Classroom Management Plan

I did away with my behavior chart a couple of years ago.  I know, what kind of primary grades teacher doesn’t have a behavior chart?  Well…this one.  Instead I have a little index card binder.  I start the year with an index card with each child’s name on it in the binder, and I write down the date and what happened every time I would have flipped a card or moved a clip.

Here’s the thing I do differently.  I don’t worry so much about how many things a student has done wrong each day, I’m more concerned with how many times they’ve had the same type of problem.  Each student has a separate index card for each type of problem.  My usual consequence is to walk laps at recess for 2 minutes for each time that student has had that kind of problem.  For instance, if two children forget their homework, I check my little binder to see how many times they have each forgotten their homework.  Student 1 has never forgotten their homework before today, so s/he only walks 2 minutes.  Today is the fourth time Student 2 has forgotten their homework, so s/he walks 8 minutes at recess.  Each new marking period is a clean slate, just as it is in the gradebook.

I’m working on setting a limit for how many times a student can walk laps for the same problem before a behavior plan will be implemented.  I’ve used behavior plans before, but I think I usually wait too long before starting them.  If I create guidelines for when I need to start one, then I’ll be more accountable to implement them before these behaviors become habits.

 

Tags: Classroom Management