Classroom Management Made Easy
My best piece of advice for teachers (no matter how long you have been teaching) is to always be consistent with your classroom management. Set your expectations, model them, and review them often so that students know what is expected of them. But you can’t stop there after setting your expectations. You MUST be consistent and hold students accountable for their actions at school. I find it helpful to reward behavior that goes above and beyond the expectations that I set, and to have consequences for behaviors that repeatedly break our classroom rules and expectations that we set at the beginning of the year together. Here are a few things that I do and use in my classroom to help it run seamlessly.
Setting Expectations and Making a Classroom Contract
At the beginning of the year, I set and review expectations for EVERYTHING. Going to lunch, sitting on the rug, being a good friend, or even going to the restroom- these are all things that should be taught, modeled, and reviewed during the school year. I use these Expectation Visuals that can be found HERE and I display them all year long. I also create a class contract with my students during the first week of school. Giving students a chance to set the tone for our classroom gives them buy-in and having them sign the contract holds them accountable for the rest of the year. If you are looking for class contract activities, you can find one in my First Week of School Plans Pack HERE.
Visual Direction Cards & CHAMPS
It’s important to set clear expectations before each activity! I set our CHAMPS before each lesson/activity, and I review and display visual directions before I students off to independently work.
CHAMPS stands for Conversation, Help, Activity, Movement, Participation, and Success. I quickly use my magnetic pointer magnets (found in the Target Dollar Spot) to set the conversation level, how to get help, the activity, movement expectations, and participation expectations before sending students off. It gets super quick after you’ve introduced it the first few times. You can grab my CHAMPS pack HERE.
I use my visual direction cards to display the direction order for each activity. If students get lost, they can look at the board to see what comes next. This pack comes with TONS of visual direction cards for you to use! It can be found HERE.
Celebration Folders- a Behavior Incentive System
After setting expectations, I introduce students to my individual behavior incentive system. I call these our “Celebration Folders” and these are FREE and can be found HERE. Celebration Folders are just manila folders that have a “Celebration Chart” insert stapled inside. Students can earn stickers and stamps from me for going above and beyond our expectations, and then they are able to “cash” them in for rewards. Once they get a reward, they get another chart stapled inside and the cycle continues. It is sweet to see how many charts students will end up with in their folders at the end of the year. They always feel so proud!
How/When Do I Give Stickers and Stamps?
Honestly, I use Celebration Folders for everything. If a student helps another student without being asked and I notice it, I give them a celebration. If a student picks up trash without being asked, I give them a celebration. If a student shares a profound answer on the rug during a lesson, I give them a celebration. If a student receives a compliment from another teacher, I give them a celebration. Students are constantly earning. That means I do have stickers in all areas of my room (on my desk, at my teacher table, at my easel by the rug, etc.).
I train my students so that if they receive a celebration during a lesson, they are to stick it on their hand until they are sent back to their desk areas to put the sticker inside their Celebration Folder. I also train students to turn their folders into my “turn in bin” when they fill their chart up. I tell them that they can pick out their reward during our pack up time later in the day. I find that this is the best time to issue rewards to students, and to staple new charts into their folders.
Where Do Students Keep Their Celebration Folders?
My students just keep them in their desks. These folders stay at school. They do not travel home.
What Do Students Earn?
I like to keep rewards super affordable. I use my Printable Reward Coupons that can be found HERE. I rotate these coupons out so that students don’t get tired of the coupons. (Ex: one month I might have 5 coupons on display for them to choose from, and the next month I might choose 5 different ones.) I also do have a treasure box that students can pick from, and it’s filled with party favors and trinkets from the birthday party sections at Target and Walmart. I also have smelly bookmarks that can be found HERE, and mini erasers from the Target Dollar Spot.
What Do I Do For Students That Aren’t Earning As Much Because of Poor Behavior?
I am not blind to the fact that there are some severe behaviors out there. I had one in my room last year, and I had to take a different route with that student. I believe we should hold students accountable, and certain students should be met where they are so that you can begin to help them on the right path. With these students, I usually give them celebrations for meeting my expectations, not going above and beyond. These students might get a celebration for coming down to the rug after the first time I ask, etc.
I understand that there’s a group of people out there that will say “but that’s not fair.” Well, I think we need to meet some people where they are to help them succeed. Having conversations with your class about how different people need different things to help them succeed will help with this. The example I like to use is: I have contact lenses in my eyes to help me see, but not everyone has contact lenses in their eyes to help them see. Some people need different things than others to help them.
