I want to acknowledge students that are earning good/ high grades on quizzes and test. In the process, motivate others. I am thinking of posting the student's name, assignment and grade. I am not sure what to name this bulletin board. So far I have "join the SWAG team" Students With Awesome Grades. What do you all think? Any other ideas? Thank you. By the way, I teach 7th grade Social Studies.
There might be issues with privacy laws (FERPA) if you're posting their grades. I think you'd be better off posting the work and just stating that it's excellent rather than the actual grade they received.
I think you can put up quizzes and projects with their names and grades on it with As and Bs. I don't think those students would mind. You can also have a list of students with As and Bs and just post their student id, not their name, but then it's not the same. They'd be more proud seeing their name. I'm not sure though why privacy would be an issue if you're posting top grades, especially if they're only As.
Hmm...I wouldn't do it just because I work very hard to keep grades confidential. I agree with just posting excellent work with the student's permission.
we HAVE to post student work with grades attached....i just have my board say "nyteacher29 A stars" (but i do like yours!)
At my school we are encouraged to post lists of "student experts" for each topic we cover. These are the kids who can help other students with material they have already mastered.
In my school we are required to post exemplary work on the bulletin board along with the grades - which is why I didn't see any problems with this. My concern was with the title. I am going to "debut" the wall tomorrow. Let's see how the students react.
I guess it depends on your region/district. We're forbidden from posting any grades, including progress charts, etc.
I would not post it. I also keep grades private. Not every kid wants to be known as the smart kid. Some kids go to great pains to hide the fact that they have As at my school. I respect their wishes.
I don't like the word swag. To me, it represents a bunch of characteristics I don't want to promote (materialism, chauvinism), but maybe I'm just weird about the word. Check out FERPA.
I'm hoping "swag" will die out if we ignore it. I don't like to start using words just because they're in right now, but if you like it go for it.
I also don't like the term SWAG, but that being said I think it's a word that students connect with so it couldn't hurt. I think the way you intend to use it will give a better, more positive connotation to the word. If you're concerned, maybe you can take something from a movie or song and tweak it. This is a lame example, but in The Princess Bride they had the ROUS's - the Rodents Of Unusual Size. You could take a theme like that and change it to "GOUS's - Grades Of Unusual Size." Like I said, lame example, but you might get a laugh out of them or at least a reaction...especially if it's something that's really "in" with your kids right now.
:thumb: and most kds don't want to be known as the one who tanked it... Let's face it...do you want a display of the teachers who submitted the best lesson plans, the best student progress,arrived most on time, served on the most committees? Why do you think kds feel differently?
Well I did it and so far it is a hit. In one class the students made a big deal and clapped/cheered for the one student in their class who made the "team." In another some students were upset because they almost made the team. One student even told the other "I told you to study." In all, I only had one student state that he thought it was stupid. When he saw that he made the team I told him that he was more than welcome to remove the mini certificate I made for him but he refused. I guess it all depends on the school and class culture. In my class, if you do the right thing everyone will know and I celebrate it. Same thing goes for my school, we give scholar dollars and have celebrations for those that are on the right track. There is also a lot of support for those that need the extra push. I am still on the fence in regards to the word "SWAG." Maybe I will ask my students to come up with another title.
After further thought and reading of these posts, I came up with my own version. (I teach 5th grade). My board is a "STAR" board- students taking academic responsibility. Each week, they choose a piece of their work to showcase on the board. It does not necessarily have a grade on it, even though some do choose that. This is simply a paper/project they are proud of, and want to showcase how they have been responsible for their learning.
