Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Behavior Management

About 2 years ago my school 'adopted' the clip chart. Before this, I was using a stop light--and just had green, yellow, and red. At first I was a little apprehensive, wondering if this was just 'too much'. But, I absolutely love it! 
 Each day all students start on green, 'Ready to Learn'. There are certain times throughout the day where the students know that I am looking for someone to move their clip up the chart. For instance, every morning we listen to the morning announcements. When it is finished, I choose 2 students that listened quietly to move their clip up.   I also have a student that leads calendar math. When they are finished, their job is to choose 2 friends that were listening quietly to do the same. Having this be a part of our daily routine is nice because all students know that I am watching them during these times! ;)
 At the end of the day, if students names are on blue they earn one sticker, pink they earn two, and if they made it to purple they get three stickers! The stickers go onto their stars. When they earn 10 stickers, then they earn treasure box. 
I leave the stickers totally up to the students. So, at the end of the day, THEY must remember to get their own stickers and add it to their stars.  I have never had a problem with honesty here...students take this very seriously haha :)
If students move their clip down to yellow, they have 5 minutes of 'slow down' time where they need to sit at their desk with their head down. This is always during our 'free choice' time at the end of the day. If they are on orange, 'Teacher's Choice', then they have 5 minutes of 'slow down' time and I choose a consequence for them. This may be different for each student. If a student really loves the art center, but they are on orange, then I may take the art center away from them. (again this is during free choice).  
There has been a couple times throughout the year where students have had an AMAZING day! They were on purple and I asked them to move their clip up again! So....now what? They get to take their name off of the chart and I clip it onto my necklace (keys and school i.d.) for the day! If they can stay there, then at the end of the day they can pick a 'diamond' and I glue it onto their clip. This is SUCH a big deal in my class!! Whenever someone earns a 'diamond' the rest of the kids usually clap for them and give them a giant hug...which ends up more like a tackle...then they need to move their name down haha kidding!

I would love to hear if you use your clip chart differently then I do! Always up for new ideas!! Click below to read some other blogger's ideas on Classroom Management

29 comments:

  1. I do a clip chart too. My Great Job and Outstanding are switched though! If anyone gets on Outstanding at the end of the day they pick a reward ticket. These usually are swap your job, sit in the teacher chair, get to use a funky pencil for the day, etc. I like your idea of having the calendar helper pick two kiddos to move up too!

    Kimberly Ann
    Live, Laugh, I LOVE Kindergarten

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  2. I wanted my Outstanding to be at the top too!! But, I also wanted my colors to match the same order as the other teachers...so i had to put mine this way because it is the way I downloaded it!! haha I like the reward ticket idea though--my kids would LOVE that!

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  3. I LOVE that star students board!!! What an awesome idea!! I want to be in your class Caitlin!

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  4. I'm not a teacher yet but I love the clip charts that allow students to clip up. I was curious how teachers reward the students that move their clip up. Love your ideas!

    Recess and Beyond

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  5. I love the idea of having their clip moved to your necklace and for them to earn a jewel! I may have to try that next year.
    Kate
    Fun in ECSE

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  6. I have always had a clip chart and I love it! Definitely adding the stars with stickers next year!
    Vickie

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  7. Wow! This is a great way to use the clip chart! I may have to adopt this next year! Thanks for sharing and the informative post :)

    Sarah
    Teachingiscolorful.blogspot.com

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  8. I started using this same system this year. They love when they go "off the charts." It's a great way to have positive reinforcement in the class along with consequences.

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  9. I also do a clip chart, everyone starts out in the middle at "ready to learn". I only have two spots to go up and two to go down the chart. At the end of each day I ask students to think about their day. If they believe they deserve to be at the top(showing level 4 effort) and can justify their answer they get to move their clip. This part of the day allows students to reflect on their day. I also move clips throughout the day if i see students going above and beyond usual classroom expectations.

    I also have my chart color coded so that at the end of the day each student can color in a calendar. The students color a specific color depending on how their day went. This is how I can easily communicate with parents about how their child's day went. :)

    I love how cute your chart is...I think i need to remake mine next year!! :)

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  10. I use a peg chart too and I love it! We start on green 'Ready to Learn' and can move up to 'Working Hard' (earning a sticker at the end of the day) or 'Super Kid!' (earning a treasure box treat. Below the green card is orange 'Time Out' and red 'Time Away'.

    I absolutely LOVE your idea of adding a diamond to the clips of those students who can move past the top card... I think I will do this in my classroom too. Those children who demonstrate consistently excellent behaviour should be recognised. Thanks so much for the idea!!

    Lauren
    Love, Laughter and Learning in Prep

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  11. Haha, we had the same post idea tonight!!! Great minds ;)
    ❤Teri
    A Cupcake for the Teacher

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  12. I use a clip chart, too and I love it! I am going to "borrow" your idea of moving their clip to my lanyard! I've had a few times when I told them to move up and they were already at the top! Thanks for the idea!

