Calm Down Strategy

For today's blog we wanted to share a strategy that can be used to teach a student techniques to calm down. See the "Calm Down Strategies" cards Option 1 & Option 2. These are just a starting point, you may choose to make your own calm down strategies to suit you and your environment. If you would like to keep track of the student's progress and reinforce appropriate behavior, please click here to view a sample chart.

Calm Down Directions

• This is a pre-taught skill.  The steps need to be taught, modeled, and practiced prior to the moment of anger. 
• A pre-determined quiet area should be selected within the classroom.   
• Teacher gives a “calm down card” to cue the student to take a break.
• The student should move to the area and go through the practiced calming techniques.
• The teacher will continue with the classroom instructions or other activities. 
• The student should be invited to rejoin the class after demonstrating controlled behavior.
• The incident should be reviewed between teacher and student at a later time. 
• The goal would be for the student to recognize his/her need to take a break.  The teacher and student could agree on a silent signal to indicate the need.

Whole Class Discipline Policy

We found this discipline policy online and had to share.  This is a parent letter defining the whole class management system used in a Kindergarten classroom, however, can be adapted and used in a variety of grades.  See the behavior calendars here that are used to document the students' day.  These cannot be changed due to the pdf format, but provide an idea of how it would look if you want to use this plan in your room.  

Polka Dot Patch

Discipline Policy 

Dear Parents,

In order to guarantee your child and all the children in our classroom the excellent learning climate they deserve, we are utilizing the following discipline plan.  As you know, good behavior and learning go hand in hand.  Simple class rules have been established to ensure your child has a positive and safe learning environment.

OUR PHILOSOPHY:

We believe that even at the age of five, children need to learn the importance of accepting responsibility for their actions.  All children are expected to follow classroom rules and procedures, and we will help them learn to do so in a positive, fair, and equitable manner.  Good discipline allows us to teach, and students to learn.  This is the right of every student.

OUR CLASS RULES:

1.         Listen when your teacher is talking.

2.         Follow directions quickly.

3.         Keep your hands and feet to yourself.

4.         Raise your hand to speak and stand.

5.         Be safe, be kind, be honest.

***Each rule has a gesture that goes along with it to help us learn and remember it.  I’m sure you will be hearing and seeing these soon!! J***

This year we will be using a colored “clip chart” to monitor our behavior and classroom choices.  Your child will have a clip that they will physically move up or down the chart, depending on their choices.  Please keep in mind that your child may not move every single day!  In order to move up, students must go above and beyond in their behavior choices.  The chart below explains how the clip chart works. 

Clip Chart

Red Outstanding!	Students who reach the Red level will be rewarded for their positive choices by adding a jewel to their clip and receive a special certificate of recognition.  Conduct Grade: E+
Orange Great Job!	Students who continue to make positive choices move up to the orange level.  They are one step closer to having outstanding classroom behavior!  Conduct Grade: E
Yellow Good Day	Students who make positive choices will receive recognition as they move up the chart.  Conduct Grade: S+
Green Ready to Learn!	Everyone starts the day “Ready to Learn”! Students can “clip up” or “clip down” throughout the day depending on their behavior choices.  Conduct Grade: S
Blue Think About It!	Students who receive a warning will move to blue.  This serves as a reminder to students to think about the choices they make.  Conduct Grade: S-
Purple Teacher’s Choice	Students, who continue to make poor choices, will move to purple.  This will result in a consequence that is appropriate for the choice that was made.  Different choices require different consequences. Children are different so consequences will vary depending on the child and the choices made. (Time out, loss of privilege, loss of playtime, loss of ice cream etc…) Conduct Grade: NI
Pink Parent Contact	Students who move to pink will require parental contact by me.  Parents will be contacted via telephone, email or note depending on the severity of the behavioral choice.   Conduct Grade: U

Each day, your child’s conduct will be marked on his or her Behavior Calendar that is found inside the D.O.T Book.  We will simply mark the color that your child has ended the day on in the correct date on the calendar. I will put a behavior code (1, 2, 3 etc...) next to the color on the calendar (if needed) so you will know what exactly happened that day and so you will be able to have some dialogue with your child about their day.  Using these codes is a quick and efficient way to record daily behavior and keep you, the parent as informed as possible.  There will be a key for the behavior codes in the D.O.T Book for your reference.  We ask that you check your child’s Behavior Calendar each day and initial it so we know that you have seen your child’s conduct grade.

I have found this system to be very successful in Kindergarten, and with all the modeling and practice we do at the beginning of the year, most of my students are able to be very successful with their behavior.  Of course, if there is a continued pattern of negative behavior, I will call for a conference with you so we can discuss the issues and solve the problem together.

We look forward to establishing the best possible learning environment for your child.  With teamwork and cooperation among parents, teachers, and students, we will have a terrific year!  We will be in close contact with you regarding your child’s progress in our classroom this year and appreciate your support.  If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact us.