How Do I Give Consequences?
If a student is having a difficult time with an expectation, they get a verbal warning first, and on the second time I will contact home. If this behavior continues, I do get counselors or administration involved.
Whole Class Behavior Incentive Charts
After a few weeks of school, once everyone has gotten the hang of Celebration Folders (when to place their stickers inside, when/where to turn them in, etc.), then I introduce my whole class reward system. The whole class reward system is super easy to manage. I use my Project and Trace Monthly Behavior Incentive Charts that can be found HERE. You can either project and trace these charts onto a big piece of chart paper, or you can print out the small colored versions to hang on your white board. Each chart gives a goal, and the once the class fills up the chart and meets their goal, they get a class reward. To earn pieces on our chart, everyone must be working hard together to meet our expectations. I might put a piece on the chart if we have a super smooth transition during centers, or if we get a compliment in the hallway, etc.
What Types of Class Rewards Do I Give?
I usually just write the class reward on a piece of paper, stick it in an envelope and hang it next to the chart. This creates excitement because students want to work hard to earn the reward inside of the envelope. I come up with different rewards like PJ day, bring a fuzzy friend day, play doh party, cookie party, etc. I’ve found that if you add the word “party” behind anything, it makes it 10x more exciting. Ex: “cookie party” is really just a reward where everyone gets to eat a chocolate chip cookie during snack but calling it a cookie party makes it way more exciting. It’s fun to come up with different rewards based on the interests of the students in your classroom.
To the left you can see all the printable versions of the Monthly Behavior Incentive Charts that can be found HERE.
Fun “Extras” That I Use to Keep Things Fresh
I am constantly thinking of new and fun ways to keep students engaged and excited about our lessons. These are a few things that I keep on my teacher table that I use during small groups that are just for fun:
· Pizza Headband and Pizza Stickers: Sometimes I like to pretend that I’m the pizza delivery lady and I pass out Pizza Celebration Stickers to students working hard during small groups. I made the headband myself, but the stickers can be found HERE.
· Sparkle and Shine: Everyone loves this one. Sometimes during a lesson, I’ll say “ooh! You are sparkling and shining!” and I’ll use a scented body glitter and roll it onto the student’s hand. These can be found HERE.
· Smelly Spots: This is like sparkle and shine, but these are scented chap sticks that I’ll roll onto the backs of student hands for doing a great job as well. These can be found HERE.
Fab Firstie Fairy or Kind-Hearted Kinder Fairy: This is the sweetest addition to your classroom! This fairy looks over the classroom and delivers notes to students who are going above and beyond. Read more about the fairy here and grab the kit there too!
· Fun Stickers: I have a sticker addiction! All my fun stickers are linked HERE.
· Positive Behavior Reward Notes: I love using these because they create a positive home/school connection. I just print these notes out on colored paper, write the student’s name at the top and sign my name at the bottom. I tape a tiny little Starburst Candy to the top of the note, and the student takes it home to show their family. These notes can be found HERE.
What Do I Do For Severe Behaviors?
Occasionally, you will get a student with severe behavior issues. I created this Token Board that can be found HERE and I use it with these students. The Token Board is laminated, and I use an expo marker to make check marks on each dot as the student performs the tasks that they need to do. Once they get all 5 dots filled up, they immediately get to set the timer for their reward that they picked out. Once the timer goes off, if they clean up the reward and put it away and clear all the checks off their Token Board, then they get another check mark already for transitioning nicely. This system repeats itself all day long. The student might fill their board up 4-5 times a day. Eventually, you will have to start weaning the student off this system. I begin weaning by giving checkmarks for every two tasks completed, etc. I do this until they are filling the board 1-2 times a day.
This system obviously isn’t entirely ordeal because it does take a lot of work on your end as the teacher, but I have seen really great results with it. It’s been recommended by many behavior specialists and teachers who specialize in special education. It also might require a short and sweet explanation for the rest of your class that might be wondering why that student has a Token Board on his/her desk, and why they get to set the timer for a reward while others might be working. This goes back to that conversation that is important to have with your class about how everyone needs different things to help them succeed.
I hope you were able to get some ideas to bring back to your classroom! Just remember above all, consistency is key. Your students will always love you for that!
