Firstie Friends: Behavior Plans and Behavior Problems Linky

The Lesson Plan Diva is hosting a Linky Party about your management style! Lots of good stuff. So here is what I will be doing this year.

1. I have a board where we will be posting First Grade Expectations (instead of rules). I found this list on Pinterest from First Grade Parade.

I retyped them bigger and in lots of colorful, fun fonts. They will be going on a bulletin board along with the Wheel of Choice.

We will discuss the expectations and wheel during our first week of meetings.

2. Clip chart. I love the New Management Clip Chart because it allows students to move UP! I never liked pulling cards because you would just sit on green… no encouragement there! So I am using the clip chart this year- I made it more Penguin-ish to fit our Penguin Theme.

3. Pennies. Our first grade team uses pennies as rewards. I did the pennies last year (no clip chart) and I ran into a slight snag. After the kids traded in their pennies for a prize, they had none… SO if they broke a rule and I said, “Bring me a penny” they would say “I don’t have any.” And then I would be so stumped… So this year I am combining the pennies and clip chart. My focus is “School is your JOB”. They get paid based on how well they do each day. Even if they reach the very bottom of the chart, they still showed up so they get 1 penny… If they get to the top they get a bonus!

See the coins??

So each day at the very end of the day they get paid. On Thursdays they cash out for prizes if they want, or they can save up for bigger prizes. I am a very CHEAP person, so the first, and most attainable, prize is lunch in the classroom on Friday. They love it. It costs me nothing, so I love it, too! And I enjoy eating with them. Other prizes include erasers, pencils, little books, and computer time. I level the prizes so if they have an average week (all days on green) they can earn a prize.

4. Behavior problems. If I find the clip chart doesn’t work for a child, then we move them to a personalized plan. For one of my kids (who was sweet as could be, but couldn’t control himself till his medicine kicked in) I let him go to the listening center each morning til he was ready to learn. That worked for him. For others, they need a more immediate/stringent plan.

I use a behavior folder. It goes home each night to be signed. I section it off into time periods (15 minutes or maybe a whole activity. depends on the kiddo). We come up with 3 goals for them to work on. If they meet the 3 goals within the time period, they get a smiley. At first 50% smileys for the day gets a prize. Then after 2 weeks of consistently meeting the goal, we increase it. Here is a picture of my {amazing} mentor’s behavior chart. We use the same chart…