Starting school: New rules and procedures!

Starting school is exciting! It is also a time for students to learn new rules and procedures from their teachers.  These rules and procedures will help students have a smooth and successful day.  It could be anything from "how to sharpen your pencil" to "how to walk in the hallway".   The questions teachers ask themselves is....how do I encourage my students to follow these rules and procedures?  This is where Class Dojo can help!  Class Dojo is a behavior management tool online where teachers can award students points for positive behavior.  The best part is it is free!!!  WOOHOO!!!  Teachers can take attendance, award points, and even run reports on behavior.  Parents can use a code to sign in and check how their child is doing in class.  Students can even get a code to check their own behavior and design a personal aviatar to be displayed with the class.  So take a few minutes and head on over to Class Dojo and see how it can help.

A Behavior Resource....

Today I would like to share a behavior resource with all of you.  I have joined the Pinterest craze like most people.  One board on my page is all about behavior resources.  If you head over to http://pinterest.com/oneald/behavior/ you can check out what I have pinned there.  I try to add to it almost every day as I come across items.  I also have an education page, reading stuff page, and a math stuff page.  So click away!

Behavior Interventions

Working with children who exhibit difficult behaviors in the classroom can be a challenge at times.  But it doesn't mean you have to design and implement elaborate interventions in the classroom in order to achieve success.  Sometimes just the simple can be just as effective.  Below are some suggestions to consider:

1.  Post a class schedule.  Add photos for those students who cannot read.
2.  Alternate challenging activities with maintenance-enhancing activities to prevent student frustration.
3.  Break assignments into "chunks". 
4.  Explicitly teach test-taking strategies.
5.  Teach organizational skills explicitly.
6.  Be aware of how the student communicates.  Do they use a lot of body language?
7.  Provide opportunities for group participation.
8.  Serve as a model for the students.
9.  Let students know your expectations up front.
10. Give clearly stated learning objectives to students.

These are just a few ideas of how to help students who might be acting out in class.  What are some tips that have worked in your classroom?

Challenging classroom behaviors

It is that time of year when teachers start wondering, "What else can I do?'.  They have tried all the tricks in their toolbox but still have that one or two students who are not using appropriate behavior in the classroom.  The following link lists some good suggestions.  What do you do?

http://www.ehow.com/info_7989113_positive-behaviors-classroom.html