here in the vlogs because I've had quite a few people specifically on Instagram and Tik Tok asking about where I get certain things and so if I can share things with you guys, I will try to do so. Um specifically these glasses. So these glasses have been quite the controversy on Instagram and Tik Tok. Um, everybody wants to know where they are. So, I'm going to link them right at the top of the description. I do not have a coupon code for these. I am not sponsored. I'm not collaborating with them, but they are from Zlule. They're an online um glasses store, and I I bought like four pairs from them. These are just so cute. They're like this like turquoise green with the tortois shell. Super big, super chunky. Um, and super affordable. the the frames themselves I think are like they were on sale last week for seven bucks. Um but even after the sale is over they're still very affordable. Now obviously if you are you know inputting your prescription into them and doing different things like higher index um blue light blocking all of that stuff like it's going to be a little bit more expensive. I think they ended up being like maybe $80 when I was all said and done, but I have a really high prescription, so I had to do a little bit more tweaking to make them what I wanted them to be. Um, but anyway, Zulu, if you're seeing this video, please consider a collaboration or a sponsorship cuz I have probably at least gotten you guys like five or six sales. At least five or six. I just knowing like my mom bought a pair, my dear friend Jennifer bought a pair, and then like tons of people have asked me where I got them. So, I'm sure that there is some major salage for you going on. Um, but anyway, so these are from Zulule. Um, my complete outfit is Levis's and I actually got the shirt at the Levis's outlet, so I don't know if you can still get it. And then my jeans are also Levis's. Um, I don't know the style name. I'm not really that keen on styles. And then my shoes are just these little white um tennies that I got on Amazon years ago. [clears throat] If you really want them, let me know in the comments. I'll give you a direct link. But anyways, I thought I would start sharing outfit details. These are Amazon, too. Um just because so many people have been asking about certain details in outfits. Um and so that's over with. So I do have a purpose for today's video. I wanted to talk about Class Dojo because Class Dojo is one of my tried andrue most used classroom management systems that I have been using for the past 12 years of teaching. If you don't use Class Dojo, you should definitely check it out. Um there's a lot of really amazing features with Class Dojo. And so throughout today, I'm just going to show you guys how I use Class Dojo um and all of the different little features of using it. So, um, I'm going to do my morning chores and then I will talk you guys through a few of the features that I love from Class Dojo. So, if you've never heard of Class Dojo before, if you've been living under a rock for the last 12 years, uh, Class Dojo is a free website and app for teachers to use to help track and promote positive behaviors in their classrooms. Um the way you get to it is just by researching class dojo.com or downloading the app class dojo. Um it's an amazing amazing resource for classroom management because it has so many different features. So obviously the first feature is you can upload and add your students to your class dojo. I just have some random ones here. I have Joemo. I have Mercedes my teammate. And I have plain Jane. Now, throughout the school day, you can give your students points and take away points for certain behaviors, and we'll talk about those in just a few minutes. Um, but essentially, you click on the student's name. You can reward them for any type of behavior, whether it's being responsible, not being responsible. Um, you can literally give them points and take away points for anything. You actually make the points yourself. Um, and then of course if a child is having a hard time, you can take a point. Um, but what's really cool is that this information, these points that your students are get getting and removing gets sent to their parents if their parents have the app on their phone um or they can access it via email or phone um on the computer. Um, but it does send them a detailed report of their students day. And so I really love that feature because if you're like me and you like to make sure that your child is behaving at school and doing all the things they're supposed to do, I like to look at their class dojo report to then be like, "Hey, you had a great day. You didn't lose any points?" Um or, "Hey, what what happened during, you know, class that you lost a point for being disruptive?" So, it's a great way for families to connect with their children in school. Um, you also have the feature of using the class stories. So, you can post photos of your students, videos of cool activities you're doing in the classroom, and also announcements for like big events that are coming, field trips, book fairs. Uh, you can create a calendar of events actually. Um, and it creates an event for them and it will send the parents or