Color/clip charts may work well for some teachers… but not for me. Last year I taught in the inner city and behavior management was huge...I mean way more important than it had ever been for me in my classroom. The school I was in had a universal behavior management system…a color/clip chart! In my experience, the kids who REALLY needed a behavior management system were the ones that it didn’t work for… You know that moment when you move his/her clip down and it totally escalates the problem! UGH! I had a lot of those! Not fun and not effective!
This year, I was called back to my old school (yay!) and so I decided to completely change up my behavior management and be much more “love and logic.” I needed a positive route. In turn, I did away with my “clips” and “set in stone consequences” and moved to “Good Job Tokens” and “I’ll think about what will be an appropriate consequence.” Now, half way through the year, I can report that it is working great! This works for my kids and not just as a system but as a motivator! It’s simple… kids work to gain tokens. After 6 tokens they chose from my “prize box.” Kids can earn as many as I see fit in a day. I always make sure that my students receive a token at least once a day unless there is a good reason why they shouldn’t. If a child is making some not-so-good choices, I no longer say, “You’re on yellow. Yellow means warning. You’re on red. Red means time out.” Now, I say, “Why don’t you take a seat while I think of a consequence that seems fair?” They never really know for sure what their consequence will be but it will always fit the “crime.”
Another aspect that I didn’t even think of is how it naturally incorporates Math concepts. My kids started saying things such as “Mrs. Seegert! I have one more token to get and then I’ll have 6!” WOW! Teachable moment? I think so! Even half way through the year, filling up their stars is an exciting event for them! I love that not all children fill it up on the same day. Doing the whole “prize box” thing is quick now-a-days!”
Oh and one more thing, I NEVER ever put the tokens on their stars for them. They have the privilege of sticking the token on their own star themselves. They take the ownership!
Everyone has a different teaching style. This system fits mine:) If you think this might fit yours, I have included a free template for the Stars. You can copy onto brightly colored construction paper and laminate. Don’t forget you will need sticky back velco. You can reuse the stars for years to come. The tokens were bought at the teacher store. I just added Velcro to the back—easy!
Happy Teaching!
