For Management Monday today I thought I'd share about the behavior management system I used in my classroom for the past 3 years. I wanted to create something that was effective at helping students manage their own behavior and was also something that my students could understand and relate to.
The soccer theme is a way to make it more fun for your students. Since soccer is a sport that a lot of your students will be familiar with, they will understand the meaning of a yellow card or a red card. If your students aren't familiar with the rules of soccer, you can easily explain it in a way that makes sense to your students.
Here's how it works:
This behavior plan follows a 3 step plan: verbal warning, yellow card, and red card. It also includes MVP awards to be handed out to students in your class who have outstanding behavior.
Step 1 - Students who are not following the policies and procedures in your class will first get a polite verbal warning. (I usually go up to the student privately and privately whisper that I need them to remember the classroom the rules and politely ask them to fix their behavior.)
Step 2 - If after a verbal warning, students are still struggling to follow classroom rules and procedures, they will get a yellow card. The student will need to fill out the card and answer questions about how they can fix their behavior. They then sign the card as a promise that they will fix their behavior.
Step 3 - If after a verbal warning and a yellow card, your student is still not following directions, you can give them a red card. The card is the exact same as the one before, but is printed on red paper. I usually have the student go to another teacher's classroom or a quiet spot in the room where the student can reflect on their behavior before returning to class. Red cards can be sent home to parents or used to issue consequences in your classroom (I like to have them write an apology letter or sometimes I have them miss a few minutes of recess so I can explain why their behavior wasn't appropriate for class).
MVP Cards - My students loved having the chance to earn MVP cards! I explained that MVP stands for Most Valuable Player and that they can earn MVP cards for their good behavior in class. I would look for different reasons to pass out MVP cards to my students. Sometimes it was for going out of their way to be kind, sometimes it was for setting a good example for the rest of the class, and sometimes it was for going above and beyond on an assignment. My students loved being able to go home and show their parents that they were the Most Valuable Player in class!
I have found a lot of success with using this behavior management system in my class! I think it helps teach students to be more accountable of their own behavior and will help eliminate problems in your class. Most of my students would fix their behavior after the verbal warning and would never even get to the point where they get a yellow or red card.
I have these printables available in my TeachersPayTeachers store. For the next two days (until Wed at midnight) I will offer this as a FLASH FREEBIE! You can go to my store and download this resource for FREE! After that, it will return to the regular price of $2.50.
I hope this will help your students learn manage their own behavior and will eliminate some of the behavior problems you are having in your classroom! If you use this, I would love to hear about your experiences in the comments!