Classroom Management

As a new teacher, I have to say that classroom management stresses me out the most. Teaching math? No problem. Create engaging lesson plans? You got it! Getting a group of 13 year olds to listen and do what I say? Yikes!!

I've worked long term substitute positions in two different schools that implemented a program called Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports or PBIS for short. Basically, it is a school wide behavior management system that encourages and rewards students for exhibiting positive behaviors. There are usually large rewards outside of the classroom at the end of each quarter for those who qualify, and students that do not qualify stay at school with a teacher. What I really love about this program is that it highlights and rewards positive behaviors, and puts less focus on negative behaviors. It also gives the students incentive to focus and obey classroom rules.

The school I am currently working for does not use the PBIS program, but I wanted to bring the philosophy into my class. I do this in a few ways. I typically show a short, silly, 1-minute video at the end of the class period on Fridays to reward positive behavior throughout the week. I also try to come up with an activity or game for the students to complete on Fridays to get them out of their seats and interact with the material in a different way. More on that later. For now, I want to focus on these bad boys.

That's a lot of positives!

Enter the Behavior Punch Card! I created these using clipart from Creative Clips which you can check out here. The idea is simple. I print these out, cut them up, and distribute them to the students. When the students exhibit positive behaviors that I want to continue, I punch one of the thumbs on their punch card. When their card is full, they may turn it in for a reward! Easy peasy. And here's the beauty of it. The students are responsible for keeping track of their own cards! (See an ongoing theme here?) If a student loses track of their behavior punch card, they can begin a new one, but they lose their old punches. 

Thumbs up for positive behavior!

The cards are also easily adaptable. If I lose track of my hole punch, (likely) I can use stickers, stamps, markers, you name it! There are 10 punches on each card, so students will typically be rewarded every two weeks. I've also thought about offering a couple large rewards so the students can "save up" punches if they choose.

 So what happens if a student has negative behaviors in class? To put it simply, they lose their punch for that day, and of course further consequences will be assigned if necessary. I'm also playing with the idea of the students "selling" a punch if they forget classroom materials, but I haven't perfected the idea yet.

I'm really excited about using these in my classroom this year! If you are interested in using them yourself, they are available on my Teachers Pay Teachers store for free. That's right, FREE! You can download the file here. And as always, feel free to leave me comments on your own management strategies. I would love to hear them!

Thanks for reading.
-Ms. B