families a reminder of that event that's coming up on the calendar. Um, and you can choose like an hour before, a day before, a week before, so it just continues to let them know that something is coming. I also love the chat feature. This is probably my most used feature because my entire school is a Class Dojo school and so we use Class Dojo to communicate with our parents. It is a two-way communication system and it comes through like a text message or an email depending on what settings uh the parent chooses. Um, it's really nice because when you send them a message, you can actually see if they've read it, if they've opened it. Um, and so it does have a nice, um, accountability piece, if you will. And it also translates automatically based on the language that they have chosen at home. So, if you have a Spanish- speakaking family, when you send a dojo message, it will automatically translate it into Spanish for them. and when they send you a message, it will automatically translate back to English for you. So, it's a great way to communicate with families, um, and you don't have to make a phone call. And all of the messages that are sent through Dojo are archived and kept. So, if you're trying to create a paper trail for communication and behavior, Class Dojo is a great way to do that. You can pull a report from a student and see their behavior throughout the entire school year, um, two weeks, a week, and you have all of this documentation done and ready for you to use if you need it. You can even download the message history and print it out on paper if you needed that type of communication. And you're okay. Come on in. Uh, if you needed to track that type of uh, documentation. So, I really do love that part of Class Dojo. And then in the last couple of years, they've created Dojo Islands, which is a game that is kind of like Roblox where the kids can run around and build and play around with each other. They can play hideand seek. Um there's a lot of different ways that the kids can play. They can build things. Um and it's just a really fun time. And actually, Dojo created this new system. It's brand new this year where when you give a child a point, it actually gives them building tools to use in the dojo island. So, like this kid needs a few more points. Uh, she finally got a collectible yellow block. So, it's really neat. Um, it's very interactive. I have a computer that's set up in my classroom that is majority majority used for class dojo for my students. So, they can actually go to that computer, give theelves their points, take away their points, and then there's a feature where the kids can actually log into their dojo accounts, they can customize their monster, they can see how many points they have, they can access Class Dojo Islands, and so it's just a really nice tool for teachers. Again, if you haven't used it before, or if you've never heard of it before, this is going to blow your mind. Um, dojo also has a lot of different tools at the bottom. So, you can take attendance via dojo. You can select more than two students. So, you can use it to like select and make groups. There's a timer tool. Um, there's this cool big ideas feature where you can actually go and participate in like social emotional uh lessons with your class and there's other activities embedded in there. And it looks like there's a new feature called quiz game on here, which is really cool. Um, and then within your toolkit, you have all of these other tools. So, you have a noise meter. Uh, you can put directions up on the screen through dojo. You can create a think, pair, share question. You can add study music. You can randomize and choose a random student. I use that feature all the time. Um, and you can create groups using this as well. So, there's a lot of different tools and a lot of different amazing features that Class Dojo has. And so, um, if you are currently using it, congratulations. Awesome job for you. I'm so glad that you're part of the Dojo family. If you're not using it, you've got to get on there and just click around and find out. Um, and so now we're going to head over to the dojo store so you guys can see how I use the points that my students are earning every week uh, to benefit them and to encourage them to continue to behave so that they can earn those points. show you guys the skills that I have uploaded on Class Dojo. So, these are all of the different ways that my students can earn and lose points. Now, I know some of you might think that this is a little bit excessive, but the way that I use Class Dojo, I love using it to communicate behavior with parents. And so I find that the more I have as an option for getting and removing dojo points, the less emails I get asking what happened. So I'm going to quickly just walk you guys through some of the different ways that my students can earn dojo points. So they can earn points for all of their different specials. So you will see things like art, music, math lab, PE, things like that. Those are for the special teachers. But I love to give points for having a beautiful line. This is just if the students line up perfectly silently without any reminders and they maintain that line all the