Classroom Management

In a nutshell: Good classroom management allows learning to occur. What do good classroom managers do? y y y y y y y y y y They have a set of routines and procedures that they teach students. They maximize the classrooms physical space to facilitate easy teacher movement and proximity, as well as student movement and transitions. They begin the year with a set of class rules or guidelines that they explicitly teach, monitor, and enforce. They plan well (they dont wing it). They display "with-it-ness". They deal with interruptions effectively and efficiently. They encourage and nurture a sense of community, respect, and personal relationships. They have a collection of corrective consequences for mild misbehavior. They have a repertoire of options for dealing with discipline problems. They know when to bend the rules and when not to.

Routines and Procedures Effective classroom teachers spend more of their time in the first few weeks of the year teaching classroom routines and procedures as opposed to academic content. Why? Read more Also included are a list of routines and procedures every teacher should have at least thought about before the beginning of the year. Rules, Rules, Rules! Read about some behavior management ideas from elementary teachers. Read more CHOICES CHOICES is an innovative, year-long behavior management plan that incorporates character education. Read more The Importance of Planning Lesson preparation is a cornerstone for a well-managed classroom. Read this "how-to" article on lesson plans. It also includes a handy list of action verbs, helpful for writing learning objectives. Classroom Participation Looking for a way to help students communicate clearly and politely during classroom discussions? Give each student a list of expressions to use (and practice). PDF

2011 Education Oasis http://www.educationoasis.com

Top 10 Tips for Classroom Discipline and Management

By Melissa Kelly, About.com Guide Classroom discipline and management causes the most fear and consternation in new teachers. However, classroom management is a skill that is not only learned but practiced daily. Here are ten tips that can lead to successful classroom management and discipline. These tips can help you cut down on discipline problems and leave you with fewer interruptions and disruptions. If you would like additional information, check out this step-by-step look at how to handle discipline problems with effective classroom management. 1. It's Easier to Get Easier Many teachers make the mistake of starting the school year with a poor discipline plan. Students quickly assess the situation in each class and realize what they will be allowed to get away with. Once you set a precedent of allowing a lot of disruptions, it can be very hard to start better classroom management and discipline techniques. However, it is never tough to get easier as the year goes on. While you don't have to follow the adage, "Never smile until Christmas," it does have its merits. 2. Fairness is Key Students have a distinct sense of what is and what is not fair. You must act fairly for all students if you expect to be respected. If you do not treat all students equitably, you will be labelled as unfair students will not be keen to follow your rules. Make sure that if your best student does something wrong, they too get punished for it. 3. Deal with Disruptions with as Little Interruption as Possible When you have classroom disruptions, it is imperative that you deal with them immediately and with as little interruption of your class momentum as possible. If students are talking amongst themselves and you are having a classroom discussion, ask one of them a question to try to get them back on track. If you have to stop the flow of your lesson to deal with disruptions, then you are robbing students who want to learn of their precious in-class time. 4. Avoid Confrontations in Front of Students Whenever there is a confrontation in class there is a winner and a loser. Obviously as the teacher, you need to keep order and discipline in your class. However, it is much better to deal with discipline issues privately than cause a student to 'lose face' in front of their friends. It is not a good idea to make an example out of a disciplinary issue. Even though other students might get the point, you might have lost any chance of actually teaching that student anything in your class. More Info 5. Stop Disruptions with a Little Humor Sometimes all it takes is for everyone to have a good laugh to get things back on track in a classroom. Many times, however, teachers confuse good humor with sarcasm. While humor can quickly diffuse a situation, sarcasm may harm your relationship with the students involved. Use your best judgment but realize that what some people think as funny others find to be offensive. More Info 6. Keep High Expectations in Your Class Expect that your students will behave, not that they will disrupt. Reinforce this with the way you speak to your students. When you begin the day, tell your students your expectations. For

