"Teacher, I Don't Remember Why I Moved My Clip!"

 

New Behavior Strategies to Start the School Year With

 

 

Hello! This is Crystal McGinnis from Mrs. McGinnis' Little Zizzers. I have officially been back to school for almost two weeks. I teach Kindergarten, and the first few weeks of the school year are very physically and emotionally draining. We spend the first few weeks teaching the basic routines over and over and over again. One of the most important things that I must teach my kinders (in order to preserve my sanity) is the difference between acceptable and unacceptable behaviors. As important as I know that this is, it can also be equally frustrating. I use a color clip chart system in my classroom. My kiddos move their clip up and down depending on their positive and negative behavior. This works great for me except for one minor detail. My little darlings often cannot remember why they have moved their clip throughout the day. When I ask them why they have moved their clip, I usually get the same response of "I don't remember." I do keep a clip board and write down the reasons the clips are moved up and down throughout the day, but I am not sure that this is teaching my kids the behavioral lessons that they need. After thinking about a way to solve this problem and give my kids a chance to show ownership for their actions, I created this behavior specific clip chart to use in addition to my regular behavior clip chart. This behavior specific clip chart lists the rules that are being broken, instead of just listing a color that the student is on. Here is how it works. If my kiddos are asked to move their clip down, they move their clip down on our regular clip chart. I then have them place a clip with their name on it on our behavior specific clip chart. This helps my students by seeing exactly the reason that they had to move their clip. (not to mention this helps me remember also because I often forget why clips are moved) I tell my students that I will keep an eye on my behavior specific clip chart. If I notice that a student changes negative behavior to positive behavior, he or she will be able to take their name clip off of the chart. If a student continues to have negative behavior, he or she will have to practice the behavior that is on the chart beside their clip. This practice will occur during recess time.

 

 

THIS IS MY BEHAVIOR SPECIFIC CLIP CHART. It lists the actual behaviors that I expect in my classroom. If a student breaks one of the rules, he or she places his clip beside that rule.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have only used this system for a few days, but so far it has worked very well. You can get a copy of this clip chart by clicking here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mr. Potato Head Class Behavior Incentive

 

 

 

 

I picked up this Mr. Potato head to use as a class wide behavior incentive. Here is how I will use it. Mr. Potato head will start his day with no body parts. My students will have to earn his body parts in order to have a reward. If I notice that the entire class is listening to me while I am teaching, I will give him an ear. If I notice that the entire class has their eyes on me while I am teaching, I will give him an eye. If the class walks correctly down the hall, I will give him legs. (I will try to connect the behaviors to the body parts) If Mr. Potato head has all of his body parts by the end of the day, my class will get free play time.

 

  

 

 

 

 

Something else new that I am trying in my classroom this year are these behavior tickets. The tickets match the colors that are on our regular behavior clip chart.  

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

I purchased baskets that match our clip chart at the Dollar Tree. I then copied

behavior tickets on colored paper that match the colors of my clip chart. At the end of the day, students are invited to take a behavior reward ticket that matches the color that he or she landed on that day. The student then takes this ticket home in his or her folder to show their parent their color for the day. This made reporting positive behavior to parents simple as there are no charts to fill out. 

 

I also have a second set of colored baskets that match my clip chart. Students who land on pink get to choose a small prize (candy) from the pink basket. Students who land on blue get to choose a small prize (a sticker) from the blue basket.

 

 

 

 

 

I also like to send home behavior reward certificates at the end of each week. I usually do not have time to write the student's names or the date on each one, so I created this set of behavior certificates without the signature and date lines. Instead, all I have to do is copy them and stick them in my student's folder. Simple as that!

 

 You can get my certificates here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I would love to hear what behavior strategies work for you in your classroom!