Real talk: classroom management has always been my biggest struggle as a teacher. I think that this is true for a lot of teachers. It’s one thing to read about classroom management strategies in a college classroom, but it’s a whole other ballgame when you’re standing in front of a roomful of middle schoolers and you are somehow expected to keep them all in line! I’ve had a few tough groups over my first few years, and I needed something to up my classroom management game. The classroom management strategy I’m going to share with you today has been a total game-changer for me, and I hope it can help you, too! This strategy is called Behavior Bingo. To implement it, you will need a 10×10 chart numbered from 1-100. I used to draw mine out on big chart paper, but I’ve since created this handy printable board so that I don’t have to draw it out each time! You will also need 100 popsicle sticks each labeled with a number from 1-100. I keep these in one of those metal pails from Target, and you will also need another pail for the sticks to go in once you have pulled them. You will need a board and set of numbers for each class you are using this with – I have used it with up to 4 classes at once! I marked each class’s set of sticks with a different color and then discarded them all into the same tub. If you don’t want to buy or have to label all the popsicle sticks, I have also seen teachers use small slips of paper numbered 1-100, or even just a random number generator online! Here are the rules that I use: The object of the game is to get 10 numbers in a row (vertical, horizontal, or diagonal) and get a bingo. At the start of each class, I write the numbers 1 2 3 on the front whiteboard. During class, I erase a number any time the students are not meeting my expectations, starting with 3, then 2, then 1. At the end of class, however many numbers are left on the board is how many popsicle sticks they get to pull that day. For example, if only the 3 was erased, then they get to pull 2 popsicle sticks. They can earn up to 3 numbers each day. The students pull out the correct number of sticks for that day. I let them take turns. I hold the jar up above their heads so they can’t peek inside. Then I color in the numbers that were pulled on the bingo board. You can certainly adjust these rules to meet your needs. For instance, you could use a smaller or bigger bingo board, depending on how quickly you want them to earn their reward. With the 10×10 board, it usually takes 1-2 months to earn the reward. You could also adjust how many numbers they can earn each day. Another thing you could do is tie the numbers to specific goals. For instance, my students know that at the beginning of class they need to be in their seats with homework out and working on their warmup. If this doesn’t happen, they know I will erase a number. As for the reward, we choose this as a class before beginning the game. I have the students brainstorm ideas (I tell them that they need to be something either relatively inexpensive or free and can only take up about 20-30 minutes of class time) and list them all on the board. Then I have the students vote for their top two choices. Some ideas we have come up with in the past include an ice cream party (I bring the ice cream, they bring the toppings), root beer float party, time outside, free time, board games, donut party, dodgeball, or popcorn and a short movie. I write their choice at the bottom of the bingo board as a reminder of what we are working toward. And that’s it! It’s very easy to keep it running, and it has been very motivating to my students, especially when they are down to only one number left for the day. You can find the printable board that I use in my Teachers Pay Teachers store if you’re interested! Do you have any awesome classroom management strategies? I would love to hear about them in the comments!

Challenges with focus and attention can become a huge roadblock to learning for kids and young adults. Simply put, attention is critical to learning. If students can't focus on the lesson, they are going to struggle with understanding the new content. If students can't focus on the directions, they

The token system was the first behavior management plan I designed for primary grade students, and the popularity of this system continues to astound me! I posted it on my website many years ago and had no idea just how well it would resonate with other educators. There are literally hundreds of teachers around the … Continued

Children with sensory issues may need to focus so intently on looking like they're listening, that they can't actually process anything that was said. These tips help improve listening skills and comprehension.

12 interactive and fun games to teach self-control and build self-regulation skills for kids and teens. Strong skills for self-control are the foundation for success in and outside of the classroom.