example, you might say, "During this whole group session, I expect you to raise your hands and be recognized before you start speaking. I also expect you to respect each other's opinions and listen to what each person has to say." More Info 7. Overplan Free time is something teachers should avoid. By allowing students time just to talk each day, you are setting a precedent about how you view academics and your subject. To avoid this, overplan. Write additional activities into your lesson plans just in case your main lesson run short. When you have too much to cover, you'll never run out of lessons and you will avoid free time. You can also fill up any left over time with mini-lessons. 8. Be Consistent One of the worst things you can do as a teacher is to not enforce your rules consistently. If one day you ignore misbehaviors and the next day you jump on someone for the smallest infraction, your students will quickly lose respect for you. Your students have the right to expect you to basically be the same everyday. Moodiness is not allowed. Once your lose your student's respect, you also lose their attention and their desire to please you. 9. Make Rules Understandable You need to be selective in your class rules (no one can follow 180 rules consistently). You also need to make them clear. Students should understand what is and what is not acceptable. Further, you should make sure that the consequences for breaking your rules are also clear and known beforehand. 10. Start Fresh Everyday This tip does not mean that you discount all previous infractions, i.e. if they have three tardies then today means four. However, it does mean that you should start teaching your class each day with the expectation that students will behave. Don't assume that because Julie has disrupted your class everyday for a week, she will disrupt it today. By doing this, you will not be treating Julie any differently and thereby setting her up to disrupt again (like a self-fulfilling prophecy). Read a personal example of this with my best teaching experience.

"The most important action an effective teacher takes at the beginning of the year is creating a climate for learning." -- Mary Beth Blegan, former U.S. Department of Education teacher-in-residence Included: Twelve teacher-tested tips for behavior management!
According to Fred Jones' Positive Classroom Discipline, "The most widespread management technique at home and in the classroom is nag, nag, nag." "It's also probably the least effective." How can you avoid making that technique your own and create a "climate for learning"? This week, Education World looks to the experts -- teachers who've "been there, done that" and found a better way -- for answers. Howard Miller, Associate Professor of Education at Lincoln University (Jefferson City, Missouri) suggests 12 steps teachers can take at the beginning of the year to promote effective classroom management.

1. Develop a set of written expectations you can live with and enforce. 2. Be consistent. Be consistent. Be consistent. 3. Be patient with yourself and with your students. 4. Make parents your allies. Call early and often. Use the word "concerned." When communicating a concern, be specific and descriptive. 5. Don't talk too much. Use the first 15 minutes of class for lectures or presentations, then get the kids working. 6. Break the class period into two or three different activities. Be sure each activity segues smoothly into the next. 7. Begin at the very beginning of each class period and end at the very end. 8. Don't roll call. Take the roll with your seating chart while students are working. 9. Keep all students actively involved. For example, while a student does a presentation, involve the other students in evaluating it. 10. Discipline individual students quietly and privately. Never engage in a disciplinary conversation across the room. 11. Keep your sense of perspective and your sense of humor. 12. Know when to ask for help.

Classroom Management, Management of Student Conduct, Effective Praise Guidelines, and a Few Things to Know About ESOL Thrown in for Good Measure Dr. Bob Kizlik

One of the best and most highly recommended books on classroom management is available from Amazon.com. Click HERE to read about it and order it. Updated February 12, 2012 The evidence is irrefutable, Surveys of graduates of education schools and colleges indicate that the #1 area of concern of new teachers is their feelings of inadequacy in managing classrooms. Despite clinical experiences, practicums, student teaching, and other observations in classroom settings, this problem has persisted for decades. There is no magic elixir that will confer skill in this area of professional responsibility. We only wish there were. Classroom management and management of student conduct are skills that teachers acquire and hone over time. These skills almost never "jell" until after a minimum of few years of teaching experience. To be sure, effective teaching requires considerable skill in managing the myriad of tasks and situations that occur in the classroom each day. Skills such as effective classroom management are central to teaching and require "common sense," consistency, a sense of fairness, and courage. These skills also require that teachers understand in more than one way the psychological and developmental levels of their students. The skills associated with effective classroom management are only acquired with practice, feedback, and a willingness to learn

from mistakes. Sadly, this is often easier said than done. Certainly, a part of this problem is that there is no practical way for education students to "practice" their nascent skills outside of actually going into a classroom setting. The learning curve is steep, indeed. As previously mentioned, personal experience and research indicate that many beginning teachers have difficulty effectively managing their classrooms. While there is no one best solution for every problem or classroom setting, the following principles, drawn from a number of sources, might help. Classroom teachers with many years of experience have contributed to an understanding of what works and what doesn't work in managing classrooms and the behavior of students. The following information represents some of the things that good classroom teachers do to maintain an atmosphere that enhances learning. It is written in straightforward, non-preachy language, and will not drive you to distraction with its length. I think most students appreciate that. With that in mind, I truly hope this information is useful to you. An Effective Classroom Management Context (these four things are fundamental) 1. Know what you want and what you don't want. 2. Show and tell your students what you want. 3. When you get what you want, acknowledge (not praise) it. 4. When you get something else, act quickly and appropriately.