    Lisa
    Always an Adventure in Kindergarten

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  13. Right now I have a stoplight, but I love the idea of a clip chart to reward those children who always make good choices and do the right thing! Did you make your chart? Is it available on TPT?

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  14. Do you have these poster on teacherpayteachers? I have been using the stop light system for awhile but would like something better.

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  15. Sorry Sarah and Angel! I meant to link the clip chart--I downloaded it from my wonderful friend Tammy!! Here is the link: http://livelovelaughkindergarten.blogspot.com/2012/05/behavior-clip-chart-freebie.html

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  16. I have this too!!!! But sadly I haven't used it yet. It seems a little intimidating to me. Lol maybe I should give it a try for the last 5 weeks of school.

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  17. I have been using this type of clip chart this year. I love the star student part. That is such a great idea. My kiddos would go wild for the diamond. This would be a great motivator especially here at the end of the year. Thank you for sharing. Love this!!

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  18. I love my clip chart! I combined it with classdojo.com to help me keep track of why the kiddos moved (I mark this on their conduct calendar in their take home binders and there's a code for moving down :( and a code for moving up :) ). Classdojo also selects random students which I do throughout our different stations times and when it picks a student I think about that student for a second and determine if he/she can move up. It really helps me to remember to move those hard workers beyond the green. :)
    Shibahn
    Mrs. Landry's Land of Learning

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  19. I use the clip chart and my kids love it! But I usually let my kids pick out of the treasure box each time they get to the stop of the chart. I am sending this post to my team because we were just talking the other day that we needed a new system. I think the 10 stickers is perfect!
    Carrie
    BuzzIntoKinder

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  20. Caitlin- I use the exact same chart! I loved your idea about wearing their clip if they get to the top...That's a great reminder to them (and the other students who need a little push) of how well they've been doing that day...Definitely want to begin that next school year!

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  21. Oh, I just love this idea!! My state (Maine) recently adopted the Common Core standards, so I will completely be *borrowing permanently* this idea for next year, as our academic expectations are now SO MUCH HIGHER for our sweet little K students...it seems like this system will inspire them to work hard all day long! THANKS SO MUCH!!! :)

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  22. Please be careful using this system with special needs students in your mainstream classrooms. I know one little boy with autism who finds it devastating to be "clipped down" (and essentially be publicly shamed - often for behaviors caused by his disability). It makes him feel so terrible that it often starts a downward spiral. Have any teachers considered only "clipping up" to reward good behavior, more in a PBIS approach?

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  23. Hi Bridget, I think every teacher knows their students well enough to know what works best for them. I have 2 autistic children and one child with Down Syndrome currently in my class. Out of those 3--2 are on their own behavior plan and don't use this system and one of the autistic children is treated no differently and uses the clip chart. He clips both up and down and it works great for him! I think if a teacher knew it would be 'devastating' to a child then they would change that. We all know what is best for our kids and our class :)

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  24. We are a PBIS school and almost everyone uses a clip chart. I find that it works great for promoting positive behaviors because those students who do clip down often want to clip back up and will change their behavior. I was very hesitant to use it at first but I absolutely love my clip chart now!

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  25. I like your idea of the star students and keeping them in the classroom. This year I tried something new and found these "caught being good" sticker charts that went up to 20. A classroom helper and I (mostly me) would add the stickers to their chart and if they got to 10 by the end of the week it counted towards and extra pick out of the treasure box. But last year I had a lot of my students forget their folders on treasure box day (Friday) and so they could not pick out of the treasure box. But usually on the next Friday they would have their folder. In my case my students learned about responsibility really fast when it came to turning in their folder, especially on Fridays.

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  26. I used a clip system similar to yours in my classroom last year and I loved it! I really like how you make the students responsible for getting their own stickers at the end of the day and holding them accountable. What do you do if you constantly have students that get a gem on their clip day after day? Do they get a new clip? Just curious!

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  27. Hi Frannie! I actually don't have that problem--that probably sounds mean--but it is VERY hard in my class to earn a gem! It doesn't happen often and is a huge deal if it does!!

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  28. This is a topic very close to my heart as I have a granddaughter in Kindergarten. While I can see the definite benefits of this system, I can also see the other side that might impact a child's home life. Specifically, how parents deal with their children at home when the color earned is green or less. I am aware that green basically means "at school and ready to learn", and this is what is expected . However, when you have a child that is capable of moving up the chart, but doesn't everyday, should their parents punish them for not excelling? I realize some parents expect nothing less than the best for their child, but I didn't think that was the real objective. I'm honestly trying to view this from all sides, including the child. I understand praising them for the excellence, and disciplining when necessary, but where do you draw the line?

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