Today I'm linking up with
Delightfully Dedicated to talk about behavior management! Make sure to check out all the other fabulous teachers that have linked up!
My behavior management plan grew a lot after my first year of teaching. I learned pretty quickly what worked and what didn't work. This is what I did last year:
First and foremost, I used Whole Brain teaching's classroom rules. I read the book before my first year of teaching and fell in LOVE!!
Whole brain teaching has 5 class rules:
1. Follow directions quickly.
2. Raise your hand for permission to speak.
3. Raise your hand for permission to leave your seat.
4. Make smart choices!
5. Keep your dear teacher happy!
I just love these rules because everything falls under one rule or another. "Keep your dear teacher happy" and "make smart choices" goes a long way!
Plus, the rules have fun hand-motions to go along with them and my third graders LOVED THEM! Seriously, I really recommend reading this book if you haven't yet.
I used Stephanie from 3rd Grade Thoughts' posters to post the rules in my classroom. Check them out
HERE!
When I wanted the attention of the whole class, I used the 'Class-Yes' callback from Whole Brain Teaching. It works like a charm every time! I add a little extra incentive to doing the callback right the first time. Because I was departmentalized and had 3 classes, I created a little class competition which my students loved (inspired by Whole Brain Teaching)! If they all responded quickly and quietly, the class got a happy face. If they didn't respond quickly or quietly, the class got a sad face. At the end of the day, I would tally up the class points and record it on our class competition chart. At the end of the month, the class with the most points got a reward (usually extra recess or a homework pass). Below are my charts that I used for class competition!
This picture ties into my next aspect of behavior management:
Class Dojo! Now, I'm sooooo obsessed with Class Dojo (as were my students). Class Dojo was especially helpful for students who couldn't seem to get it together with just the class rules.
Class Dojo is a fun little tool that allows you to create an avatar for each student. If a student is misbehaving, you can give them a negative Dojo point. You can customize the behaviors you want to use!
If they are going above and beyond, you can give them a positive Dojo point.
I liked to keep my Dojo points on the positive side so I rarely ever gave negatives. Usually all I had to do was say, "I just love the way Sally is sitting so quietly waiting for directions. I'm going to give her a positive Dojo!" This would cause little Johnny who is swinging from the ceiling fan to pop to attention in his chair so that he can get a positive Dojo point, too!
The cool thing about Class Dojo is that it gives you a handy chart to track students' behavior. This chart was awesome for RtI meetings and parent conferences!
I added a little incentive to getting positive Dojo points in my class. I created a Class Dojo rewards menu so my students could trade their points in every other week. Students could either save their points or trade them in for a treat. I was so impressed with how many of my students saved their points for larger rewards! Teaching responsibility and money-saving skills early!
And now, I have a freebie for you!! It's my Class Dojo Rewards poster! You can hang this in your room and allow students to trade in their Class Dojo points! Click the picture below to download it!
*******UPDATE*******
After many, many requests, I have created an editable version of my popular Class Dojo Rewards Menu! You can find it
HERE! Enjoy!
Well, there you have it! My behavior management plan in a nutshell! How do you manage behavior in your classroom??
