I know I'm going to be stepping on a lot of toes here, but I need to be frank. One extremely popular punitive whole-class management tool is the 'card-flipping' system, in which children stay on 'green' if they follow class rules, and with each time they misbehave, they 'flip a card' (yellow=a warning, red=phone call home, etc.). The majority of kids stay on green all day long, and therefore get no reinforcement for their positive behavior. The system serves very little purpose for them other than basic accountability (which could have been accomplished with verbal praise or a note in the daily agenda). The minority of the class who are frequently in trouble find themselves on red by 9:00 in the morning. Then what? Exactly how many times can you call home to say a child was out of his seat and talking again? The system isn't effective for those kids, either. Some children may benefit from having the card system as a visual reminder of their behavior, and the dynamic of the system improves when teachers allow students to flip their cards back as they follow
the rules later in the day. However, cards and play money and stickers and treasure boxes often become just another headache for teachers who already have too many things to keep track of, and end up not meeting the needs of any of the children.
**Most elementary school children will generally do what they are supposed to do when the expectation is developmentally appropriate and consistently modeled, practiced, and reinforced.**
Little ones will work effectively and efficiently with the smallest of motivators, such as being chosen to pass out glue or line up first. They will respond if you reinforce appropriate behavior with verbal praise and simple reward systems that are based on incentives for positive behavior rather than on punishment for misbehavior. Most kids WANT to behave and and do well, and they are successful when provided with enjoyable, motivating lessons.
Now there are classes that have an inordinate amount of troubled students, and those classes will need a highly-structured behavior system in addition to individual plans. I have had classes like this in the past (that's when I developed the World's Easiest Token System, and it was an effective supplement for the individual plans). But, these high-maintenence groups of children are the exception, not the rule. I really encourage you to ask yourself if the behavior management system you use is meeting the needs of YOUR class, or if you're just doing it because you feel the need for some kind of system and you know it's a popular one. Just because something is common in education doesn't mean it constitutes best practice.
Behavior management encompasses several important concepts (developing a rapport with your kids, establishing procedures and routines, setting up a positive behavior management system for your whole class, etc.) and that's why I developed the Behavior Management 101 page I created this page, Behavior Plans, to help you address the needs of individual kids who need special behavior modification systems.
You WILL have challenging students. There WILL be a handful of students (give or take) that appear to be or actually are uninterested in pleasing you or being successful in the classroom. Many of these children will have disadvantaged or chaotic home lives, disabilities such as ADHD, social difficulties, and so on. These issues will cause them to struggle to meet your expectations even though deep down they want to do so. But these kids are the ones who fail at class-wide systems, anyway (constantly losing their recess, being isolated from the group, not getting the sticker or treat, etc.).
This page will give you different plans for those students. They need to be handled as individuals, and I encourage you to work with the child and the parent to develop a system that works for their family if you want the plan to be successful in the long-term.
Determining Who Needs an Individual Behavior Plan (IBP)
There are ways to tell if your whole-class positive reinforcement system isn't enough for a particular child. Here are a few possible signs:
-the student is rarely successful in meeting your whole-class goal (earning the requird number of beads, getting tokens, staying on 'green')
-the child's parent has asked to -be notified daily about the child's behavior- or you think the parent should be, so that the child is accountable and the parent can hopefully reinforce expectations at home
-the child is getting into serious trouble at school, resulting in referral
-the child is so needy that you're having to give almost constant reinforcement, encouragement, and redirection as a motivation to behave
Informal Individual Plans: Ways to modify your whole-class system
IBP's do constitute additional work on the part of the teacher, no matter how simple they are. Therefore it is advisable to try first adapt the whole-class system(s) already in place. Here are a few ideas:
-If you're giving out beads or tokens, you can hand them out additionally to your troubled students for the efforts you see at behaving. "Wow, he bumped into you and you chose not to push him back!" or "You took your paper out and put your name on it right away, without any reminders. Thank you!".
-You can also structure your routines and procedures so that there are more immediate and concrete rewards and consequences for the child ("3 Strikes"). For example, my students know if they are continually disruptive, they will have to move their desks and sit alone. But there are some kids that aren't able to monitor their behavior well enough to understand when this consequence will apply. Rather than developing a whole behavior plan for the child, I just say, "You're going to get 3 warnings a day about that behavior. If I have to day something to you about that more than 3 times, you will need to move your desk away from the group for the rest of the day. It's just like in baseball, except I'm giving you one extra chance- 3 strikes and THEN you're out!". I then redirect the child as needed. When that fourth correction comes (and it normally won't using a consequence this immediate and clear-cut), I simply say in a firm and disappointed (not angry) tone, "I've had to stop teaching 4 times today because of that behavior. Your three strikes are up and you're out. Please move your desk back from your group. Thank you, __. I hope you will do better now that you are sitting alone".
