PE Classroom Management & Incentives

Classroom management comes down to having systems and routines in place. There are millions of things you can do, but I like to keep it simple.

Having a VISUAL of your rules and expectations is so important.

THREE IS KEY. Almost everything can fall under three categories. I chose Work Hard, Play Safe, Be Kind. Any misbehavior I see throughout the day can fall under these three simple rules.

CLICK HERE for the "Work Hard, Play Safe, Be Kind" Letters to hang on your wall!

If a student makes a bad choice throughout class, I give them a quick reminder . If it happens again I have them sit in the "reflection section" which is just a piece of tape on the floor. (Make sure this is located where they can't get hurt). I teach this routine on the first week of school so all students have practiced it and know what to do. I make sure that they know they aren't in trouble, they just need a minute to reflect and come up with a solution to the problem.

When I walk over to them after they've sat for a minute, I ask them which rule they need to fix. Even my kindergarten students can figure out if they need to work hard, play safe, or be kind. We chat for a moment about why it's important to follow the 3 rules and usually they can get right back out to join in the activity. The BEST thing you can do after a child has fixed up their mistake is point out something they're doing right! This is the perfect opportunity to build your relationship with a student who might need it more than you know. A simple "I'm really proud of you for getting back out there and finishing class strong" or "I loved watching you work so well with your partner when you rejoined the activity" can go a LONG way!

Check out this video for all the details!

Rules aren't just there for when your students make mistakes. I love to reward my classes when every single student follows the rules throughout the period. What more can a teacher ask for, right?!

Since we focus on three rules, there are three opportunities to earn a pom-pom. I chose buckets, but you could do posters with tallies, magnets on a whiteboard, or anything you can easily display in your gym.

At the end of class, my two class captains stand up front. If the entire class worked hard, they choose one student who demonstrated this to stand up and drop a pom-pom in their class bucket. Then the next captain chooses another student who played safe. BUT they only drop a pom-pom if the entire class follows the rule. Sometimes they don't earn all of pom-poms, but usually they earn at least one!

Once their class bucket is filled, they earn a "FREE PE DAY"! This means they can choose any activity they'd like to do as a class and they get to do it for the entire period! Some favorites are cupstacking, kickball, and races! (They love challenging me to a race!)

I hope this was helpful!

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*CLICK HERE for a clip on how to hang things on your gym walls!