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jewels
Stop and smell the flowers
Member since 7/06 1538 total posts
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help! i need a better behavior plan
i teach 3rd grade (general ed). i have some group this year. the behavior is just so bad overall. i've experienced having a handful of poorly behaved kids but this class is just off the wall. so i'm looking for advice. my star chart is not cutting it this year (10 stars for good behavior = prize from prize box). any suggestions? token economy maybe? i need help. i'm used to having my classroom run smoothly and i just don't feel like i am getting off to a good start this year.
Message edited 9/15/2009 6:05:12 PM.
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Posted 9/15/09 6:02 PM  |
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happytobreathe
The Lazy Days of Summer
Member since 10/06 1413 total posts
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Re: help! i need a better behavior plan
I would suggest a token economy. I would get some really good prizes and make them worth a lot of tickets/cash/stickers. It is an incentive,...just make it obtainable. Also, maybe red/yellow/green behavior charts and on red you can call/write home?
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| Posted 9/15/09 6:27 PM |
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PennyCat
Just call me mommy :)
Member since 7/08 19084 total posts
Name:
Jib
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Re: help! i need a better behavior plan
Posted by happytobreathe
I would suggest a token economy. I would get some really good prizes and make them worth a lot of tickets/cash/stickers. It is an incentive,...just make it obtainable. Also, maybe red/yellow/green behavior charts and on red you can call/write home?
How does this work? On the first offense- are they on green, or yellow? Because green to me symbolizes keep going, you're not doing anything wrong 
I know I'm not the OP but I could have posted that myself!! 
ETA: Also- I have called the home of one of my worst students twice already and it does NOTHING...... the mother just says she will 'talk' to him..... Any ideas for something worse than a call home that doesn't get the principal involved? Would a book report graded as a test be a good punishment on red? 
Message edited 9/15/2009 6:43:10 PM.
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| Posted 9/15/09 6:40 PM |
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happytobreathe
The Lazy Days of Summer
Member since 10/06 1413 total posts
Name:
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Re: help! i need a better behavior plan
Ok I also taught a self contained last year,..with extremely behavioral kids. What I do is,... green means keep going your doing well, yellow is a warning to change your behavior and red is stop and change.
What I think would work in both situations- PennyCat, regarding your other post- is to stress behavior is a choice. It is something they chose to do. If that means letting 3 kids who behaved listen to their ipods at the end of the day,...I did it. If it meant one child could read his torah---i did it. Ok- that is what he wanted to do. I kept skittles and m&ms on me at all time the year before last. But during last year i had a child with Prada Willi and couldn't use food but it does work because it is immediate.
I think you need to come up with 5 choices for children who stay on green all day... then move it too all week slowly pulling it away.
Let me know if I can help!
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| Posted 9/15/09 7:39 PM |
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MichLiz213
Life is Good!
Member since 7/07 7979 total posts
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Re: help! i need a better behavior plan
We did this in my Kindergarten class, but I'm sure it could translate to the older grades. It was a Superstar chart. The first card in the pocket chart was a star, then green, yellow and red. Red was a consequence (5-10 min off recess, etc). Everyday a student was a superstar they got a star, and 5 stars equals a prize. I'm sure saying "Go turn your card!" is just as effective in Kindergarten as it is in 3rd!
You don't want to make a book report a punishment because that will translate into schoolwork as a punishment. I say take away recess time or some kind of reward or fun activity. Or make him fill out a Think Sheet. It a writing assignment that says what rule they broke, why they chose to break the rule, who was bothered when they broke the rule and what they could have done instead. Make a copy and have both the student and parent sign it.
Message edited 9/15/2009 8:49:40 PM.
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| Posted 9/15/09 8:48 PM |
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MichLiz213
Life is Good!
Member since 7/07 7979 total posts
Name:
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Re: help! i need a better behavior plan
Posted by jewels
my star chart is not cutting it this year (10 stars for good behavior = prize from prize box).
10 stars may be too many stars to earn for this group to make an impact. You may want to reduce it to 5, or have different levels of prizes and use a ticket system.
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| Posted 9/15/09 8:51 PM |
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lbride
Lovin' my mini man!
Member since 3/07 2475 total posts
Name:
Lisa
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Re: help! i need a better behavior plan
I used to tape of sheet of 15 blank smiley faces on their desks. Everytime they were doing something good (in the beginning they were literally getting them for doing "expected" things like putting their name of the paper), I would color one in. It worked well for my nightmare class. They would see their neighbor get one and straighten up. I used free homework passes as my incentive!
**You may also want to check out some ideas from the CHAMPS program.
Message edited 9/15/2009 9:25:39 PM.
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| Posted 9/15/09 9:24 PM |
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happytobreathe
The Lazy Days of Summer
Member since 10/06 1413 total posts
Name:
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Re: help! i need a better behavior plan
Posted by MichLiz213
We did this in my Kindergarten class, but I'm sure it could translate to the older grades. It was a Superstar chart. The first card in the pocket chart was a star, then green, yellow and red. Red was a consequence (5-10 min off recess, etc). Everyday a student was a superstar they got a star, and 5 stars equals a prize. I'm sure saying "Go turn your card!" is just as effective in Kindergarten as it is in 3rd!
