SAP | A Classroom Management Tool

When your principal hands you a book and says you should read it...you do it. Even if it stinks. However, I'm here to brag on my administration as well as give you a tool to use. My principal gave me a book entitled, The Little Book of Talent: 52 Tips for Improving Your Skills by Daniel Coyle. I can't say enough about this little book of amazing. It truly is a small book, but it is packed full of fantastic ideas for life that you will find yourself reading it over and over again. The book is so simple, yet beyond challenging. It challenges me to take 100 steps forward by doing just doing one small thing. As I was reading, I was finding myself thinking back to the days of playing piano starting in third grade and the foundational skills my teacher taught me that made the next 10 years of recitals and GACS competitions happen. I thought of my speech coach who pushed me way out of my comfort zone which led to an experience I will never forget my senior year of high school. I thought of the first few years of playing soccer (which, by the way, were way past the "foundational years") in high school and college and how not once did I have a practice that my coaches didn't spend time on the foundational skills of ball handling. I wouldn't have a NCCAA national championship medal hanging in my closet if it weren't for that.

All that to say, why do we spend so much time on trying to make things EXTRAVAGANT and "the best"? This is something I will totally own. I am the master of trying to implement so many new things that a lot of the time don't even end up working. Changing it up is a good thing-a really good thing for 5th graders, but why not just go back to the basics?

Tip #15 in The Little Book of Talent, is to "Break Every Move Down Into Chunks."

Educators, can we say "duh?" This concept was one taught in every single class in college for us. However, I haven't thought of it in the sense of classroom management much. Without further adieu, here is my tool. :)

SAP

Have your students pick a SAP (Smallest Achievement Possible) each day or week depending on your preference. I am currently starting this weekly. Eventually, I'd love to move it to a daily SAP. They completely buy into this and encourage each other ALL.DAY.LONG. to reach their goal. Our first "SAP" as a class is to "line up with excellence (quickly & quietly). The last few days, whenever we line up, all I hear is whispers of "SAP, SAP, SAP." Music to my ears :) I love that they have something to work towards and that it truly is bringing them together more as a class as well. 

I had to make this shine, so I simply bought hobby lobby wood letters and mod podged gold glitter on them. Glitter it all, y'all.

xoxo, Rachel

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