Behavior Management Expectations for Back To School

Hello there! Welcome back.  Make sure to check back every week day because we'll be taking a look at more than 20 different books that are perfect for the k-5 classroom and we don't want you to miss anything.  If you have a question that you need answered, make sure to send me an email at amylabrasciano@yahoo.com and I'll see if I have an answer for you.  A big thank you to my Instagram friends for sending in so many questions already! (@amylabrasciano)

This is the second post that discusses behavior management.  I'll explain my thoughts in the video below, but because I'm so uncomfortable on camera I thought I would put it in writing for you here too.  One of my Instagram friends asked what I recommend for behavior management.  So here's the thing, I've implemented a lot of different behavior management plans.  Each one has been just about as effective as the other.  My two favorites are clip charts that go up and down and Dojo.  Both have their benefits and drawbacks.  There are a lot of teachers who are very vocal about not using the clip chart, while I support their feelings I think if they are done in a consistent respectful way clip charts  are just fine.  Dojo works nicely because kids get and lose points.  The downfall for me was that parents didn't click to see if their children were losing points and why.  Dojo shows a total so if they lost a point for being disrespectful, but gained two points because you needed to encourage them to produce work, the parents never saw this behavior and didn't follow up with a conversation.  I will use Dojo again, but I will also be sure to have students write how many points were lost in their binders for a parent signature.

More important than consequences and rewards for behavior are ENGAGEMENT and EXPECTATIONS.  You can have the best reward system in the world but if you aren't engaging your students in lessons they are going to play around while they should be learning.  You can have the best lessons in the world, but if you aren't consistent with expectations then your kids won't know what to do and you will lose them.  So instead of worrying about clip charts, you should be planning awesome consistent lessons and an expectation procedure for your classroom.  If you want to add engagement to your classroom, check back in my blog.  I have published my lessons for free here for over a year.  You might also want to give a student interest survey to see what your kids want to learn about.  There is a free interest survey here.  It is super easy to teach reading and writing standards while using books that your kids love.  While it's a bit more difficult, you can also do it with math, science and social studies.  Let's talk about expectations now.  You should have a procedure for everything in your classroom.  We'll talk about what those procedures are a little later in this series.  To set expectations for every lesson consider using CHAMPS.  It has worked brilliantly for years in my classroom.  It tells students what conversation level you want them on, how to get help, what activity, what movement is allowed in the classroom, how to participate and if they are successful or not.  You can buy the book on Amazon used.  I have yet to find a program that helps set such great expectations for kids. (Again, they did not pay me to say this I just love them that much!)

For a reward system, I allow students to turn in their Dojo points for a classroom store on Friday.  The classroom store sells mostly things that didn't cost me money like:  socks in class, change desks, super supplies, lunch with teacher, hat in class, read with a stuffed animal, etc.  Before Dojo points we gave out classroom cash and the premise was the same.  A lot of emphasis is put on the reward system, but we also have a consistent natural consequence procedure.  If students break a rule or procedure after clear expectations have been set and practiced, then they lose a Dojo point.  The natural consequence is that they won't get their Friday reward if they don't have enough points.  There are also consequences that encourage students to do work.  If they don't finish written responses or certain assignments, then they don't get to do center work or other fun learning activities.  If there is an ongoing issue with behavior, then you have to dig deeper and connect more with your student.  At this point we implement a personal system that works for the student.  If by chance you end up with a student who does not respond to your efforts, you just have to keep trying until you reach them. This can be very stressful and wearing, but you can't give up.  Just make sure to take care of yourself and take your breaks as needed because your health is very important.

So hopefully you found some value in our post on classroom rules, consequences, expectations and rewards.  Make sure to come back every week day to read more.

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  If you are looking for a way to increase engagement in your classroom, check out the video below in my TPT store.

Class Cheer with The Pout Pout Fish

Character education is so important to teach in the classroom.  We are very lucky to have millions of books to choose from to help us with this.  One cute book that's an easy read is "The Pout-Pout Fish Goes To School".  The lesson is that everyone learns at their own pace in their own time. Who doesn't love that lesson?  What's really fun about this book is that you could use it to teach your class a cheer.  

Fact One:  You are smart!

Fact Two:  You can get it!

Fact Three:  You belong!

Four:  Don't forget it!

If you want to tie it to a standard you could teach it along with a story's central message or lesson.  I hope you are as excited about teaching this cheer as I am!!! Maybe I'll even teach it to teachers at my school?

Creating Classroom Rules with the book Back To School Rules

Hi again and welcome back to our Back To School blog series.  We opened up the series to questions from our Instagram followers and a lot of people asked about our behavior management plan.  We are going to break our ideas on behavior management up into two parts.  The first part we will address today and that is making classroom rules.  The second part which will be published Monday  will focus on incentives and how we manage them.

We found this super engaging book called "Back-toSchool Rules". It's fun, bright, humorous and perfect for grades k-5.  One of the best parts is that the main character describes the rules in a few ways so that students are sure to understand.  As we read this book we look for key details.  The key details are going to focus on the 10 rules that the character thinks every student needs to follow to be successful.  Most teachers will be happy to support these rules.  After we read the rules and chart the details, we open it up to classroom collaboration.  Students work together to come up with their own rules and then we list them for the classroom to vote on.  It's really important to have student buy in to the rules. Please stop back tomorrow for the second most controversial part of this post!