You don't want to make a book report a punishment because that will translate into schoolwork as a punishment. I say take away recess time or some kind of reward or fun activity. Or make him fill out a Think Sheet. It a writing assignment that says what rule they broke, why they chose to break the rule, who was bothered when they broke the rule and what they could have done instead. Make a copy and have both the student and parent sign it.
I am not disagreeing and back in the day when kids knew how to behave,this would have worked. But, now especially in NYC you have to be extremely careful. This could be considered corporal punishment in my school if recess is taken away or extra work is given. Instead, I think it is important to praise the children who make the right choice and give them the attention. REWARD positive choices.
Be careful with punishment.
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| Posted 9/15/09 9:38 PM |
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GraceAndAdam
LIF Toddler
Member since 12/08 487 total posts
Name:
Grace
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Re: help! i need a better behavior plan
do you use any type of "whole class" behavior reward system? For example, every time you are happy with how the whole class is behaving, you can add a marble (or a few depending on how good they are) to a jar. The kids will know that when the jar is filled they will earn a reward, such as a movie or some other class activity that they would enjoy. It could also be something like linking paper clips together, and when the chain gets to a certain length they earn their reward. I've found that this helps in some cases, especially when some kids are behaving well and some aren't. If I just remind them that I'd love to add some marbles to the jar but I just don't quite feel that they've earned them yet, then usually the few that are too chatty or not focused will get back on task. You could also arrange the children's desks into groups of 4-6 and have each table earn points for behavior. Then at the end of the week or month, the table with the most points could win a prize.
Good luck!
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| Posted 9/16/09 7:23 AM |
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DaisyGirl
LIF Adult
Member since 2/08 1650 total posts
Name:
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Re: help! i need a better behavior plan
Posted by lbride
I used to tape of sheet of 15 blank smiley faces on their desks. Everytime they were doing something good (in the beginning they were literally getting them for doing "expected" things like putting their name of the paper), I would color one in. It worked well for my nightmare class. They would see their neighbor get one and straighten up. I used free homework passes as my incentive!
**You may also want to check out some ideas from the CHAMPS program.
I think something like this would work well. Your star chart may not be working because it is a chart on the wall. Putting the stickers or smilies or whatever on their desks makes it more real to them. They can see what they are earning. Also, it is very easy and subtle to color in a smily or give a sticker on a chart as you are walking around the room.
Good luck!
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| Posted 9/16/09 5:40 PM |
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jgl
Love my little boys!!!
Member since 8/07 7060 total posts
Name:
g
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Re: help! i need a better behavior plan
what i do in my first grade class is a token reward. (besides a red/yellow/green behavior system as well)
anytime they are caught being good, sharing, helping someone, answer a hard question.. or for just whatever i want... I give them a ticket. when they get ten tickets they trade them in for 5 checks (on one of those behavior charts you can buy at a teacher store) and when they fill up the line with checks I give them a HW pass
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| Posted 9/16/09 5:52 PM |
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jgl
Love my little boys!!!
Member since 8/07 7060 total posts
Name:
g
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Re: help! i need a better behavior plan
I do Frogs for red/yellow/green behavior
I use the colored electrical tape and make three columns (i do it on soemthing magnetic) a gree a yellow and a red column
I printed frogs using clip art and assign each child a frog (write their name on it or an assigned # and I laminate it, I also put magnets on the back)
each childs frog starts the day in green. anytime they are not following directions, listening, caught doing something wrong etc... i tell them to move their frog. they get up and move their from from green to yellow or if they are on yellow, from yellow to red)
all children have the chance to change their behavior and move back to gree.
at the end of the day they color in a chart the color they ended the day on. (if they are on yellow or red i write a note at the bottom that must be signed by a parent)
I have a letter i send home to parents and the frog chart for their folders if you want it, FM your email address
eta.. punishments for yellow or red could be not playing at lunch, or participating in an activity, writing an apology letter etc.
Message edited 9/16/2009 5:59:46 PM.
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| Posted 9/16/09 5:57 PM |
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jewels
Stop and smell the flowers
Member since 7/06 1538 total posts
Name:
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Re: help! i need a better behavior plan
thank you so much for all the ideas!!!!
after coming home hoarse again yesterday from talking over them I decided to step into action! so I bought a 4 lb bag of candy and started a red/yellow/green system. they start on green and move depending on their behavior. so far i am only rewarding good behavior. so at the end of the day kids on green get candy and 2 stars on my star chart (didn't want to scrap it and show weakness!) and yellow gets 1 star. red gets nothing. i told them that after a certain number of days on red there will be consequences (meeting with parent/miss out on first field trip/etc). i still have to iron that out. but anyway today was so much better than yesterday. a bunch of kids were on red and yellow at the end of the day but i do think it curtailed a lot of the bad behavior for most of the day.
today i didn't let them move back once they moved to yellow or red but i think i may have to because otherwise they have no incentive to behave once they get to red.
all i know is i am exhausted but at least i feel a little more in control.
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| Posted 9/16/09 8:04 PM |
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