This activity was created as an incentive for neat printing in my First Grade classroom. My kids love it! All you need is a black robe (I use my daughter’s discarded graduation gown, hemmed it up a bit for my firsties) and a magnifying glass. After completing a
handwriting paper which I have told the children will be “judged’, the“Judge” (this is a job in my classroom) dresses for his/her job and goes out into the hall to wait for us to call him/her into the room. I choose several of the “nicest” or “most improved” papers, fold down the names (so the judge won’t know whose papers they are looking at) and hang them on the board with magnets. When we are ready, the children stand and we call the Judge. “Here comes the judge, here comes the judge, here comes the Judge.” The judge comes into the room and tells the children to be seated. He/she then inspects the papers with the magnifying glass and chooses the “best” paper. Sometimes, if I have too many papers (because the printing is awesome) - I will make a “girl row” and a “boy row” of papers and the Judge chooses a paper in each row.The child/children chosen receives some kind of recognition. It can be as simple as a “punch on a punch card”, a brag tag, or a certificate. I have included 2 different certificates - one for printing and another for writing. There are 2 sizes for each.There are 2 different brag tag options as well. There is a color as well as a black and white version.
This is a favorite activity in my classroom. The children look forward
to their turn as the Judge as well as being chosen for their awesome printing! Enjoy!