Thanks so much for your help and support,

Mrs. Nichols        

Mrs. Swearingen

Fair but not Equal

"I'll Treat Everyone Fairly but not the Same"

Ø Treating everyone fairly does not mean treating everyone the same:  Students need to realize that fairness does not mean treating everyone the same.  Fairness is providing students the individualized approaches they need to be successful.  This means giving some students with special needs the extra attention, support or modified assignments that other students might not need.

Ø Fair is not equal discussion:  The following discussion should be held with the students at the beginning of the year:  "Class, I want everyone to understand that we are all different.  We have different hair, different skin, different eyes, etc. We also have different ways of learning.  Some people may need different types of help in order to do their best in this class.  Please understand that this is why at times I will treat people differently".

Working Successfully With Difficult And Disruptive Students Strategies That Work (resource handbook by Mark Boynton)

Have you ever used a wheelchair ramp instead of the stairs when entering a building?  Although it was built to accommodate a handicapped person, we all benefit.  That idea carries over to the classroom.  When a student's behavior has improved because of an intervention, everyone gains.

Effective Teacher Commands

As classroom managers, teachers regularly use commands to direct students to start and stop activities. Instructors find commands to be crucial tools for classroom management, serving as instructional signals that help students to conform to the teacher's expectations for appropriate behaviors. Attached is a form to use to self monitor commands.

Teachers frequently dilute the power of their classroom commands, however, by:

·         Presenting commands as questions or polite requests. Commands have less impact when stated as questions or requests, because the student may believe that he or she has the option to decline. The teacher who attempts, for example, to quiet a talkative student by saying, "Tanya, would you mind keeping your voice down so that other students can study?" Should not be surprised if the student replies, "No, thank you. I would prefer to talk."

·         Stating commands in vague terms. A student may ignore a command such as "Get your work done!" because it does not state specifically what behaviors the teacher expects of the student.

·         Following up commands with excessive justifications or explanations. Because teachers want to be viewed as fair, they may offer long, drawn-out explanations for why they are requiring the class or an individual student to undertake or to stop a behavior. Unfortunately, students can quickly lose the thread of the explanation and even forget the command that preceded it.

Using Effective Commands-Teachers can reduce problems with student compliance and make their commands more forceful by following research-based guidelines (Walker &Walker, 1991) 

Effective commands:

·         Are brief. Students can process only so much information. Students tend to comply best with brief commands because they are easy to understand and hard to misinterpret.

·         Are delivered on one task or objective at a time. When a command contains multi-step directions, students can mishear, misinterpret, or forget key steps. A student who appears to be noncompliant may simply be confused about which step in a multi-step directive to do first.

·         Are given in a matter-of- fact, businesslike tone. Students may feel coerced when given a command in an authoritarian, sarcastic, or angry tone of voice. For that reason alone, they may resist the teacher's directive. Teachers will often see greater student compliance simply by giving commands in a neutral or positive manner.

·         Are stated as directives rather than questions. Perhaps to be polite, teachers may phrase commands as questions (e.g., "Could we all take out our math books now?". A danger in using 'question-commands' is that the student may believe that he or she has the option to decline. Teachers should state commands as directives, saving questions for those situations in which the student exercises true choice.

·         Avoid long explanations or justifications. When teachers deliver commands and then tack lengthy explanations onto them, they diminish the force of the directive. If the instructor believes that students should know why they are being told to do something, the teacher should deliver a brief explanation prior to the command.

·         Give the student a reasonable amount of time to comply. Once the teacher has given a command, he or she should give the student a reasonable time span (e.g. 5-15 seconds) to comply. During that waiting period, the instructor should resist the temptation to nag the student, elaborate on the request, or otherwise distract the student.

Reference Walker, H.M. & Walker, J.E. (1991). Coping with noncompliance in the classroom: A positive approach for teachers.  From the website http://interventioncentral.com

Jennifer Gnau

Behavior Coach

SEC 339-4054

M-F  8:00-12:00

gnaujen@usd437.net

School Tools (fidgets)

School Tools (Fidgets)
for the Classroom

*Attached you will find guidelines for implementation and a rule book that can be adapted for your age group. 

Where and When?
Use school tools during meeting or group times, in a quiet area, or for specific lessons.
If the tool distracts the student or their neighbor, it needs to be put away then and
reintroduced.

Why?
School tools help children regulate their nervous system. They give proprioceptive feedback allowing children to settle and are alerting to help children listen and focus.

Who?
Tools can be for everyone! Even you! Invite your whole class to use a school tool. If you set up rules and the students view them as part of your classroom, you will discover how helpful they can be. Over time, these learning tools will eventually be used by those who really need them.

How?
Have a basket of tools in your meeting area. Introduce them with a lesson explaining why you will be using the tools and have the children create rules for using them. Rules could include that the tool must stay in the lap or that it must be used as a tool vs. toy. Also, decide on what will happen if a rule is broken. This way you set up exactly what is expected and can welcome everyone to use them.

Some Considerations
· Do you want them all to be the same to avoid arguments or different to invite variety?
· How durable are they? Can they be picked, pulled, or otherwise destroyed?
· Make sure they are quiet to avoid distraction.
· How will you store them?


http://www.therapro.com/Tools-for-the-Hands-C5977.aspx?p=0