-One-on-one talks. Most of the time, talking individually with the child also helps. Taking a few minutes at various points in the day to comment on good decisions and the reasons for bad decisions may be all a child needs to be successful the majority of the time. The impact of aprivate word with an encouraging teacher cannot be overstated. Call the child over to your desk first thing in the morning and say, "You've got a fresh start today! I know you're going to do the right thing today. How are you feeling? Are you ready to do you best work? Go for it!". Whisper to the child in the hallway on the way back from specials, saying, "I loved how on-task you were during reading groups today! Keep up the great work when we do math this afternoon!". At the end of the day, stand in the doorway and pat the child on the back. "Hey, what happened today during science? You seemed really spaced out and you were playing in your desk a lot. [Help the child reflect on what s/he did and why]. Well, everybody gets distracted sometimes. I know you'll be more focused tomorrow. Have a great afternoon, honey!". Just let the child know you're paying attention and caring about everything she does. This is the personal touch that makes a world of different to most kids. Taking a few minutes to talk everyday can eliminate the need for a more formal behavior plan- which is easier on you in the long run.
What to do when a parent requests special accomodations or daily reports home
This is not as big of a hassle as you may think. You can mark in a child's agenda each afternoon using a simple code (checkmarks, smiley faces, etc.) to indicate how the child's day was. You could also use a simple form that provides feedback about specific behaviors. I typically have 1-3 kids in a class that need daily notes home, and it takes me about 30 seconds to complete them for each child.
When a child knows you will be informing his/her parents about behavior at the end of each day, the effect can be powerful. Children often assume that parents have no idea what goes on at school and that teachers are completely inthe dark about what happens at home. When they see that there is communication between the teacher and parents, many children are more self-controlled with their behavior.
What to do when a parent is unwilling or unable to support classroom discipline
If the parent is not a disciplinarian, you have the option of sending the daily note home anyway, and having the child show it to another teacher at the end of the school day. I had a student once whose father was deceased and whose mother was addicted to crack. I sent home the daily note anyway, as documentation of the child's behavior, and send the child to another teacher that I knew the student liked and respected. She talked to him for a minute at the end of each day, praising the child for improvements and encouraging him through mistakes. The child really looked forward to that attention and I saw a marked improvement in his behavior quite quickly.
Designing Formal Behavior Plans
As you may imagine, informal plans such as those described above are the simplest type of individual behavior plan, and therefore the most desirable. I would try those systems first. However, for more extreme behavior problems, you may need a formal plan. The following are guidelines to help you design a plan that meets the needs of your student:
-Choose ONE area you want the student to improve upon. Some kids are just a mess all the way around, and there's not way you can address everything at one time. Choose one behavior that interferes the with learning: calling out, playing around in the desk instead of listening to the teacher, talking back, arguing and fighting with peers, etc. As you see improvements, you can add other criteria. The idea is to break down the task of being a responsible student into small, manageable steps so the student can experience success and build confidence.
-Involve the child and the parent in setting up the plan. Have an idea about what you want to do, and then speak to the child about it. You could say, "I know how hard it is for you to control yourself when you get angry. I want to help you. I'm thinking of a plan that would have us think about your choices at the end of everyday. I have a paper that looks like this, and what will happen is, I'll give it to you at the end of everyday. We'll talk about your decisions and then I'll send the paper home for you to look at with mom. Do you think it would be helpful for you to talk about your behavior with me? Do you think that showing mom will help you? I'd like to bring her in so we can decide on this together. We'll meet with her tomorrow morning, and then start the plan right away. Does that sound like it will work? Wonderful. I'm proud of your for wanting to do the right thing, and I feel good about our plan. If we need to change anything later on, we'll talk about it, but let's give this a shot. I believe in you." When you meet with the parent, leave things jsut as open-ended for feedback, and emphasize that the purpose of the plan is to provide the support that the child needs to be successful. Show enthusiasm and optimism about the entire process.
-Make sure the rewards and consequences are effective for the particular student. Not all plans have built-in rewards or consequences. If you feel that the plan will work better with incentives, by all means discuss those with the child and parent. To achieve the optimal results, you should not determine the reinforcements on your own. Some kids will work hard for privileges in the classroom, or to avoid consequences (having to sit alone). If you have a very supportive parent whom you know will follow through consistently at home, you can add rewards/consequences for there as well (extra computer or video game time, or loss of it). If the parent wants to reinforce the plan at home but you have reason to believe that this will not be enough for the chid, or the parent won't follow through effectively, provide classroom reinforcements as well.