CLASSROOM ARRANGEMENT While good classroom arrangement is not a guarantee of good behavior, poor planning in this area can create conditions that lead to problems. The teacher must be able to observe all students at all times and to monitor work and behavior. The teacher should also be able to see the door from his or her desk. Frequently used areas of the room and traffic lanes should be unobstructed and easily accessible. Students should be able to see the teacher and presentation area without undue turning or movement. Commonly used classroom materials, e.g., books, attendance pads, absence permits, and student reference materials should be readily available. Some degree of decoration will help add to the attractiveness of the room. SETTING EXPECTATIONS FOR BEHAVIOR *Teachers should identify expectations for student behavior and communicate those expectations to students periodically. * Rules and procedures are the most common explicit expectations. A small number of general rules that emphasize appropriate behavior may be helpful. Rules should be posted in the classroom. Compliance with the rules should be monitored constantly. * Do not develop classroom rules you are unwilling to enforce. * School-Wide Regulations...particularly safety procedures...should be explained carefully.

* Because desirable student behavior may vary depending on the activity, explicit expectations for the following procedures are helpful in creating a smoothly functioning classroom: - Beginning and ending the period, including attendance procedures and what students may or may not do during these times. - Use of materials and equipment such as the pencil sharpener, storage areas, supplies, and special equipment. - Teacher-Led Instruction - Seatwork - How students are to answer questions - for example, no student answer will be recognized unless he raises his hand and is called upon to answer by the teacher. - Independent group work such as laboratory activities or smaller group projects. Remember, good discipline is much more likely to occur if the classroom setting and activities are structured or arranged to enhance cooperative behavior. MANAGING STUDENT ACADEMIC WORK * Effective teacher-led instruction is free of: - Ambiguous and vague terms - Unclear sequencing - Interruptions * Students must be held accountable for their work. * The focus is on academic tasks and learning as the central purpose of student effort, rather than on good behavior for its own sake. MANAGING INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR * Address instruction and assignments to challenge academic achievement while continuing to assure individual student success. * Most inappropriate behavior in classrooms that is not seriously disruptive and can be managed by relatively simple procedures that prevent escalation. * Effective classroom managers practice skills that minimize misbehavior. * Monitor students carefully and frequently so that misbehavior is detected early before it involves many students or becomes a serious disruption. * Act to stop inappropriate behavior so as not to interrupt the instructional activity or to call excessive attention to the student by practicing the following unobstructive strategies: - Moving close to the offending student or students, making eye contact and giving a nonverbal signal to stop the offensive behavior. - Calling a student's name or giving a short verbal instruction to stop behavior.

- Redirecting the student to appropriate behavior by stating what the student should be doing; citing the applicable procedure or rule. Example: "Please, look at the overhead projector and read the first line with me, I need to see everyone's eyes looking here." - More serious, disruptive behaviors such as fighting, continuous interruption of lessons, possession of drugs and stealing require direct action according to school board rule. PROMOTING APPROPRIATE USE OF CONSEQUENCES * In classrooms, the most prevalent positive consequences are intrinsic student satisfaction resulting from success, accomplishment, good grades, social approval and recognition. * Students must be aware of the connection between tasks and grades. * Frequent use of punishment is associated with poor classroom management and generally should be avoided. * When used, negative consequences or punishment should be related logically to the misbehavior. * Milder punishments are often as effective as more intense forms and do not arouse as much negative emotion. * Misbehavior is less likely to recur if a student makes a commitment to avoid the action and to engage in more desirable alternative behaviors. * Consistency in the application of consequences is the key factor in classroom management. SOME ESOL PRINCIPLES (A FEW THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT L.E.P. STUDENTS): * They are not stupid and they can hear what is being said.. They just don't necessarily understand the language or culture, yet. * They come from a variety of backgrounds, even in the same country. For example schooled, unschooled, Americanized, etc. * It is easy to misunderstand body language and certain behaviors. For example, eye contact, spitting, chalk eating, etc. * Don't assume they understand something just because it seems simple to you. Simplify, boil down. * Even when they have lost their accent, they often misunderstand common words and phrases. * Correct repeated patterns or mistakes. * Good E.S.O.L. strategies are good teaching strategies. GUIDELINES FOR EFFECTIVE PRAISE (Applies primarily to praise associated with instruction and student performance)

