When my daughter Gabrielle was a girl she had an ornery pony named Bailey. He was cute, but pretty difficult. Her trainer (in bottom picture) told me that you "need to try everything" when it comes to training horses. With her trainer's help Gabrielle was able to compete with Bailey in shows, take him on trail rides, and enjoy horsey fun with her sister and friends.
By now I'm sure you're wondering what this has to do with classroom management. Well, as I decided to write about my the evolution of my behavior management plan I was reminded of Mr. Sanjuan's advice. He didn't let Gabrielle give up when working with her pony (even when he cleared a jump at practice, but refused to jump at shows). And, I don't want to give up on helping my students achieve their best. Over the years I have tried a variety of management plans with varying degrees of success.
Gabrielle & Bailey in 2004.
I used a chart like this when I taught first grade. It worked for most students, but a few didn't care if they had to change their cards. Several teachers in my school still use a chart like this.
When I moved to kindergarten I used this stop sign chart. Again, it worked pretty well for some, not so much for others.
One year I had a little guy who was always in the red light pocket. It got to the point that he was just a "red" kid. I knew he was a good kid, and wanted him to feel a sense of redemption, so I made this clip chart. It really did help him to work toward making better choices so he could move back up the chart. Students who reached pink got a "diamond" to stick to their clothespins. I liked this chart, but wanted to try something else to see if I could reach those "Baileys" in my classroom.
This year I am using tickets. Students earn tickets for making good choices, being kind, and following the rules. Conversely, poor choices will cost them tickets. They don't earn a ticket for every good choice, act of kindness, or rule following. I explained to them that it will take about two weeks to earn ten tickets, and so far my Kinders are doing well with this new plan. Because I don't hand out tickets left and right, they feel really special when earned. It also works well when praising a student who has changed his/her behavior. Knowing that I have noticed a change in behavior goes a long way in helping a student to continue making good choices. And, knowing that not-so-good choices will cost them tickets will hopefully help them to gain control over their actions.
On Friday we count our tickets (which are stored in little food containers I purchased at Target). Ten tickets earns a reward coupon for things like "no morning work," "bring a stuffed animal to school," etc. I use my talented daughter's Reward Binder. Click HERE to purchase.
We are twenty days into the new school year, and I think I am going to really like this new behavior management plan because it focuses on the positive, and downplays the negative. If you are up for "trying everything," I have a freebie for you ~ click HERE to get your own Ticket Ten Frame & tickets.
Please visit me at my blog & Facebook page:
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.