Our Classroom Highlights
Here are some things you might hear from your child when he or she is talking about our classroom:
Classroom Management
Our Classroom Rules
We brainstormed our classroom rules and decided on five main expectations.
- Keep your hands to yourself.
- Follow directions.
- Raise your hand to answer or to ask a question.
- Listen when others are speaking.
- Be kind to others and use your best manners.
Tickets
Our classroom has a ticket economy. This is a classroom management system based upon positive reinforcement. The students can earn tickets for their academic or social accomplishments each day. The students keep these tickets in their wallets as though they were money. Every day at the end of the day is Pay Day. Any tickets the students have earned throughout the day are given out at this time. Sometimes, if a rule is broken, students will be fined for their behavior. A messy desk can cost them 2 tickets! They can save their tickets to buy prizes from me each week. Some of these prizes include pencils, erasers, and lunch with the teacher. Before the store opens, the students receive flyers quoting the prices of the various prizes for the current week, as well as the upcoming week. This allows them to plan for different sales the store may have. The always want to get the most for their money! My store opens mostly on Friday afternoons. There is also a Spucci Savings Bank where students can deposit money into a savings account to earn interest. Just this past year, I also introduced the Spucci card. If students don't have enough tickets to buy something in the Spucci Store, they can charge it on the credit card. They are able to pay their bill the next time the store opens, but if they cannot pay it, the bill doubles. I love watching the students carefully make their financial decisions! 
Have You Filled a Bucket Today?
This positive reinforcement system is based on the book "Have You Filled a Bucket Today?" This book explains that concept that everyone has an imaginary bucket that can either be filled or emptied. 
We echo this book throughout our classroom when dealing with peer interactions. To reward our class as a whole, we have a class bucket that gets filled with reward points for good behavior. These point cards can be given in various denominations to foster mental math as the students add our total point amount in their heads. When we reach 100 points, the class gets a small reward such as lollipops, watching an educational movie, or PAT (Preferred Activity Time).
Classroom Helpers
The students will have various jobs throughout the year posted on our classroom job chart. Some of these very exciting responsibilities include lighting technician, lunch count, pledge master, and postmaster. 
The Gumball Machine
Since the students all work at their own pace, they have many options to choose from when they are done with their class work assignments. They can choose any activity off of the classroom gumball machine bulletin board. Some of the activities include writing in their Writer's Notebooks, writing poetry, writing a book review for The Spucci Times, making a student book recommendation, a peer book recommendation , responding to literature by working on their reading responses, or working on their Poetic39 project. These activities change throughout the year to extend our curriculum. 
With a special thanks to my Spring '09 Adelphi graduate students for the inspiration.
Second Grade
Class Piggy Bank
To reward our class as a whole, we have a class piggy bank that gets filled with coins for good behavior. When we reach a dollar, the class gets a small reward such as lollipops, watching an educational movie, or PAT (Preferred Activity Time).
Classroom Helpers
The students will have various jobs throughout the year posted on our classroom job chart. Some of these very exciting responsibilities include lighting technician, lunch count, pledge master, and postmaster.
The Gumball Machine
Since the students all work at their own pace, they have many options to choose from when they are done with their class work assignments. They can choose any activity off of the classroom gumball machine bulletin board. Some of the activities include writing in their Writer's Notebooks, writing poetry, writing a book review for The Spucci Times, making a student book recommendation, responding to literature by working on their reading responses, or completing their DEAR Diaries about the books they are reading independently. These activities change throughout the year to extend our curriculum.
Classroom Notebook and Folder Organization (click here) Interactive Literacy Bulletin Boards (click here)
Ms. Spucci's Class
Smithtown Central School District
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