I have several students on my caseload who struggle with anger management and emotional regulation. I loved this idea for Cool Down Cubes from Entirely Elementary and decided to make a set of my own. Supplies: Plastic ice cubes - I purchased a bag of 30 from Bed Bath & Beyond for less than $4 Container - The one pictured came from the Dollar Store Permanent maker Using a permanent marker write a safe "cool down" strategy on each ice cube. For example: count to ten, walk away, talk to a friend, take three deep breaths, etc. I also left a few of the cubes blank so that the students could come up with their own strategies. The original post suggested placing the ice cubes in the freezer for an additional "cool" effect. That's it! Easy right? I have used the Cool Down Cubes in both individual and group settings to discuss ways to "cool-off" when angry and have gotten a great response from students. 

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This week I have been visiting third grade classrooms to do lessons on strategies for success on the SOLs. Third grade students will be taking the SOLs for the first time starting May 13th. Some of them shared that they are feeling scared, nervous, worried, excited, etc. The goal of this lesson is to build their confidence and give them strategies to help them do their best. The lesson is titled "You're In Control". We started by watching this video: Next, we moved on to identifying strategies that can help students be successful on the tests. There are many things students can do before, and the day of the test to help them do their best. We talked about being in control of our success. We used the buttons on a remote control as examples for things we can do to stay in control. As a class we came up with lots of ideas and then students picked their top 10 for their remote control. Here is an example of what your student might be bringing home: Here is a list of some strategies the classes came up with: Prepare and study-use your resources Take your time, you have as long as you need Relax and take deep breaths Flag questions you want to go back and review Reread Get enough sleep Eat a good breakfast Take breaks: water, walking, bathroom Circle key words Wear comfortable clothes and dress for success Cross out wrong answers Use your tools remove distractions BE CONFIDENT! You're going to rock this test!

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*Updated February 2016* If you would like to read my new Three Part Series on Classroom Management for updated tips and FREEBIES, please click the photo below. Otherwise, scroll on down for this original post. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Teaching! The Lesson Plan Diva is hosting a Behavior Plans and Classroom Management Linky Party...Click HERE to check it out! I've only been teaching for four years, but in this short period of time, my classroom management style has changed drastically. My first year, I used a card pulling system, and my second year I used some counting techniques in addition to that. Half way through my second year, I stumbled upon some information about responsive classroom techniques and positive discipline on Proteacher. After trying out some new ideas, I have finally found my management style, and I love it! Nowadays, my classroom management is centered around daily classroom meetings and problem-solving. My students learn to monitor and change their own behavior through role-playing, responding to literature, and lots of student-centered conversation about the way we want our classroom to be. We no longer use cards, clips, rewards, or punishments, and the result has been much less stress for me:). At the beginning of the year, my students and I first talk about our hopes and dreams for the school year. We talk about the kind of classroom we want to have, and then we discuss a plan for creating that environment. We make our class rules through a series of discussions and brainstorming sessions. First, I have my students list all of the rules they think we might want to have in our room. Then, we go back and categorize the rules. Most of our rules fit under the same broad categories, so my rules are pretty similar from year to year. After giving each category of rules a title, we phrase the rules into "Our Class Promise," which is hung as an anchor chart and signed by everyone in the class (including me). The picture above is of our class promise from a few years ago--I wasn't as specific with it then. Every day during our class meeting time, we read our rules together (this year, I'm hoping to add actions to the rules so they will be more easily remembered by my kinesthetic learners). Here is an example of my classroom's promise: We promise...to be safe and careful, to be kind and