Effective Praise 1. Is delivered contingently upon student performance of desirable behaviors or genuine accomplishment

Ineffective Praise 1. Is delivered randomly and indiscriminately without specific attention to genuine accomplishment

2. Specifies the praiseworthy aspects of the student's accomplishments 3. Is expressed sincerely, showing spontaneity, variety and other non-verbal signs of credibility. 4. Is given for genuine effort, progress, or accomplishment which are judged according to standards appropriate to individuals. 5. Provides information to students about their competence or the value of their accomplishments. 6. Helps students to better appreciate their thinking, problem-solving and performance. 7. Attributes student success to effort and ability, implying that similar successes can be expected in the future. 8. Encourages students to appreciate their accomplishments for the effort they expend and their personal gratification.

2. Is general or global, not specifying the success. 3. Is expressed blandly without feeling or animation, and relying on stock, perfunctory phrases. 4. Is given based on comparisons with others and without regard to the effort expended or significance of the accomplishment of an individual. 5. Provides no meaningful information to the students about their accomplishments.

6. Orients students toward comparing themselves with others. 7. Attributes student success to ability alone or to external factors such as luck or easy task. 8. Encourages students to succeed for external reasons -- to please the teacher, win a competition or reward, etc.

Classroom Management Techniques

You can never have enough classroom management techniques. In the years to come you will spend many hours tinkering with your classroom management techniques until you have a set of tools that allow your classroom to maintain a learning environment and consistent flow of knowledge. Ahhh… something to look forward to. In the mean time, I have put together my top ten classroom management techniques just for you!

Classroom Management Teachnique 1 & 2 1. Plan your lessons for all the wrong things that could happen. I know that in college we are taught to think of a utopian classroom where all we need to do is develop a lesson that meets or exceeds the state standards while WOW-ing our students. As a classroom teacher you must do that as well as plan for managing the class. When you lesson plan, keep all of your students in mind. Think of how they will respond to the topic and the difficulty of the topic. Think of how they will plan to throw you off your game. When you take these items into consideration, you can plan ahead. SO when your students attempt to throw a fastball you have your catchers mitt ready.

2. Set Student expectations at the beginning of every lesson, activity, or special event. Start of my expectations by asking students to tell me what the rules are. Then, what happens if they break a rule. I then state that while we are working on this assignment or at an assembly I expect to see specific behavior. I then ask my students to show me those behaviors. By doing this I ensure that all students know my rules, all students know the outcome of breaking a rule, and what I'll be looking to reward while we are completing that lesson, activity, or special event.

Classroom Management Technique 3 & 4 3. Set up a Positive Behavior reward system. One year I used a monetary system where the students can earn change (play money) that can be spent at a class store on school supplies, candy, nick-knacks, or various other items I find. This past year I used a system that worked both for positive and negative behaviors. Students received a preprint point sheet for each time segment in our day. They could earn five point for simple abiding by the classroom rules and completing the assignment. If they went above the call of duty, or if they worked following my high expectations I would give bonus points. I would also deduct point based on poor behavior. Students received one warning before the deducted points. By the end of the week students could earn up to two hundred and fifty points that would be spent at an incredible class store. They could even save them to add to future weeks to purchase big items. By the end of the year I had to set up bins in the class store worth one thousand points because students would put so much effort into having the title "I have the most points in the class." This point systems was one of the most effect systems that I have ever had in place, which is why I included it in my classroom management techniques toolbox. 4. Responding to students' behavior should always be calm and collected. If you give the student a reaction, they know they have found "the button" they will continue to hit this button until others arise. Always, take just a moment to collect your thought before responding to student misbehavior. Remember that you want to be proactive - not reactive.

Classroom Management Teachnique 5 & 6 5. Being organized is a major classroom management technique that is difficult to master. Since the beginning of any college degree program you are drilled that teacher must be flexible, you need to roll with the unexpected, its hard to stay organized when unexpected events pop up. The best you can do it organize you lessons in a neat form and keep your grade book up to date (so that you don't have stacks of un-graded papers cluttering the class). I also suggest the following three things. a. Keep all of your teacher edition texts in one location so that when/if you need to fill in an unexpected event you can quickly flip to something interesting in the text. b. Set up filing system that has one red (or bright colored) folder for any and all assessments that you do for your class. This includes reading inventories, DAR, Fox in the Box etc. I also kept a folder of all communication sent to me via administration. At my last school we were given weekly newsletters that contained anything and everything going on at the school. This was most important to keep. c. Always have a back up assignment ready for an emergency. At the beginning of the year the entire third grade group got together and created two days of emergency sub plans. I suggest that you also do two emergency fill in the blank plans. These come in handy if you run late, if you are called into a meeting for and IEP, they even come in handy when your students whip through an assignment that you thought would take twice the time. 6. Consider how you will call students to line up. You may not realize how important this is, but no