Examples of Individual Behavior Plans
"Andre": The devious smart-aleck who could care less about school
Andre (names are changed, of course) was the most difficult non-disabled student I ever had. This kid was bright and athletic, but bad to the bone. Mischievous and totally lacking in self-control, Andre was almost impossible to motivate. There wasn't anything I had that he wanted. Sitting alone? No problem, he'd just throw crayons at the other kids to get their attention and talk loudly to himself non-stop. Losing out on free time? Who cares? He never did any of the assignments anyway- every minute of the day was free time for him. Try to have a heart-to-heart with him? Forget it. He'd talk back or else just stand there silently and refuse to give me any information. Write a referral? He'd yell all the way down the hall, with school security yanking him by the arm so he wouldn't run off.
Andre needed constant reinforcement. He had the most stringent behavior plan I ever used, in which we evaluated his behavior together as often as every fifteen minutes. Since there was nothing to motivate him at school, we used rewards at home, which were set up to be very flexible, since his home life was not the most structured.
Having me talk to him throughout the day was helpful because I was able to encourage him and provide support regularly. I could say, "You only interuppted Davis one time so far during morning work and you got one problem done- that's an improvement. Good. Now we're going to finish morning work, and then look at your checklist again. To get your next token, you'll need to finish the other problems, and work without disturbing anyone. Understand?".
Eventually we were able to look at Andre's checklist only a few times per day. His behavior was managed, but there was no miracle improvement. Some kids are really hard cases and there's nothing you can do in 6 hours per day to undo everything that happens in the other 18 hours. It's exhausting and discouraging to work with these types of kids. Fortunately they are few and far between in most schools, and the majority of troubled students will make improvement for you during the school year. Sometimes the cases that seem the most hopeless make the biggest turn-around, and not necessarily right away, so don't count any child out until the end of the year.
Click here to see Andre's behavior plan.
"Claire"- The sweet child who wants to succeed but is emotionally disturbed
Claire was probably my second most difficult student. She was diagnosed with a myriad of disorders, and showed noticeable signs of being both bipolar and emotionally disturbed. Her moods were incredibly unpredictable- one moment she would write a ten paragraph essay, at another she would collapse onto the floor and sob if you suggested she write her name on her paper. There was absolutely no way to predict her behavior and therefore nothing I could do that would consistently help her. Claire got along well enough with the other kids, but refused to do the majority of her work and became hysterical if I insisted she complete it. Sometimes she would have to be forcibly removed from my classroom multiple times in one day for loud, violent outbursts.
I worked closely with Claire and her mom to develop a behavior plan with many frequent and varied rewards. Claire lost interest in things easily and the plan was changed about once a month. Fortunately, Claire had a one-on-one assistant who helped her fill out her behavior plan each day and regulated her rewards and consequences. On days when the aide was not there or was pulled to do other things in the school, I filled in- it was time-consuming and tiring, but I got the job done.
Claire made more significant improvement than anyone thought possible during the year. The structure and routines that were part of both the classroom and behavior plan probably helped considerably. She did go downhill at the end of the year when some outside factors in her life changed, but overall, this behavior plan did in fact manage her behavior. There wouldn't be any miracle cure for Claire, but she was able to function for the most part- and that meant the rest of the class was able to learn.
Click here to see Claire's behavior plan.
"Elijah": The kid with a good heart who just doesn't get it
Thank God there are more Elijahs in the world than Andres or Claires. Elijah wanted to do well, and was capable of doing well, but just didn't have a clue about how behave appropriately. He had the world's messiest desk and lost his materials constantly. He forgot where to stand in line and couldn't remember the procedures for pencil sharpening and bathroom breaks to save his life, even by the spring time. His social skills were even more lacking: he would give kids noogies to show he liked them, or poke them in the stomach with a pencil to get their attention. He simply had no self-help skills and no strategies for being successful in the classroom. Part of this was probably bio-chemical, since his mother was on drugs while pregnant, and part of the problem was an unbelievably chaotic home life. Elijah was the type of kid that any sensitive teacher's heart would go out to. Unfortunately, some of the adults who worked with him in the past didn't take the time to see him for who he was, and instead shamed and punished and isolated him, contributing to his socially unacceptable behaviors. Elijah needed a fresh start from me.
Elijah had a much more laid-back behavior plan, in which I provided verbal reinforcement throughout the day and sent home a paper for his mom at dismissal. (She did read the form sometimes, but I also sent Elijah to another teacher at the end of the day so she could talk with and encourage him even if mom didn't). Elijah was intelligent and mature enough to know that whatever happened during the day would be recorded on that paper, and looked forward to seeing the summary each afternoon. The most effective element of the plan was the accompanying pep talks. I helped Elijah create a new identity: the 'old Ellijah' was always in trouble and didn't have any friends. I worked ceaselessly to convince him that I saw a 'new Elijah', that people liked and that completed his work. In a rather short amount of time, elijah began buying into this idea, and changed his self-concept.
