How I Use Capes in my Super Hero Classroom
I have a small confession. I am a big fan of Superheroes. Batman, Spider-man, you name it, I love the adventure.
When I was looking for a classroom theme last summer it dawned on me to tap into my love of Superheroes and turn my classroom into a Super Kids room. As I started to browse my favorite back to school catalogs I wasn’t finding a lot material to use. This was when I was inspired to get creative and start making some of my own decorations.
One of the first things I made was my behavior chart. In the past I had used the green, yellow and red light and wasn’t the biggest fan. I found that when I used the chart with integrity I always had the select few who would always wind up on yellow or red within the first half hour of school. Then, it was the constant struggle of how to get them back on track because they knew they had already blown it for the day.
As I started to look for a new way to encourage positive behavior I started to see a lot of six color behavior charts. I loved the idea of focusing on positive behavior.
The behavior chart posted below is what I created and used in my classroom. It has five colors. Super Student, Wow! Great Job, I’m Ready to Learn, Think about it, and Parent Contact. All Kiddos start on green “Ready to Learn.” Throughout the day they have the opportunity to move up the chart “Way to go” and “Super Student” or down the chart “Think about it” and “Parent Contact”. The key part of this chart is the ability for students to move up and down throughout the day. If a student is having a rough day, but can turn their behavior around they have the chance to move up the chart. On the flip side, students can also move down the chart if they have a change in their behavior.
Now for the fun part…If a student displayed excellent behavior and was a great peer role model they got “Super Student” status. We would stop whatever we were doing and SPOTLIGHT that child (give a cheer) and then they would get to wear the Super Student cape as well as take home a Super Student Certificate. My kiddos bought into this the moment I introduced the capes. They loved it. In fact I think it really helped to solidify our classroom community. Everyone would get excited for the Super Student and cheer each other on.
In fact, I had one student last year who never wanted to come to school. When he found out about the capes he came every day and earned “Super Student” status quite a bit. He beamed from ear to ear whenever he got to put the cape on.
Designing the capes was the easy part, when it came down to actually making the cape I had a bit of a dilemma. I do not have a crafty (is that a word?!) bone in my body. I wish I did. I admire anyone who knows how to sew. I struggle when it comes to sewing a button on a shirt. Luckily, my mother-in-law loves to sew. I asked her last summer if she would be interested in making the capes. She gladly accepted the challenge and created two capes for me. They were such a hit that I asked her if she wouldn’t mind making me a few more this summer just so I had some extra.
For anyone out there who has a Superhero themed classroom or is planning to have one this year I hope I gave you an idea to use in your classroom. If you are interested I have my behavior chart, Super Student certificates, as well as a few more class decorations available in my TpT store. Click on the picture below.
Thank you for stopping by. I hope you have a SUPER day!