Anger Management activity teaching students to identify how their anger looks and feels, and what makes them angry. They will also identify different environments and people that trigger their anger. Now includes a digital version for use with Google Slides. This activity takes about 30 minutes to complete with a small or large group. The goal is for students to self reflect on their own expression of anger and to better understand what makes them angry. Includes: ►Activity description including instructions/walk-through of activity, objectives, materials, guiding questions, SEL competencies addressed, and ASCA standards. ►2 pages of My Anger Monster (one example already done, one blank) ►3 pages of Color my anger (identifying what makes them angry) ►2 pages of People/Places that make me angry ►Black & White versions included. ►UPDATED: Now includes Google Classroom version, the link to access this resource on Google Drive and instructions for use is on page 18. ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ⭐Recommended Resources⭐ ❗THIS resource is included in the BUNDLES below↴ ★ My Emotions Monster Bundle ★ Anger Management Small Group Counseling Curriculum Check out the other My Monster products available now: ★ My Worry Monster ★ My Sadness Monster ★ My Scared Monster ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ✨Let's follow each other on Social Media✨ ➜Click here to Follow Me and be notified of new products (50% off for the first 24hrs) Heart and Mind Teaching on Pinterest Heart and Mind Teaching on Facebook Heart and Mind Teaching on Instagram Heart and Mind Teaching Website & Blog Copyright 2019 © Heart and Mind Teaching. Publisher's email: [email protected]

Children will practice using context clues as they identify the correct homophone in this grammar and spelling worksheet.

Teaching behavior expectations in kindergarten is important, especially in the first few weeks of school. This often sets the stage for your class for the entire year. For students to fully understand what is expected of them, it is important that teachers address and teach these expectation. I usually spend a lot of time during the first weeks of school teaching student expectations and classroom behaviors. We complete sorts of good choices and bad choices in the classroom and discuss what makes them good and bad choices. We complete these sorts whole group and students also complete individual behavior reflection sheets. These work great during the first few weeks of school or when students may need a review. These include different levels of difficulty beginning with students simply deciding if an actions is a good or bad choice, to a student sort of good and bad choices (this is a freebie at the end of the blog post) to finally illustrating or writing good or bad choices. Also we color an emergent reader reviewing some of the classroom expectations. These can also just be used as little coloring pages when a classroom expectation is introduced. In your classroom, you may want to challenge your students to focus on a certain expectation for a week. Included are posters that would work great for this: These provide a visual and focus for students when expectations are being taught. You can make it a game and provide an incentive if students can meet this expectation a certain amount of times in a week. Once these expectations are taught it is important to keep students accountable to their actions. I have been using a visual think sheet in my classroom that is perfect for this. It is very appropriate for your early learners in pre-k or kindergarten or special ed because it includes pictures for students to show what they did. Students simply color in the choice they made and a better choice they can make. These are great reflections for students, communication for parents and documentation if necessary. You may also want to post these cool down methods where students can reflect on strategies to cool down, instead of getting upset. You can find this entire Behavior Think Sheets and Activities in my TPT store and the Free Good and Bad Choices Student Sort here:

Have you ever had a class that just tried your patience day after day? Have you ever felt like you could walk away from teaching forever tom...

Resources, tips, and materials to help you, help children with autism

special education, behavior, behavior plans, BIPs, writing a behavior plan

Compare and contrast singular possessives and plural possessives with this anchor chart.

As an educator or parent, getting into a power struggle can be an awful thing. We waste so much of our energy trying to get we we want that we sometimes forget what our goal was in the first place. Power struggles can be especially difficult with kids with ADHD, autism, oppositional-defiant disorder

Do you struggle with classroom management? Here are four strategies that you can add to your toolkit that will make it just a little bit more effective.

