My class this year is every teachers dream as far a discipline goes. Whenever the students behave inappropriately, it only takes "How should you be acting right now?" to make them stop, think, and fix their actions. This is really the only strategy that is used on a daily basis. There is a log for individual student problems, called the "Lobster Log." Students who recieve several warnings about a particular behavior have to sign the lobster log. They must then write a letter to their parents describing the behavior and have it signed. It is rare that my CT makes the students do this (I've actually never seen it happen; I have just seen her warn them that they are going to have to do it soon). There is a reward system for the whole class and their table groups as well. Each day, they can recieve 5 marbles while they are in specials (depending on the report from that special's teacher). Once all of the marbles have been moved from the basket to the bowl, they get a whole class prize/ activity that they chose at the beginning of the year (scavenger hunt, pizza party, capture the flag game, etc.). They can also recieve table tally points throughout the day. If their table group is doing something exemplary, table tally points are given to make the other table groups realize that this is a behavior they should follow. At the end of the week, the table with the most points recieves a prize from the treasure box.
This system seems to work, but I think that is mostly because of this group of students. They respond well to knowing what they should do of their own valition. It could need more direct response to behavior if it were a different group, but it's hard to know.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Anna -
ReplyDeleteI really like the idea of writing a letter to the parents. In a particular situation earlier this year, we had a student who was thought to have stolen some chips from the lunch line. Our CT had him write his parents a letter written by himself. He described what happened, what was wrong with his behavior, what he could/should do next time, and how we could pay retribution to the school cafeteria.
All in all, it seemed to be very effective in creating the tone of responsibility for ones actions. He saw the direct effects of his inappropriate action and had to reap the consequences himself.
Great post -
Melissa