I didn't think Elijah was capable of improving much, but he made amazing strides during the school year. He continued to have days in which he totally zoned out and reverted back to his anti-social behaviors, either because of a physical or psychological reason. On those days, I talked to him about being the old Elijah. He understood that the new Elijah paid attention and got along with the other kids, and when the old Elijah resurfaced, we discussed how to get back on track.
Click here to see Elijah's plan.
"Derick"- the kid with the hot temper and bad reputation
I heard about Derick before he even stepped foot in my class. Everyone in the school warned me about this kid- he's a huge bully, he'll cuss you out, he's lazy and won't do any work... it was endless. After the second person gave me a heads up, I started cutting everyone else off. "Yes, I've heard about Derick, but I don't want to know anymore because I want to be able to give him a fresh start with no preconceptions." I listened to the guidance counselor and the previous year's teacher only- and trust me, that was enough to shake me up! I can only imagine how nervous I would have been if I had let everyone tell me their horror stories about this child.
In the beginning, Derick tried me at every turn, but he was never disrespectful. I was patient with him, developing a rapport whenever I had a chance to talk to him alone. At recess Derick told me all about his video games and his cousin in Nicaragua, and gradually he began opening up more and more. He continued to have problems with other staff members, getting referrals at every turn, but worked hard for me. I praised him often, and talked to him about his anger management issues. I never raised my voice with him and reprimanded him privately every time it was necessary- and that was fairly often in the beginning. But Derick needed someone to believe in him. I told him repeatedly that no matter what someone accused him of, I would always gave him a chance to tell his side of the story, and talk with him about how to make better choices when he messed up.
Derick never needed a written behavior plan. Our agreement was oral. Being ostracized and pegged as 'bad' was Derick's biggest frustration, so being isolated from the class was extremely detrimental to his self-image. However, Derick would frequently play around and distract the kids sitting around him, sometimes getting into conflicts that deteriorated quickly into name-calling and very hurtful words. I had a private conversation with him one morning in the same manner I always did with Derick, taking on a quiet, serious, and firm tone and displaying my most disappointed-looking face.
"Derick, you know I care about you. I believe in you, and I know you want to make good choices. And what I've noticed is, your behavior towards your team members is not helpful. I've seen a lot of arguing and fighting lately, and you've been playing around instead of working. Have you noticed that too? Is there anything you'd like to say about that? Okay, thank you for explaining why you felt angry. It sounds like you have been getting very frustrated when Orlando bumps into your desk all the time. Unfortunately, I can't keep talking to you every time you get upset, not if I'm teaching. I'm going to have to give you three chances to do the right thing. If I have to speak to you three times about inappropriate behavior, you'll have to move your desk away from your team and sit alone. It's just not fair to your teammates when you talk to them while they're trying to learn. And it's not fair to me when I plan out a lesson to help you guys learn and then I can't teach it because I have to keep stopping for you. Does that make sense? I know you want me to be able to teach, and you want to be able to learn. So I'm going to need your help on this. How about you monitor your own behavior so I don't have to say anything, and if I do, you'll get three chances before you sit alone. Does that sound fair to you? Okay, let's try that out today and see how it works. I want you to tell me at the end of the day whether you think this is a good plan for you. Make sense? Okay, so let's get you back to your seat and get you started on your morning work. You can do this, Derick. I know you can."
This oral agreement worked wonders with Derick. He took pride in having a private contract, something special that only he and I knew about. He felt responsible for his behavior and capable of managing it, because he knew I was counting on him to pull it together. Derick's home life always contributed to 'relapses' and issues outside of the classroom, but as a whole, once I had established a rapport with him, Derick was an awesome student for me. "Our agreement" was something that made sense to him, and he handled it well.
MORE RESOURCES
Here is a great daily behavior chart from Mrs. Gold that students fill out themselves. At the end of the day, the children simply color in two symbols using the key on the page: the teacher can quickly glance over the entire class' forms in less than a minute or two, and parents sign off nightly. This could easily be used for the whole class so that all parents are kept informed about their children's behavior and work habits, or, you could just send it home for the kids who need it.
"You CAN Handle Them All!" is a terrific resource if you really want to find out what makes individual kids tick and find out how to get to the root of the problem. The discussions of how students try to meet their primary and secondary needs weeds out the psycho-babble and clearly explains what's going on in the minds of your students. While you have to purchase materials to find out ways to address the problems, just understanding where your students are coming from can be extraordinarily helpful. Over 117 common misbehaviors are addressed- The Defier, the Destroyer, the Do-Nothing... and that's just the D's!
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