As a teacher, behavior management is very important. Without a well behaved class, learning cannot happen. Below are my methods for helping students be the best learners they can be while keeping them accountable for their actions and also rewarding positive behavior.
Clip System:
The clip system is not uncommon in schools, but I think many teachers fall short on this by not including the option to move up for positive behavior. Below is a very rough copy of what the clip system in my classroom will look like.
All students begin the day on green. Throughout the day, based on their choices, their clips may move either up, down, or both the chart. The color that they end the day on is listed on a behavior chart that is sent home every day for parents to view. Both yellow and green receive only a mention on the chart. Students landing on another color get…
Gold: Students are given a reward that is sent home with them.
Blue: Students are given a sticker.
Orange: Teachers choice, depending on what happened in the scenario (ex: 10 minutes off of recess)
Red: Parent contact.
Black: Last resort, student is sent to the office. This will only happen after the student has had multiple chances and teacher has spoken to student about what he or she is doing wrong.
Warm Fuzzies:
Something I experimented with during my time as a student teacher was a behavior management system I dubbed, “warm fuzzies.” Warm fuzzies are small, fuzzy craft balls that students can earn if they do something that makes me happy! This can be anything from working extremely hard, saying something kind, or getting a compliment from another teacher. Students collect warm fuzzies based on their table which encourages students to work together and keep each other accountable. Once a table collects 20 warm fuzzies, they all may go to the class treasure box at the end of the day.