Yesterday a dear friend of mine and a fabulous teacher shared her AMAZING organization skills. Check out her blog post HERE. :) Since my classroom is still in the works, I don't have too many fun organization pictures. I'm a strange mix of a Type A/B teacher. I am organized where it matters, but I also survive off sticky notes and throwing papers in a random file drawer. Everything is organized in my head but not-so-much to someone looking from the outside. Here's my big advice: It's easy to get caught up in what everyone else is doing. If you're not a super organized teacher, then that's cool if that works for you! Pick and choose what you need to do to make your classroom practical for your teaching style. Moving on to some tips and tricks I really want to share a few strategies that have worked for me and might work for your as well. Behavior Tracking with Post-it Notes: Since I am focused mostly on behaviors all day, I like to assign each student a color and then document or tally specific behaviors I am monitoring. I can then input the observations into my spreadsheet/log online and shred the sticky notes at the end of the day. It only takes about 5-10 minutes since I'm a fast typer. ;) The form itself is laminated, so I just replace the Post-it's every day. I provide one for my support staff as well. Mine is on a mini clipboard from Wal-mart, but this can work with a larger one as well with larger Post-its. I am still modifying the behavior tracking forms, so I don't have these ready to share, but once I do I will let you know. It is still an idea you can run with though. The plan, copy, prep, paperwork form is pretty self-explanatory. It can be downloaded HERE, if you are interested in using it. There are a couple options as well for those who need a space for grading over paperwork. It's an easy way to keep track of what you need to do. This form is also laminated, so I just replace the stickies as needed. TODAY AT A GLANCE Something that took me awhile to figure out was how I wanted to keep an outline of what I was teaching for the day. These pages are lifesavers when it comes to organization AND simplicity. These are available in my Teachers Pay Teachers store (also editable and there are a couple options for colors). You can write on them with a pen OR laminate and write on with a sharpie. It's easy to wipe off with a cleaning wipe (Clorox, Lysol etc.) SUBJECT TUBS This works so well because of my small class size. I'm able to place notebooks and folders in them as well as copies and activities for each subject area. Also self-explanatory but it keeps piles of worksheets off my desk which is what I basically did the last few years. What tips do you have for classroom organization?! Don't forget to share on your blog or Instagram using this template! & hashtag #SpedChatSaturday

September Writing Prompts are here just in time for fall. Get your Narrative, Informative and Opinion Organizers and Draft pages today.

Stop taking away recess and using other punishments to control your students. Find success with 10 powerful classroom management strategies!

If you have worked with a BCBA in the past, it is likely that you have heard the term FUNCTIONS OF BEHAVIOR. BCBAs look at function to determine WHY

Help kids learn impulse control skills using these practical strategies to support development of executive functioning.

This post was originally posted back in 2015 on my blog and has been a popular post since that time. I worked for a decade as a family counselor and elementary school counselor before staying

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

Free Anger and Feelings Worksheets for Kids

The Question: Do you all have any ideas for weekly behavior forms to send to parents? My school doesn’t want us to use the “stop light” red, yellow, green method. I’ve start…

These 4th grade anchor charts reinforce concepts for reading, science, math, behavior management, environmentalism, and more!

Are you providing your child with reinforcement vs. bribery? Parents will often ask why they should be “giving in” or bribing certain behaviors.

Have you ever had a class with so many difficult, disruptive students that you felt that you could barely even teach? What can you do to get past it? In this post, I am going to address this problem with my best advice, and some advice from others as well.

Recommended age: 6-12For: Individuals or groupsRequires: Parent or professional to facilitate Includes: Two PDF worksheets (Download here or at the end of the post)Will enhance social and emotional skills: • Self Awareness: Identify own beliefs and values • Social Awareness: Respect for others • Responsible decision-making skillsAre you looking for a simple activity for your child to identify their values that is fun and engaging?Or maybe you are wondering, why it is important for children to

These behavior reflection "think sheets" help students make better choices after making a mistake, and are perfect for restorative practices.

I wanted to stop by today and share some a few of my “go-to” activities during the first week of school to build our classroom community and set expectations for […]

In first grade, most of my reading time with my kids is spent on decoding. Comprehension is very important, as well, but we don't always h...

