Classroom Behavior Management

Rewards:

• Individual: Each student will have a punch card for their personal behavior. Students will get a punch on their card when caught being a great leader and following class & school rules. When a student has 10 punches on their card, they may turn them in at the end of the day and choose a reward from our class reward menu.

• Table Groups: Working together builds community and friendship among peers and is a skill so many young children need to practice. To motivate students to work cooperatively, table groups will be given chances throughout the day to an extra punch on their individual cards. When they all get recognized together, teamwork grows stronger.

• Class: As a class, we work towards compliments from the teacher, another teacher, administrators, and other staff members in the building. Each time an adult in the building recognizes class-wide expectations being followed, the class will earn a puzzle piece (15 squares). Once the puzzle is complete, the class will earn the prize on the picture. Some examples of puzzles are: bring a stuffed animal to school, crazy sock day, wear sunglasses, movie half-hour (LISD approved), extra recess,  a guest reader (principal/asst. principal), flashlight learning, pajama day.  When these class rewards are earned, I will email parents the day and the reward that is earned. 

Consequences:

• Individual: If students are not following expectations, the teacher will give praise to those around him/her for them to correct the behavior quickly. If the same issue continues to hinder the learning environment, the teacher will pull the student aside and talk to him/her so that they are not embarrassed and find out what is causing the behavior. If the problem persists after a teacher/student conference, parents are notified by e-mail for a discussion to happen at home. Please respond to the email so I know you got the notification. Sometimes when students know that their parents and teacher are talking, one email is all that it takes for unwanted behavior to end. If several emails have been sent about the same behavior concern, the teacher will contact you for a parent-teacher conference to discuss ways for improvement and brainstorm ways for your student to be successful. 

*Please note that serious concerns, including hurting others, will bypass an email and result in a phone conversation the same school day.

• Class: There are never class consequences. Behavior management in my classroom is set up to praise students when they are following expectations and if the entire class is not following them, we practice until we can follow instructions. We spend much of the first few weeks of school practicing expectations for all aspects of school until each part sounds like and looks like it should so that we are rockin' in our school shoes. My years of experience have taught me that positive praise is contagious and spreads so quickly in the classroom that when I'm excited to announce that students are doing the right thing, they all want to follow to receive that same positive attention!