matter what age students will always fight over cutting in line. Here are a few tips. Practice lining up in alphabetical order. This is common I know. Now randomly give students a number. Give them until the count of 20 to be in number order. When they get in order check the number you gave them to be sure. Then have your students inspect who is in front of them and behind them. Tell you students that if at anytime there is misbehavior in the line or tattling for students cutting, your students will stand in number order for two days. This works particularly well when the majority of students don't get near a close friend. One final suggestion for you line is to give everyone a spot and that's that. I met a teacher that gave students a spot at the beginning of the year and that's where the students stood all year. The same line leader and door holder all yea Classroom Management Techniques 7 & 8 7. Now consider classroom arrangements for your classroom management techniques. How will you set up your desks. There are three common set ups that are effective and each have their own benefits. First up, rows. With rows all students face the front. This eliminates a few disruptions, but clutters the room in my opinion. Second is in groups. This is becoming more and more popular. This setup allows students to discuss content being taught and work cooperatively. However, it also allows for students to carry on personal conversations easier. It is also difficult for all students to see a front board when you may be teaching. Finally we have a horseshoe. I am partial to this set up as it lends us a discussion circle in the middle of the room and all students can see the board. These are the most popular classroom arrangements used by effective teachers. **The final three classroom management techniques are the most beneficial in my classroom. You could say that I saved the best for last. ** 8. Maintaining hallway order. This past school year I had a five-minute window to go from lunch to resource (you may know them as specials). On most days it took us that long to walk to the resource we had that day. However, on two of those days our resource was about 20 feet down the hall from the lunchroom. On these days, we would wait outside patiently and as any teacher knows students get ancy fast. I would play short silent games. At first we started out with Simon says, but my third graders listened too well (that's a problem I am ok with having). I then moved onto a simple game I called following directions. What students doesn't need extra practice doing that? I would start out by having all students turn to the left facing me. They would stand shoulder to shoulder. Their only task was to follow the list of directions I gave them. Here's an example: Teacher says: elbow students touch elbow Teacher says: elbow, hand students touch elbow then hand teacher says: elbow, hand, knee students touch eblow, hand, knee Students follow the directions as I give them. When they mess up they sit down in their spot. We continue until our wait time runs out or until the majority of the students are sitting on the floor (they start to get antsy when they are sitting too). Get more of my personal classroom management techniques that work atwww.teachersfirstday.com Classroom Management Technique 9 & 10 9. Another beneficial classroom management technique is to state the noise level expectations for an assignment. I tacked up a poster that I hand made to represent the acceptable noise level for the assignment. When I first introduced this chart I modeled the volume for each level.

Level one was just above silent where the only noise I should hear is an occasional whisper when a students needs to ask a partner how to do something. Level 2 is a whisper conversation between two or three students. Level 3 is a quiet class where multiple students are talking. This is the noise level I allow during centers. Level 4 is about the level we speak when teaching. I would expect this during a presentation or sometimes when students are over excited about an incredible hands-on lesson. Level five is our outside voice. We NEVER use this in the classroom. 10. My final classroom management technique is to "leave it at the door." As teachers we understand that we must leave the outside world%u2026outside. Our only jobs is to focus on making a difference in the lives of those students when we enter the school. SO, I implemented the leaving it at the door. I explained to my students (inner city students that understand what it is to pay bills - especially electric). I explain to my students that outside those doors I have to worry about paying bills, finding a new home (I had just moved), caring for my husband and son, on top of planning exciting lessons for them. The only thing I was allowed to pay attention to at school was them and the lessons I teach. Now, their only job was to pay attention to me and the lessons I teach. If a students was angry, had an incident on the bus ride, or just started their day bad, I asked them to remain at the door until the could only focus on classwork. Now, did this work 100 percent of the time - no. But it did explain to students that I expect to have positive attitudes towards peers and assignments. It also explained that rage was unacceptable.