way to our destination, they can earn two for having a beautiful line. Um, I give every kid a point. If every single kid is here and so it inspires them to come to school. I also love giving points for helping someone else. Um, I give three points a week for spelling homework being turned in. Um, if someone takes the initiative to do something without being asked, I love to give that point. Um, I also give points for them coming in in the morning and getting right to their morning work. Um, and so their morning work is to do their math fact lab program. So if they come in and they start working without me asking, they get a morning work point. Um, there's a fun little I'm done activity that I like to give my kiddos and it's a math mystery activity. If they complete that activity through the week, they get um a point for being a math detective. Um if they level up in their math program, we give them five extra points a week or for every time they level up. And then you have your obvious like being on task, participating, having persistence, um working hard. This one, this word work and DLR, this is for if they complete, oops, if they complete their weekly spelling packet that goes in their classwork folder. Um, that is the five points that I give them on Fridays if they're turned into my inbox. This is kind of like their last moment to earn any extra points for the week. Um, and then magic five is a point that I reserve for like any special game or competition or like if a kid does an extra job, um, then I'll give them those magic five [music] points. Okay, let's take a look at needs work because I feel like sometimes when teachers use class dojo and they take a point away, you'll get a dojo message asking uh the parent asking for you to explain what happened. And I like to put as much detailed skills in here so that there really is no question for what happened in the classroom. Uh the points are taken and the parent usually knows exactly why they were taken. So um last year, this was a bigger one. Uh if they say six, seven, they take five points. Um acting silly. I do charge dojo points for my students to use the restroom during instructional blocks. So, if it's during intervention time, I don't take points because I'm not teaching, they're kind of working independently, so they don't need to take any points for that. But if I'm in the middle of teaching math, reading, writing, or science, they take a point. Uh, sorry, they take two points if they have to use the restroom during that time. Um, we usually only have an hour of time where the kids are in here learning during direct instruction and then there's a break. So, there's plenty of opportunities for them to use the restroom during the school day for free that they don't need to be going during my instructional time. Um, leaving class without asking, not doing their morning work. So, if they come in and they're goofing around, then I take their morning work points. Not responsible. If they need to buy a pencil, I'm not really using this one this much this year because I got enough pencils at back to school that I really don't think I need to charge them for pencils anymore. um messing around in line. If they left a mess underneath their desk for the day, um then I take two points. So, that just means that they didn't clean up their space before leaving for the day. Uh not being kind, being out of their seat without asking. Uh peanut gallery. That's a really funny one. That's when they're like, "Yeah, Joemo, like you should have been. No, go take one." Um timeout from specials talking during a test. talking in general. So like if they're interrupting me or if they're talking during a time they're not supposed to be. Um if I ask them to take five, that's a serious offense and that one usually comes with a note to the parent on dojo. Uh playing with stuff. So I do allow my students to have one squishy, but it has to be used under their desk. If it's under the desk, it's a tool. If it's over the desk, it's a toy. Um, and then if they're too loud, yelling at someone else, burp or fart noises, messing around, not completing an assignment. This is where like I've given them something, they know how to do it, I've offered them help, and they're just refusing to work. This is what I like to send home. That way, parents know that they are not completing their assignment. Uh, refusing to work. Another one. These are more specific to a handful of students that have um as their IEP goal completing a task. Um they're more than capable. They just don't want to. Um I know they're capable because they are gifted and they're proficient on their tests. Uh they're also proficient on the state test. So I know that they're capable of doing it. They just don't want to. Um and this is part of their IEP goal with their sped teacher. um being off task, not following expectations, and not following directions. So, I like to be as specific as I can with the dojo skills. That way, there's no question when that point is taken away why it was taken, and the parents can actually see what's going on in the classroom. So, those are the skills that my students can earn and lose points for. Hey you guys. So, we have had a