In today's classrooms, behavior management is critical in order to meet the ever-changing and ever-increasing demands of state and federal requirements that teachers find themselves up against. Motivation Marvels provides teachers with an easily implemented program that utilizes functional life skills almost every child will use one day. Once behavior is in place, real learning can begin. This program provides rewards and incentives for students who come to school prepared and ready to learn. It also gives the same opportunity to those unprepared to get on board and experience the excitement of being successful at school. One of the best features of this program is that it can be tailored to suit any teacher's needs. The specific design for a given room will depend on the needs and conditions of that room and the extent to which the teacher wishes to use the program. The results will truly amaze you!

Motivation Marvels

By Dawn Gauvreau

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2010 Dawn Gauvreau
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4389-7893-2

Chapter One

Motivation Marvels

Inside this book, you will find:

* Program Description

* Program Implementation

* Program Modifications

* Philosophy

* Forms:

* Assertive Discipline-Classroom Component

* Class Rules

* Checking Account Reward System

* Parent Sign off form

* Responsibility Report

* Reward Menu (Store List, Ticket Trade-In Chart)

* Weekly Progress Report

* And much more

What is MOTIVATION???

Webster's definition of motivation: to provide with a motive; instigate; induce

Motivation: the act of motivating or providing an incentive

Motivational Research: in advertising and marketing, the use of sampling and psychoanalytical techniques to find out why people choose or reject a product or idea

Motive: a conscious or unconscious need, drive, etc. that incites a person to some action or behavior; incentive; goal

Motivation Marvels

A positive behavior management system geared to all ages and all levels in grades K - 12 that uses real life skills that encourage and entice students to do their best and reap the rewards of their hard work. This program uses real life tools that no kid can pass up.

The tools in this system are used in every day life. Students will learn life- long skills including check writing, budgeting, and saving.

Implementation and execution is very easy and blends well with just about any behavior system in place in a classroom.

Feel free to share your ideas and changes that work for you!

Thank you for your interest in this program.

For information or questions, contact:

Dawn Gauvreau dawn.gauvreau@kcsdschools.net birdlady5@sc.rr.com

What Motivation Marvels is all about

Motivation Marvels provides a way to hook, reel in, and get the results you want in the classroom while teaching real life skills. Motivation Marvels is both a behavior management system and a motivational tool.

The beauty of Motivation Marvels is that it is practical, motivational, functional, and adaptable to any grade or any level in regular education settings as well as most special education settings.

The only limits on this system are those an individual teacher imposes upon it.

The key to this system is the responsibility factor that is built into it. This program requires students to take responsibility for their behavior. If they are doing the right things, they are rewarded for it. If not, they see consequences that directly influence them.

Motivation Marvels behavior management system operates under the premise that in order for learning to take place all students must be actively engaged in the learning process and the teacher must have complete control and attention from the students in the class.

This system provides a quick, easy way to gain and maintain attention from your students while teaching them basic life skills.

Motivation Marvels uses functional life skills to entice students while educating them at the same time.

Motivation Marvels is the brainchild of years of trial and error behavior management. Through experimentation, I discovered some things that truly motivate all kids. I know, first hand, that this system works because I have used it from 4-year-old Language Concepts through high school. I have made some minor changes to meet the needs of the grade levels it was being used for, but everything else in the program remains the same.

As teachers, we are constantly competing for the attention of our students during classes. So many other things occupy their minds that we need to be as creative as we can as we hook and reel them in to what we have to say. Motivation Marvels is a tool that will help you do just that.

This program is user friendly and takes a minimal amount of time to familiarize yourself with the basic premises that govern it. Motivation Marvels comes complete with everything you will need to begin implementation in your classroom or school. Once you begin to use it, you may make changes that are appropriate to your specific setting. This kit allows for much flexibility within all levels from kindergarten through high school.

Why go the extra distance? Why a "stage production"?

Over the years gaining and maintaining student motivation has become increasingly more difficult. Teachers find themselves competing against so many factors such as interest levels, ability levels, outside hobbies/interests, part time jobs, and family obligations. Sadly, education seems to be less of a priority to some students enrolled in schools today.

This leads teachers to do one of two things: just continue doing what they have been doing knowing they will keep getting what they have been getting, or they can go the extra distance and find the one thing that will grab the interest of their class and motivate them to reach their maximum potential. Short of doing a stage show, teachers need to keep it real, lively, and interesting to keep students motivated and actively engaged.

This I know to be true: kids like rewards, kids like edibles, and kids like money. So ...

With an extensive background of over three decades in Special Education, I have become a master of creativity. I was forced to think outside the box long before the box was popular. Thinking outside the box simply translates into "if it isn't working, stop doing it and do something else". The idea here is to let the student's reactions and responses lead your choices. You can quickly assess the success or failure of what you are doing by watching what is going on around you in the classroom.

Being flexible follows on the heels of being creative. If you have to stop doing something, you had better have a Plan B waiting in the wings. Some teachers have a hard time aborting a lesson or program in mid- stream because they think they need to see it through and complete it. Behavior programs/ reinforcement systems once started are often kept in place for the entire year even though they are not yielding the results hoped for at the onset. Even a lesson that is not working as planned should be aborted and something else used to replace it. The worst thing a teacher can do is to continue with a lesson, program, or reinforcement system if they know it is not working. You can be sure that if you can recognize that it is not working, so can those 10 to 20 pairs of eyes staring back at you everyday. Admitting that something is not working and will no longer be used can be a major teachable moment for kids. They can see that you too, make errors, mistakes, and need to sometimes stop, regroup, and try again. After all, isn't that what we tell them all the time? Besides, what better time to discuss the situation and let them know that you are constantly fine-tuning your class to guarantee that they get the best educational program every single day they are there. Depending on the grade level you teach, the explanations can be tweaked to make the most sense to your specific audience. My experiences have been that kids respond favorably to seeing you make a mistake, admit it, and then set about correcting it.

...