Choose the students to be Watt Watchers.
This program is successful at any grade level and with diverse student populations including at-risk, learning disabled, special education, and gifted and talented. Being a Watt Watcher could provide recognition to students who rarely receive opportunities for leadership. The younger the students, the more supervision needed. The students must want to participate and be able to carry out the tasks consistently and honorably. Here are some more tips for starting your patrols:
Choosing your patrol groups
- Allow elections in the classroom to decide who goes on patrol this week.
- Choose the quiet ones.
- Have each homeroom elect two students that are not “serviced” by any other group – not special ed labeled, not GT, not athletically gifted.
- Science club, honors group, student council, the environmental club are all potential Watt Watchers!
- Form a buddy team with a special ed student and a regular ed student.
- Deal a group. Write everyone’s name on a notecard and “deal” patrol groups each week by picking cards out of the pile.
- Here is a sign-up sheet you can use:
Being a member of the Watt Watchers of Texas program is a privilege and a responsibility to be taken seriously. You can use this agreement for your students. The contract underscores the importance of being on the team and is a reminder of duties that students must perform.
Training your patrol groups
- You train the first ones and have them train the ones that follow.
- Start with a small group and rotate turns every month or so until everyone gets a chance to participate.
- Practice hall etiquette.
Procedures
- Find an exit map of your school. Separate patrol areas based on any logical method to you. Grade levels, hallways, subject areas, etc.
- Patrol as you move from activity to activity within the school such as when you leave your room to go to the library, gym class or, the lunchroom.
- Charge a fine after a certain number of tickets. The collected money could go towards a prize for the Zero Hero classroom.
- The Principal’s office is fair game.
- Make Watt Watcher clipboards. Tape a map of the patrol area to each one.
- Tape instructions for each patrol on the other side of the clipboard.
- Keep all supplies in a copy paper box decorated with light bulbs.
- Laminate tickets. Write “please return to the Watt Watcher mailbox” on the backs.
- Tie pencils to the clipboards.
- Allow students to use extra class time to color thank you notes.
Special occasions
- Have thank you days each month. Announce your thank you list on the daily announcements or at staff meetings.
- Have an energy watcher of the day for each classroom- student wears a button and is responsible for turning off the light all day.
- Display graphs of your energy usage and savings in prominent areas.
- Do the Kick Off skit at the beginning of the year and change it to reflect your program at the end of the year.