costume change. Um it's also Tuesday. Um, I ran out of time yesterday getting to getting to show you guys my dojo store. So, I am going to show you guys my dojo store. So, how do my students use their weekly points? Why are they working so hard to get these points? Well, first of all, you know, obviously not every teacher does a dojo store. Um, the fourth grade team here at this the fourth grade team at this school does use a dojo store, but I know that not every single teacher does this. Obviously, we inspire students to work hard and be the best that they can be just for self- glory and for feeling good about themselves, making their parents proud, making their classmates proud, you know, things like that. But it is kind of nice for them to earn something to go with their dojo points. And so, I have a dojo store. I have had a dojo store for quite a few years now. Um, it changes every year. It looks different every year. I think this year is my favorite one. Um, part of this dojo store is funded by me uh at the beginning of the year. I definitely fund the whole thing. Um, but I do ask for parent donations throughout the rest of the school year just so that it isn't breaking my bank. Um, also you'll notice that there's not, you know, there are tangible items that the kiddos can earn, but there's also a lot of like experiences and things they can do in the classroom rather than just stuff. So, let's just go ahead and open it up and see. All right. So, right now the dojo store is closed, so the closed sign is out. But when you open it up, this is what it looks like inside. And so, I'll just kind of give you a brief tour. So, on this door is the open sign up at the top. So it says open and then right here is a prize poster and I'll explain that in a minute. So um just kind of starting from this area. So we have our sticker collection. Uh these are not the only stickers that I have. This fivepoint bin is also full of stickers. And then I have a huge bag over here of more stickers that I can use to refill this. The kids really like stickers and they're only five points each. Um, so I like to make it so that there's something that they can get if they don't earn a ton of points or maybe they lost quite a few in a week. Um, so my five point items are stickers and then we also have um some cute pencils and little star erasers. These are all five points. And then uh moving on to 10 points. For 10, we have these little squishy um animals. They're just, you know, little squishies. Um, so I have those. And then also for 10 points, we have the Croc Charm bin. And there's also pencil grips in here. So, um, these ones have a little like clasp on the back. Um, and those are pencil grips. And then we have a ton of little giblets in here, too. And again, this is a 10point bin. And then it goes up to 15 points. So, I [snorts] just have a little snack bin. Um, and these are just little snacks that I have kind of just picked up and accumulated just from like little things around school. Um, sometimes we have like a big bin of donated snacks show up in the lounge and we're allowed to take them for our students. Um, and then for another 15 points, we have some keychains. These are just the little puppet keychains as well as little croc keychains. Um, and then up here is where I keep older tickets. Um, you'll see the newer tickets. I have one student who's obsessed with mushrooms and so every time I find or anyone finds a mushroom sticker, we put it in the drawer for her and um then when it's her turn to shop, she always goes into that drawer. Um so that's kind of something sweet and personal we do. Um and then for another 15 points, we have these really cute little uhric-colored pens. These are really adorable. Um they're just like those click it pens where you click down the color. Um and then uh they use the pen. So there's a bunch of different ones in there. Cactus, you know, monkeys. We're kind of getting low, but that's another 15 point prize. And then this is kind of like a treasure box situation. Um, so I always tell the kids, you know, if you have something at home that maybe you're not vibing with anymore and you want to bring it as a dojo prize, you can bring it in. So, we've got little rubber duckies. We've got squish balls. Um, keychains. I have some clay in here. Like, someone brought this little pencil sharpener. Um, a keychain. Someone brought in a fidget. Like, this is actually really cute. Isn't that cute? Um, so that's the 20 point treasure box. It used to be bigger. Um, and then other just bigger items that I get donated, I put in the treasure box section just because they're a little bit bigger and more special cuz there's only one or two of them. Um, and then when it comes to coupons, I have quite a few coupons right now and I do add more coupons throughout the school year just once I know the kids better. I know what they will work hard for. I know what they like. Um, and I know I can trust them more. So, uh, for five points, they can take their shoes off while in class. And, um, the kids really like that one for some reason. I don't know what it is, but they love to take their shoes off. Um, and that's five points. And then we also have draw