respectful in our words and actions, to do our best first grade work, and to make ourselves proud by doing the right thing! Notice how that last rule encompasses lots of possibilities:) When we have problems in the classroom, I try to address them as respectfully as possible, and this can occur in a number of ways. Sometimes, I'll simply ask the child to remember our promise, and this will provide immediate correction. Sometimes, I'll ask a child to cool-down for a minute to reflect on his or her actions. This cool-down is not a punishment, but just a time to rethink, and the students are welcome to rejoin the class when they feel ready. Students sometimes go to cool-down without my asking--this works well for those who need a quiet time to reflect or avoid frustration. In solving behavior problems, I'll also sometimes ask a student if he or she wants the class to help him or her solve the problem, and we'll address it as a class during our daily meeting. The students practice "helping, not hurting," so this is the focus, rather than making the child feel bad. I also use logical consequences such as going back and walking when a student does something like running in the hall. During class meetings, we usually read our promise, share compliments and appreciations, solve any problems the kiddos are having, and do a team-building exercise. We might also read a story focusing on character education, or have a mini-lesson. The students learn things such as how to tell the difference between tattling and reporting, how to make I-statements, how to help friends solve problems, and how to use "The Wheel of Choice" to solve a problem. If a student has severe issues that cannot be solved during class meetings, I create a modified behavior plan for that child. This is a plan that involves the teacher, the student, and his or her parents. It takes some effort to stick with it, but I have found it really effective in helping students make positive changes. Here is what you do...talk to the parents and child about three small goals that you would like him or her to focus on. Also discuss a logical consequence that will occur if the child does not exhibit the particular behavior. Furthermore, discuss three rewards the child might like to earn if he or she reaches the goal. Record these items on the behavior chart. During class, monitor the child's behavior in regards to the goals and give him or her a smiley/sad face for every 30 minutes during the school day (I set a timer on the child's desk). In the first two weeks of using the plan, I ask the child to try for 50% achievement. If he or she is consistent in getting 50% smilies, we increase the goal to 75% for a few weeks, and then 95% for another couple of weeks. Each day the child reaches his or her goal, allow him or her to choose one of his or her rewards. I like to use free activities as rewards such as lunch with a friend, computer time, or extra centers time. The behavior plan is sent home each day and returned with a parent signature and comments as necessary. Because this plan involves teacher effort in monitoring and recording the student behavior, I usually only use this plan with one or two children at a time for about a 2 month period, as needed. I try to remember that the goal is improvement and not perfection, and that it takes time for the students to learn new behaviors. I know that was a ton of info at once, and really just a big overview, so if you want to learn more about classroom meetings, positive discipline, or responsive classroom techniques, see these wonderful resources, or feel free to ask specific questions and I'll do my best to answer! Also, if you'd like to use any of my documents, you are welcome to click on the pictures above to download them from google docs. Favorite Responsive Classroom and Positive Discipline Resources:

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Psychodynamic psychotherapy, in all its forms, is the psychotherapy most frequently provided by psychiatrists. Psychodynamic therapy is useful in long-term, short-term, supportive, crisis intervention, and group/family therapies, with patients of all ages. Patients hospitalized in psychiatric as well as medical-surgical services can also benefit from a clinician’s psychodynamic orientation. The effectiveness and efficacy of psychodynamic psychotherapy are supported by a growing literature. This article describes and discusses the clinically useful tenets of the psychodynamic view and the attractive explanatory power the approach offers regarding behavior, motivation, and adaptation. Central psychodynamic techniques, such as constructing useful interpretive interventions and ensuring a patient’s emotional and physical safety by establishing professional boundaries, are reviewed.