Launching Writer's Workshop with How I Spent My Summer

Have you noticed that handwriting and sentence formation have gone down hill over the last several years? Years ago, it was very normal to expect 2nd graders to capitalize letters and write proper sentences.  Sadly enough, it took me a while to realize that this wasn't a normal any more.   Students aren't writing proper sentences and it isn't just a fluke year. In order to address this I launch the year with How I Spent My Summer Vacation and Handwriting Bootcamp.  

Handwriting Bootcamp is a very simple yet effective concept.  We go through every letter of the alphabet throughout the first couple of weeks of school and practice writing letters the proper way on proper handwriting paper.  Yes I know we don't have time for this, but if you can't read their writing during the school year it will take much longer than just stopping and teaching penmanship.  Before we start writing I hand out pencil grips to show everyone exactly where their fingers should be placed.  I'm a big fan of the Pencil Grip Company and I am in no way being paid to say that.  After I tried them and loved them, I wrote a grant sometime ago to get a class set.  We watch Youtube videos on proper handwriting, and when the students write neatly for a couple of weeks they join our Handwriting Hall of Fame and receive a special pencil.  They also know that if they get sloppy they lose their place and can't get their end of the year pencil until they make it back to the Hall of Fame.  The Hall of Fame is a simple anchor chart describing our expectations of handwriting in the classroom.  When students make the Hall of Fame they get to sign the anchor chart in front of the class.  They love it.

My very first writer's workshop is done with the mentor text How I Spent My Summer Vacation.  We look at a mentor sentence and follow all of the prompts from the anchor chart below.  Then the students write about their summer focusing on proper sentences.  Throughout the beginning of the year, I really express the need to produce one quality sentence over a ton of improper sentences.   Make sure to watch the video below to see other ideas and stop back by for our entire Back To School Series!

Asking Questions While We Read with The Dog Days of School

Hi and welcome back to our Back To School Blog Series! Dog Days of School is a brightly colored book just perfect for grades k-3.  In the book the main character Charlie dislikes school so much that on Sunday nights he can’t sleep. He thinks his dog has it so good that he wishes for them to switch places.  The next morning Charlie wakes up on the floor and sees Norman his dog in his bed. Before Charlie knows it his dog is off to school and he is drinking from the toilet for a week.  Next thing you know Charlie learns that the grass isn't always greener on the other side.

This book is fun and engaging.  It's the perfect way to launch asking and answering questions about key details in a text.  While it does have a school theme, it would be fine for any time of the school year.  The most important thing I model is asking and answering questions in all the books that we're reading.  I start it off simple by introducing who, what, where, when, why and how.  Make sure to check out my video below to see some other ideas. Don't forget to stop back by tomorrow for another post in this series or take a look back at ones that you may have missed.  We have a lot of great ideas for you!

If you need more detailed lessons or texts for asking and answering questions, click on the picture below to visit my store.

Helping Children with Anxiety and Perseverance at School with After the Fall

Hi everyone! Welcome back to our month long Back to School Blog Series.  Every one knows the story of Humpty Dumpty and this is what makes this text so endearing for children and adults alike.  In this text the author Dan Santat gives Humpty many character traits that are relatable including anxiety, doubt and perseverance.   Continuing on in the story Humpty finds he has a newfound fear of heights which prevents him from enjoying his birdwatching and other simple daily tasks. While he lives each day in fear,  he still yearns for the skies. Determined not to give up Humpty goes through many trials and tribulations to build a model plane and climb a wall showing much courage and perseverance.  The ending is pretty amazing for detailing how illustrations can contribute to a text.

This text is just perfect for watching how a character changes throughout a text or reacts to different events.  You could teach with this book any time of the year.  I like to use it while teaching children to use text evidence and cite the text in their written response.  What I think this text is best for is teaching children that anxiety is normal and helping them with strategies for overcoming anxiety.  This is really important for teachers to address.  Make sure to watch the video below for additional ideas.  Don't forget to stop by tomorrow for another post full of ideas!

Celebrating Diversity with Say Hello

Hi everyone! Say hello! Welcome to our Back to School Blog series where we have a ton of posts with quick and informative information for your classroom.  Some ideas will be exclusive for the first week of school, but most ideas will be useful all year long. Please know that while we suggest a book for each post you can substitute with any book that you have on hand.  Make sure to check back every week day for a new post in July.

Back to school time means teaching children cooperative learning which almost always includes Think-Pair-Share. Think-Pair-Share can be looked at not just as a way to collaborate in the classroom, but also a way for students to learn skills for working with others in the world.  What better way to teach Think-Pair -Share then to incorporate it with a diverse book like "Say Hello" which celebrates many cultures in one community. This book is great for grades k-3 and does a great job making children feel warm and friendly.  One of our friends on Instagram asked if we introduce each student on the first day of school.  The answer is yes on a perfect day.  Our main goal is to make children feel welcomed and safe and return them home safe.  As most teachers know this can take some time these days.   If possible, we will learn this Think-Pair-Share procedure and practice it while introducing ourselves to some of our classmates.  Where the anchor chart says "share your thoughts", we will have students introduce themselves and share something about themselves.  One of the most important parts for our class community is to end every collaboration by thanking the other person for their thoughts.  It's a great way to learn a procedure and develop community within the classroom.  Click on the video below for more information. Make sure to come back tomorrow for another idea that you can use in your classroom.