Creating a Comprehensive Classroom Management Plan

A Structure to Help Student Perform and Behave their Best By Jerry Webster, About.com Guide

The School at Church FarmCollege Prep Boarding & Day School Great Education, Affordable Costwww.gocfs.net 13 Signs of BurnoutAvoiding Stress, Depression and Burnout by expert Henry Neilswww.assessment.com A Comprehensive Classroom Management Plan is critical for the success of a teacher in any kind of classroom. Still, a poorly organized resource room or self-contained classroom will be just as unproductive and chaotic as a general education classroom without a behavior rudderperhaps more so. Too long, teachers have relied on being the biggest, the loudest or a bully to control misbehavior. Many children with disabilities have learned that disruptive behavior will help them avoid the embarrassment of revealing to their peers that they can't read, or that they get the answers wrong more often than not. Creating a well ordered, successful classroom is important for all children. Shy or well behaved children need to know that they will be safe. Disruptive students need to have the structure that will support their best behavior and learning, not their worst behavior. Classroom Management: a Legal Obligation Because of lawsuits, states have created legislation that requires teachers to provide progressive discipline plans for students. Creating a safe educational environment is more than something "nice," it is a legal responsibility as well as important to retaining employment. Being proactive is the best way to be sure that you can meet this important obligation.

A Comprehensive Plan For a plan to truly be successful, it needs to: y y y Provide clarity about expectations. This begins with rules, but needs to continue with teaching . Routines or procedures also provide clarity about expectations. Recognize and reward appropriate behavior. This can be provided through Positive Behavior Support. Sanction and provide consequences for unacceptable behavior. In order to assure that a plan provides each of these things, it will require: Reinforcement: A system for delivering/earning rewards. Sometimes the term "consequence" is used for positive as well as negative outcomes. Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) uses the term "reinforcement." Reinforcement can be intrinsic, social or physical. Reinforcement can be designed to support "replacement behavior," though in a class wide system you may want to offer a menu of reinforcers, and let students select things they find reinforcing. I have created reinforcement menus which you can print and use. I made a point of putting food items on the bottom of the elementary reinforcement menue, so you can "white out" those items if you school/district has policies against using food for reinforcement. If you have students with really difficult behaviors, a sandwich bag of popcorn is often enough to keep them working for long periods of time independently. Reinforcement Systems: These plans can support a whole class in positive behavior plans: y Token Systems Tokens can be points, chips, stickers or other ways to record students' successes. You need to find the best way to communicate immediately when students have earned tokens toward the reinforcers of their choice. A Lottery System: Catch students being good and give them tickets that are good for a drawing. I like the red tickets you can buy for carnivals, and kids like them too. The Marble Jar: a jar or another way to accumulate the whole classes' success toward a group prize (a field trip, a pizza party, a movie day) will help provide a visual reminder of rewards: it also helps you remember to sprinkle praise generously around your classroom. Consequences: A system of negative outcomes to prevent unacceptable behaviors. As part of a progressive discipline plan, you want to have consequences in place. Jim Fay, author of Parenting with Love and Logic, refers to "natural consequences" and "logical consequences." Natural consequences are outcomes that flow automatically from behaviors. Natural consequences are the most powerful, but few of us would find them acceptable. The natural consequence of running into the street is getting hit by a car. The natural consequence of playing with knives is to get badly cut. Those are not acceptable. Logical consequences teach because they are logically connected to the behavior. A logical consequence of not completing work is losing recess time, when work can be completed. A logical consequence of ruining a text book is to pay for the book, or when that is difficult, to put in volunteer time to repay the school for lost resources.

y y

Consequences for a progressive discipline plan might include: y y y y y y y A Warning. The Loss of part or all of recess. The loss of privileges, such as computer time. A letter home, Parent contact by phone. After School Detention. Suspension or other administrative action as a last resort. Think Sheets can be used as part of your progressive plan, especially at that point when students lose all or part of their recess or other free time. Use them with care: for students who don't like to write may see writing as punishment. Having students write "I will not talk in class" 50 times has the same effect. Serious or Repetitive Behavior Problems Have an emergency plan and practice it if you are likely to have a student with serious behavior problems. Who should get a phone call if you need to remove children either because they are tantrumming, or because their tantrums put their peers at risk. Students with disabilities should have Functional Behavioral Analysis, completed by the teacher or school psychologist, followed by a Behavior Improvement Plan created by the teacher and the Multiple Disciplinary Team (IEP Team). The plan needs to be disseminated to all the teachers who will have contact with the student.