On A Peach for the Teach on Facebook, I invited people to ask their most challenging behavior questions. We got some great questions, each of which really tied together. Dona asked, I have a student that comes to me from second grade (I teach 1st) for my entire reading block, who likes to shout out talk back and just shuts down when you ask him to do something. He then treats his 2nd teacher with severe disrespect when he goes back to class. Rebecca asked, I have a class of 25 this year. 1 student is below K level (I teach 1st grade), 2 are identified as ADHD, we are working towards another student getting identified as ADHD, and I have 2 students who have really disrespectful attitudes. I have tried talking with parents, I have changed their seating, I have tried encouraging them and pointing out the positive......nothing seems to be working. Ideas? Lindsay asked, I need motivation tips for kids who can do the work but basically refuse to... These are such common issues that teachers face daily. I think they all tie together and have similar interventions, which led me to write this blog post-- How to Help Calling Out and "Class Clown" Behavior. "If you put a kid in the position of choosing between looking bad or looking dumb, he will choose to look bad." - Rick Lavoie, Motivation Breakthrough When a student is performing at a level lower than his peers, he is often aware of that. That could be part of the reason for the acting out. Maybe the child is embarrassed and would rather be seen as a class clown than struggling. It allows the child a sense of control over a situation where he would otherwise feel out of control. Try giving him some control in a positive way. To intervene, start with an informal play meeting. Meet with the student individually when he is calm, to play a preferred, non-academic game at the beginning or end of the day. He may be more likely to open up honestly in that type of setting through informal conversations (e.g., favorite TV shows, games, etc.). Casually ask what he likes and doesn't like about school, and "admit" to him that you always had a hard time with [insert his least preferred subject]. Try not to make it obvious that this is the whole point of your conversation. He might give you some insight into what's causing this. It's also great for establishing rapport, which will help you to get the student on your side. Give him some sort of task with which he can be successful, and give him positive attention for completing it. Avoid patronizing him or making it obviously at a level lower than the other students. Instead, try non-academic leadership positions, like a class helper, teacher's assistant, etc. Maybe give him the opportunity to call on students with questions. "Class, today we are going to try something new." Next, set limits. Start by telling the whole class that today we are going to try something new. Starting today, the teacher will no longer answer any calling out. Explain that we need to practice raising our hands and not calling out. Demonstrate, practice, and ask for volunteers to show you what hand raising looks like. Establish a non-verbal cue (e.g., a cue card with an image of a hand, or simply hold up your hand), and completely ignore calling out. Instruct the class to also ignore calling out. Have students practice calling out while you ignore it. Explain why you're doing this, so the student knows it's not just him being ignored. Ignore the behavior, not the child. You might want to give one verbal cue, such as, "I'd be happy to answer you when you raise your hand." This is your new procedure that will happen every single time a student calls out. You could still say it in a positive tone of voice, but it's all you will say. Give a Little, Get a Little Use positive language to elicit positive language. If a student is using disrespectful language, being threatening will teach the child to talk back with threatening language. Think about your reaction when somebody confronts you with doing something wrong. You initially feel a little attacked, so you want to react. Give the student the opportunity to save face. For example, instead of, "How dare you speak to me that way?" try a, "Whoops, that sounded disrespectful. I know you could ask me using nicer words," and only respond when he uses nicer words. If he doesn't, say, "I'll be over here when you're ready to use nice words to ask me." Dodge the Power Struggle To nip disrespect in the bud, we need to avoid power struggles-- even when a student questions what we're doing. That's the part that really tricks even the most skilled behavior interventionists. We want students to believe in, trust, and respect us. When they question what we're doing, we want to tell them. Please don't. You don't need to justify yourself in this moment. You may be skilled with planned ignoring, but when the child asks, "Why are you ignoring me?" it's too tempting to reply with an explanation, but resist the urge. If you planned and practiced this procedure previously, the child already knows why you're ignoring him. He may try to get you to give him anything other than the ignoring. Stick to the ignoring, and he will eventually try using nice words to get you to reply. It may also be helpful to teach a lesson on the words "disrespect" vs. "respect." Teach the meaning, and explain situations and words that are unacceptable. Teach this with empathy, and practice it. If the child uses negative language in class, prompt with a, "Please use your nice words if you need me to respond to you." Completely ignore anything else. I know that using a firm prompt followed by planned ignoring sometimes feels like you aren't doing anything to stop the behavior, but that's the best thing about it-- doing "nothing" stops the behavior. It completely eliminates the power struggle and argument. The child will be forced to use kind words to get any type of reaction out of you and to gain access to his wants/needs. This also works with whining. I told my little ones that my ears can no longer hear whining, and they all stopped whining. Now if only I could use planned ignoring on messes to make my kitchen clean itself! Words of Caution Sometimes when implementing