I found that emphasizing the first right, the right to respect, really set a positive tone in the classroom. I told the children that these numbers were going to be their number for the entire year, so they should learn them well. I taught the children from the first day to write their P.I.N. numbers on their papers right after their names. These numbers can be effective for many different activities. If you need to choose a child for a favored activity such as doing the word of the day or running an errand, you can choose a number out of a Number Can and let fate choose.
Children understand chance and are willing to accept the fairness of such a decision.
Numbers can be used to determine classroom jobs. Numbers on papers make returning papers to the children's mailbox an easy task for anyone to do. The children call out their numbers in order. This enables me to know if all the children are present and who is missing. Very soon the children know their numbers and the numbers of most of their classmates.