when done. That's 10 points. And this is for instead of doing an I'm done activity, which is really just reading, spelling, or a math mystery, they can draw when they're finished with their assigned task. And that is good for one full day. So, if they don't finish on time, they don't use it. Um, and so I always tell them, you know, wait until it's a good time to use it, then hand it to me and use it. Um, and that's 10 points. And then bringing a reading buddy is 10 points. So they could just bring a stuffed animal that's small that'll fit on their lap and they can just love and hug it all day while they're working. And then I have use a cushion and that's 10 points. I have these cushions in my library. They're little flower cushions and they really like to sit on those um both on the floor and on their chairs just throughout the day. And some kids even like to like snuggle with them. Um and so use a cushion for the day. And then this is our hot ticket item. And this is the day with Mia. And so um I do have a class pet. She's a guinea pig. Um and for 20 points the kids can have her for the day. So they actually get to bring her to their desk with them. She can sit on their lap. She can sit on their desk. um she has a little carpet that we bring and she'll just kind of sit on top of the desk with the kid and work with them for the day. Um it can be a bit distracting um for that kid. Like if she poops or pees like they kind of make a big deal out of it, but overall it's not that big of a deal. Um and if it's a big problem, I'm usually like, "Hey, why don't you do, you know, take a break from her for a little while, put her back, pull her out later when it's a little bit more, you know, calm and quiet." it. Um, and so they really do like that one. So, um, I think I explained, oh, for 20 points up here, we also have sunglasses cuz these are kind of like a bigger prize. Um, so anyway, throughout the year, I will push out a dojo message that just says, "Hey, you know, our dojo store is kind of running low if you guys are able and willing." Um, and I have an Amazon wish list that has all of the different prizes that my kiddos really want in the dojo store. Um, and so parents can um, purchase and donate those for our classroom. So that is the dojo store. Let's close it up. When and how do I run the dojo store? So every Friday that we have school, um, my two character council students, which are kind of like student council, but it's more for like influencing good behavior rather than like I mean it's leadership. It's leadership and character. um they are in charge of running the dojo store. So I have trained them how to do it and they typically will pull two students back at a time. The students get one minute to shop. So they should already have in mind what they want when they go back there. Uh they have one minute to to shop. So there's a timer over there. The kiddos just take my laptop and as the students are shopping, they redeem all of the points. Now, they do have to spend them or they do lose them. Um, if a child has less than five points, I let them save for the following week, but other than that, they absolutely have to spend them. And the reason why I do that is because in the past when I've let them save, I feel like they're not trying as hard to earn them. And so I feel like if I reset them after the shop day, they work a little bit harder to earn them again. Um it's pretty motivating. Um and then of course if a student is absent on a Friday, then I'll just have a character counsel kid pull them to the back at a good time and they'll just shop the next time that they're at school. Um so yeah, that is how I use Class Dojo in my fourth grade classroom. Um, a lot of different things you could do with Dojo. Like I said, if you haven't been on, like I said, if you haven't been on the website before, you've never checked out Class Dojo, you definitely need to check it out. There's a lot of really amazing features. I know Dojo is doing like tutoring now and um, you know, just tons of different things, tons of different ways that Dojo supports teachers in schools. Um, and so yeah, I am not at all sponsored by Class Dojo. I just really really love it. I've been using it for, you know, over 12 years and it has been a tried andrue program, system, tool, just allound amazingness. So anyway, um, thank you guys for watching. If you stayed through the entire video, drop a strawberry down in the comments below. [music] Um, if you're interested in this t-shirt, it is by teachersgram.com. I'll have it linked down in the description. These pants, I know I told you guys I would do outfit details. These pants with the little fringe on the bottom are from Amazon. They're also linked down below in my Amazon storefront. Um, and so if you guys are interested in the outfit and then just white Burks um from Birkenstock, these are also Amazon. I will try to remember to put those in the teacher outfit um Amazon storefront area. So anyway, thank you guys so so much for watching and for being here. Don't forget to subscribe to the channel and follow me on all my socials and I will see you guys in the next one. Bye bye. [laughter] [music] Hey, hey, hey. [music] >> [music]