Behavior Management Reflection ~ Freebie!

I've been going through files on my computer in attempt to figure out what I need to prepare for the beginning of the school year. In doing so, I'm also finding some documents that I'd like to share! Yay for freebies!

Behavior Reflection Sheet

  

I've used this sheet the past couple years with several behavior management systems.  It's a nice way for kids to reflect on their behavior and think about how they can work on making things better.  I have the kids fill this out when they have to miss recess.  I then write a sentence or two to their parents and they take the sheet home to be signed and returned.  I keep the signed papers in a file for documentation purposes.  It's an easy way to communicate with parents and help make students a bit more responsible for their behavior.  I hope that you can use this or it will inspire you to create your own that will meet you own classroom's needs!

Behavior Management {Revisited}

My clip chart, minus the clips!

It was pretty much exactly this time last year when I was researching behavior systems for the coming school year...  (You can read that post here...  It's actually one of my most popular posts ever!)

I apologize in advance that this post is going to be kind of a rant...  Sometimes I "think out loud" on my blog.

I used the clip chart system last year and overall I liked it, but I really struggled with staying consistent with it.  I feel like sometimes the day gets too crazy and I forget to reward students for their good behaviors.  Does anyone else feel that way?  I think it just needs to become more of a conscious effort for me.  

For this coming school year, I'm considering what behavior management system I would like to use.  I know that this new class is going to be mostly boys and that they need a lot of structure and consistency.  While I really did like the clip chart system, I have a very strong feeling that unless I get super consistent with it, that system just isn't going to be effective with this new group of kids.  

My previous behavior system was an adaptation of a system I observed in at 5th grade classroom in college.    in a pocket chart, each child began the week with 5 stars.  They got one warning for misbehavior before they had to "pull a star" and at the end of the week the number of stars that remained determined the amount of extra recess they got.  (This class didn't get a second recess in the afternoon like we do.)  

I ended up adapting that to be more on a daily basis, since adding extra recess every Friday just became too difficult.  Eventually it got cut to 3 stars a day...  Pull one star for a warning, pull 2 stars and lose 5 minutes of recess, and pull all 3 and lose all of recess and complete a "think sheet" that goes home to parents to sign.  It was super easy for me to manage and the kids were so honest and self sufficient they'd be pulling their own stars when they knew they had messed up!  (How's that for management?!?)  

The only problem?  No rewards!  Now, we had plenty of rewards for good behavior as a whole school, but I really didn't have much going on within my classroom.  Other than getting all of recess, the kids that didn't pull stars didn't really get anything out of it.  I think sometimes kids get over-rewarded and we shower them with too much for just doing what they should do regardless, but at the same time I think they should get something out of it.  

So, I'm debating.  I'm leaning more towards going back to the star system for this group of kids and then using the school-wide ticket system for the rewards part.  (Unless our PBIS team happens to change things up a lot...)  

I'm also one that makes adjustments to my behavior management system as I get the know the group of students.  I had one year where I think I tried 3 or 4 systems with a group of kids before I found something that was halfway effective with them.  (You know that group of kids...  The group that causes you to consume what was probably an unhealthy amount of ibuprofen because you have a raging headache at the end of each day and hate the teacher you are with them.  Thankfully, I've only had one of those years.)

So, there are my thoughts on behavior management!  I feel like I'm not going make a firm decision on this until I get back to school and we start our inservices.  Thankfully, I'm pretty much prepped for both systems!

Behavior Management

I've been contemplating trying out a new or modified behavior management system in my classroom for next year. The problem I find is that you really don't know what system works until you meet your students and get a feel for the personalities and dynamics that you have in your classroom. For example, my class my second year of teaching was, well to put it nicely, not the best behaved and I could have paid them with $100 bills for good behavior and they still would make horrible choices. Then my class this past year was wonderful... The best behaved group of kids I've had and I really had no need for any system. They were so good they'd rat themselves out for minor things because they'd feel so much guilt. (Don't we wish we could have those types of classes every year?)

Through my lurkings around Pinterest and various blogs, I've found a lot of teachers using a colored chart where the students have a clip and can move up or down depending on their behavior throughout the day. In fact, this system is ALL over the place, so it makes me think there's something good about it! It seems fairly easy to manage and a great idea for classroom management. I love the idea of rewarding kids for not just being good, but going above and beyond. I'm all about having high expectations and I can see this really working well. (I think it would have been a fantastic system for last year's class that was so good.)

Here are a few links to this behavior management system and some of its variations. There are some awesome ideas on these sites!

• Fun in First Grade - Behavior System


• Littlest Learners - Best. Thing. Ever.


• New Management - Clip Chart


• Heart of Wisdom - Printable Clip Chart Behavior System


• Mrs. Bainbridge's Class - Rules and Classroom Clip Chart


• Ms. Shea's Stadium - Behavior Management


• Ms. Vensko's 2nd Grade Stars - Choices Clip Chart


• Creative Teacher - Clip Chart Behavior Management System

I've used a "star system" as my primary behavior management model over the past few years. The kids start the day with three stars in a pocket chart. For each misbehavior they "pull a star." One star is a warning, two stars is 5 minutes lost of recess, and three stars is all of recess lost where the students fill out a "think sheet" about their day to share with their parents a and a possible trip to the office. I've really liked this system and feel like it's been pretty effective, but I get bored with things after a while... One of my favorite things about my job is that I get a fresh start each year and can switch things up when I want to!

Had you noticed that I don't give the kids anything for being good? Trust me, I do give my kids plenty of rewards and incentives, but I've been trying to figure out a way that I could add more in with the whole star system and now possibly with the colored clip chart system. Here's the issue... I'm not made of money and it can get really expensive constantly buying rewards for students. I did a monetary system with my "bad" class during my second year and felt like I spent tons of my own money on prizes each month. I also attempted to do extra recess at the end of the week, but that was difficult to keep track of who earned how much time, being stuck inside during the winter months, dealing with short weeks, and just plain finding the time to fit in extra recess!

I've always liked the idea of using coupons for classroom priviledges, but I've always struggled with coming up with fun ideas. And so, to the internet I went... Here are a few things I've found.

• Free and Effective Classroom Rewards


• Free Classroom Rewards for a Job Well Done


• Classroom Management - Reward Ideas


• Inexpensive Classroom Rewards and Incentives


• Top 10 Free (& Cheap) Rewards for Students

I hope these links help any of you who are looking for ways to reward students without breaking the bank. As I said, sometimes you really don't know what works until you meet your students, but hopefully you find something fun and effective that will help them stay motivated and well behaved!