planned ignoring, the child may initially test the limits and engage in more attention-seeking behavior. This is typical and should pass when he sees that he won't get a reaction. I got a comment on this post that really made me think and add another word of caution about this strategy-- exercise caution when using this for students with bonding and/or attachment needs. We certainly do not want to intensify feelings of abandonment, and we want to be sure that we are responding to their needs. It is vitally important to make sure that we are ignoring the behavior, not the child. Give the child plenty of positive attention for positive behavior. Make giving positive attention during appropriate behavior part of your behavior protocol for this child. When the negative behavior ends and the child begins acting positively, give positive attention. No need for a lecture at that moment. After the Procedure is Learned Once you are sure that the student understands how he will appropriately gain access to wants/needs, you can begin to address the calling out caused by impulsivity and habit. Make a T-chart, and write the positive behavior on the left and negative on the right (e.g., "Called Out" and "Raised My Hand"). Instruct the student to tally when he does each. This alone is often enough to curb the negative behavior. Other times with more severe behavior, it helps if tallies are tied to reinforcement. For example, the student can earn [something preferred] if he has more positive than negative tallies at the end of each block. You could also set goals based on baselines. For example, if the student reduces his calling out by ___% or does not exceed ___% incidents of calling out, he can earn [something preferred]. Class Dojo is another fun way to track this! The teacher can track the behaviors throughout the day, or the students can self-monitor behaviors on their T-Charts and plug them into the Dojo at the end of the day. Establish a procedure that students must earn more green (i.e., "positive") than red (i.e., "needs work"), or a certain percentage of green, in order to earn a reinforcer, positive note home, etc. Another helpful strategy is bonus free time. It's often harder for a student with ADHD and/or behavior needs to attend to instruction for a given length of time, so plan three breaks in the day. I call them "five minute free time" to play with something fun, and I end each of my subjects with it. It gives me five minutes to clean up or correct work, and it gives the students five minutes to regroup. If you're strapped for time, you could have students complete exit tickets, assessments, etc., and give the student with ADHD the special free time. It also gives him something to word toward, as he has to earn the free time. If a student engages in negative behavior or work refusal, I ask if he is earning his free time or if he is to make up his work during free time. Never underestimate the power of a question instead of a demand. A simple, "Are you earning your free time?" is often enough to set the behavior back on track. An additional motivational tool is a task chart where students rank their tasks by preference. They earn little reinforcement for easy/preferred tasks and high reinforcement for non-preferred tasks. You can download that chart for free here. What are some ideas you use in your classroom to help calling out and "class clown" behavior? Do you have any questions about behavior challenges? Please share in the comments below! A Peach for the Teach

I've been working on a few things for Behavior Management so I thought I'd join the party! Check out The Lesson Plan Diva to see others who have linked up! I've seen a lot of clip charts and stop lights in blog land and I have to say that I am not a fan. Don't get me wrong--I think they are pretty, easy to use, and a quick visual for the teacher at the end of the day when getting things ready to go home. BUT I strongly believe that kids should not be publicly embarrassed for their behavior. EVERYONE makes poor choices from time to time. Would you want the entire staff to know when you missed a deadline or made a mistake? I know this is not the intention, but it happens anyway. Instead I use a binder. I wish I had a photo to show but sadly it is locked up at school. In the binder is a chart with student numbers instead of names. When students make poor choices, they are asked to visit the behavior binder where they place a check mark next to their number. There is also a copy of our Quality Student they should quickly review. When sending students to the binder, I make sure to do it privately so the student is not embarrassed. Each Monday we discuss the previous week's data, celebrate if we made a goal, and make new goals for the coming week. The binder is also handy at conference time. As a class, we set goals for the number of checks we will try to stay under per week. Students also may have personal goals for how many checks they will have each week or grading period. Recently I found Homeworkopoly on Ladybug's Teacher Files and decided to teacher-lift it. She uses this for students who consistently complete their homework, but I decided to use it as a behavior incentive. ALOT of people have been posting about doing away with the prize/treasure box and this could work for that too. I included two "prize box" places on the board but you could easily replace them with something else. I am still working on the Chance cards and I also added a spot for "Student-written questions." My plan here is to have students write their own review questions for topics already covered. So my printer is running low on ink and the colors are a bit distorted but this is the basic idea. My plan is to post it on the chalk board and use pictures of the kids faces to make magnetic playing pieces. Students who made it the entire week without any checks in the behavior binder (or who met their personal behavior goal) will get to take a turn on the Behavioropoly Board. Check out Ladybug's Teacher Files to see how she runs the game. ***Update*** Due to a high volume of requests I am no longer sending out my template by email. You can go to my TPT store and download the files for free!