|
A first grade teacher discusses her behavior management system.
On the second day of school my students and I sit down and make a list of classroom
rules that will help our new family work well together. The students then all
color a person cut-out to look like themselves and we all tape them around our
rule chart. This says that each student agrees with the rules and plans on trying
their best to make our classroom an enjoyable place. In my classroom I have displayed four large colored circles with different
faces. Each child has a clothespin with their name on it and it starts on the
green smile face every morning. If a child breaks one of the classroom rules
they have to move their clip to the yellow face. The yellow face is a warning
for them to get their act together. To help remind them they lose 5 minutes
of their recess. If a child continues to break rules they will move their clip
to the red face. The red face means they need to stop and think about the way
they are acting. Being on this face means the student loses all their afternoon
recess. The last face is the blue sad face. This face is seldom used, but is
there if needed. If a child gets to this face they have to go and talk to the
principal. My children hate to move their clip, and are very proud if they stay
on their green face. (When I taught older grades I did the same plan but used
index cards and individual pockets for each child.) Each face is worth a point value. At the end of the day if a child is on their
green face they earn 10 points, yellow earns 5 points, red earns 2 points and
a blue face is worth no points. (I use these points because of my math curriculum.
I have to teach my kids to count by 2, 5, and 10.) At the beginning of the year
my students get a colored ticket to match the face they are on, after Christmas
they get coins for the point value of each face. I give them their tickets or
money out every day or once a week. At the end of the month we have a "BONUS DAY!" The students each get to spend
their tickets or money on a variety of activities throughout the day. I let
the kids help pick the activities. We do things like..... coloring contest,
play with clay, painting, crafts, wear a hat, play games, extra recess, eat
lunch in the room, bring a toy from home, computer time, morning snack, candy
treat, etc..... My kids love and greatly anticipate Bonus Day. I have used this program for
6 years and have been very pleased with it. The kids learn that they are in
control of how much they get to do on Bonus Day by how they act on a daily basis.
Managing and organizing the days activities can be tricky but it all comes together
after a couple of tries. If you have any questions please feel free to E-mail me at jodycamp@yahoo.com.
| 