Try these fun brain break ideas to help active kids stay focused and learn at their best like yoga, Go Noodle, and printable cards.

What are some behaviors that you need to improve during school? Spanish Version Included with Download (pg. 2)!  ¿Cuáles son algunos comportamientos que necesitas mejorar durante la escuela? ****This worksheet can be opened in Google Slides allowing for client to use available tools to complete worksheet. Google Slides link can be found on PDF download after purchase. Learn more about Google Slides resources here! ***This download is a fillable worksheet which allows the option to type or click directly into the document using an electronic device. A PDF Reader (Adobe, Foxit, etc.) is required in order to use fillable features. Worksheet can be saved on the device or sent electronically without the need to print. Learn more about fillable worksheets here! Worksheet can also be printed for in-person use with clients.

understanding the five types of behavior functions

When I left the Vegas conference I was filled with excitement and a driving force behind how I can begin to find my new voice for this blog. Leaving the classroom for administration has changed my focus and I want to share with you some of the things I am doing with my staff. I want to give a BIG shout out to the very lovely Mrs. Spangler from Mrs. Spangler In the Middle- I was lucky enough to sit next to her at one of the TpT conference sessions and we talked about what I could offer the blogging world now that I am not a middle school teacher anymore. This post was one of those ideas :) THANKS Lisa! So imagine sitting in your classroom ..you prepared a ROCKIN' lesson. Everything is falling into place and you know you are in the ZONE. From the corner of your eye you see the beginnings of crazy town starting to surface in the back of the room. Little Suzie is about to loose it.... Maybe it starts with a sigh or a yell, then it begins to bubble over the yell is a scream ... maybe a cry. What do you do?!?! First know that you are not alone! I think every teacher can relate to that scenario and the panic that sets in when you know a student is about to burst and they are escalating rapidly. When I did this PD with my staff we started with a post it activity. In order to handle that child we first need to look inward. We need to figure out are our buttons ...and what pushes them! They needed to answer these three questions .... Each teacher was asked to write down all the behaviors that PUSH their buttons and post them. We are human and behaviors will irritate us! But what pushes my buttons isn't necessarily what pushes the teachers down the hall's buttons. The physical act of writing down what aggravated me is very powerful. Then they needed to write how it makes them feel. This step helps label the emotion...when you do this.... I feel .... As teachers we are not supposed to feel negative emotions....YA RIGHT! That little angel who comes every day and pinches or yells or rolls their eyes at you will elicit an emotion from you and its ok that those behaviors aggravate you. However while the behavior may enrage you we all know that those emotions are productive. They wont lead us to an end result that allows everyone in the room to continue in the learning process. So now I am more aware of what behaviors are my "buttons" ... and we identified how they make me feel ... The last step is identifying how these behaviors will impact the relationships I am building in my classroom. As we got to this phase the post-its it was clear... If I react with that emotion I will not be building any sort of quality relationship with my students. Not only that, if we live in those emotions and react from those emotions it will take a toll on our health and well being. So now that I am more aware of MYSELF... how do I deal with those behaviors?!?! Here are 5 ways to DEESCALTE ... I will be revisiting this topic and giving more ideas and tips for behavior interventions!! I would love to hear feedback on this topic and if more posts on behavior would be helpful so feel free to leave a comment if these strategies are beneficial!! :)

Do your students struggle to remember irregular verb tenses? Use this great matching activity to help students connect the present to the past. They'll be using irregular past tense verbs with confidence in no time! Download to complete online or as a printable!

Teaching rules, expectations and procedures are a MUST, regardless of what kind of classroom you are in. I always start my first few weeks by teaching, reviewing, practicing, and practicing some more. For students to understand each rule, we need to give them specific examples. Visual supports are a must-have for teaching classroom rules in a special education setting. Here's a great way to introduce classroom rules to your students.

Have you ever had a class that just tried your patience day after day? Have you ever felt like you could walk away from teaching forever tom...