Bright Ideas: Behavior Management Ideas for the Beginning of School

It's hard to believe that it's July and that many of you will be heading back at the end of this month for training and in- services before the start of the new school year. Whether you had a great group of students last year or a difficult group to manage, you will soon be faced with a whole new group of shiny faces for the new school year. Class management is critical during the first 2 weeks of school to ensure that the greatest amount of time during the day will be spent on teaching and learning! I'm so excited to be part of July's Bright Ideas Blog Hop. I've put together some Bright Ideas about Behavior Management to think about over the next several weeks. 

Tip #1: Decide what your behavior expectations are and how to manage your students during  class time, moving to different activities, lining up, walking in the hall, bathroom, etc. 

• Read alouds are fun for primary grades- I love David Goes to School  by David Shannon for establishing class rules. I  actually have used this with older students, too.

• Let students be a part of the rule setting.
• Keep rules simple and easy to understand.
• Phrase rules in a positive way.
• Establish different rules for different activities.
• Chants and songs work well for changing activities for primary grades.
• Behavior raps and chants work well with older students. Here's a sample of one I wrote.

• Choose a quiet signal- and teach it to your students.
• Post the rules so they are visible for students.
• Review rules periodically.
• Remind students of the rules when they misbehave.
• If a rule isn't working, change it!

Tip #2: Practice behavior expectations.

• Practice walking in the hall, moving to centers or changing activities. If you don't get this under control during the first few weeks of school it will be a long, difficult year. This is critical in Title I schools or those that have students with lots of discipline issues.  
• Be prepared to spend a lot of time teaching and rehearsing the rules and procedures at the beginning of the year so that they become routine.

Tip #3: Be consistent with your behavior expectations and consequences!

Hope I've given you some Bright Ideas. If you have enjoyed these Bright Ideas I hope you will consider joining me on Pinterest, Facebook, or Bloglovin to see more Bright Ideas.

Thanks for all you do to make a difference for your students. For more Bright Ideas from more than 80 bloggers, browse through the link-up below to choose a topic/grade level that interests you. Thanks for visiting.

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Promoting Positive Behavior with Dialogue Circles

A few days ago I came across this great video and idea about using Dialogue Circles to promote positive behavior. I was truly impressed when I watched it and wanted to share it with all of you. I have blogged about Class Meetings with Talking Chips which you can read all about by clicking HERE. I love the idea of having class meetings as part of your daily or weekly routine to create a caring classroom. When I watched the video on Dialogue circles I thought about my Title I school and the students in grades 3-6. Dialogue Circles are gatherings where all the students or participants sit in a circle and face each other. This facilitates open and direct communication. They promote a safe and supportive space where sensitive topics can be talked about, differences can be worked out, and consensus can be reached.

Working with students who are from lower socioeconomic families, I found that there were always behavior issues resulting from things that had happened at home or in the neighborhood the night before that affected the classroom climate as they entered school each day. It affected their learning and attention and many times the learning of others. I learned that the one thing that these students could count on was school, the teachers, and staff. It was the one constant in their lives. Class meetings at the beginning of the day can give students a chance to share their feelings and discuss ways to work through them so that learning can take place the rest of the day. I hope you will watch this 4 minute video about one school in Glenview, California. I would love to know what you think about them in the comments below.

       
If you would like to learn about more about Responsive Classroom, which is a research and evidence-based to elementary education associated with greater teacher effectiveness, higher student achievement, and improved school climate, click HERE.
If you haven't gotten your free copy of my Bee-Having is Cool Raps just click on the image below.

I also wrote a new free poem called "Getting Along at School" for the primary grades with 2 differentiated writing activities that you can download by clicking on the image below. Great for the first weeks of school.

You may also want to check out my new boards to follow by clicking HERE. Here are a few you may be interested in.

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Thanks for all you do to make a difference for your students.