Thinking Outside the Music Box

This JUST in: I've been having troubles getting the students quiet as quickly as I wanted them to be lately. My principal says that compared to some other teachers, it's WAY faster, but I know they can get quieter better. The method that I had been working for most of the year so far was "Eyes on me in 3...2...1" which gave them a few seconds to finish their conversations, but lately I've had to countdown two or three times before getting the quiet.

The new idea? A MUSIC BOX!

Now, I haven't tried this out yet at all and want to test it tomorrow, but here's the plan: I have a music box that my grandparents gave me that I just wound up all the way to find out it plays for just under four minutes. My plan is to wind it up at the beginning of each class so that it has full song capacity. Any time the students are getting too loud or won't settle down, I will simply open the box and let it play until they are quiet. If the box runs out of music, they will have to sit in silence for the rest of the class. If there is still music left at the end, we will get a sticker chart or some way to keep track of how many days each class has made it without running out of time.

I counted up how many school days there are left in the year (50!) and am brainstorming some kind of incentive for the silence. What I'm thinking of now is a pizza party for any classes that can get 30 days without running out of music. This won't break the bank, and I could still have the kids bring a dollar or something to offset the cost as long as they earn it!

I'll be sure to report back with whether or not this works, but I'm excited to see the outcome! If you have any thoughts, comments, or suggestions, please let me know!!