Classroom Management Tools

I use a variation of the traditional "color card" system in my room. The traditional system uses green, yellow, and red cards to indicate student behavior. I have a fourth card, purple, in my system for children to work towards.

How it works:

Each day all of my children start on green. If a child is misbehaving, I move his card to yellow or red. I save red for major offenses or repeated offenses. If a child is behaving very well, I change his card to purple. Often if I see a child misbehaving, I look for a child who IS behaving and change that child to purple rather than changing the misbehaving child to yellow. Most children "straighten up" when you change a classmate to purple in hopes that they too can have purple. I change many more children to purple than yellow or red. This makes the system more of a positive reinforcement system than a negative or punitive system (like the traditional system is). Please note: Overusing the yellow or red in this system reduces the effectiveness. If a child does get yellow or red, he can still redeem himself and return to green. In the same

Consequences:

I try to make the consequences directly relate to the misbehavior and I make sure that children understand this relationship. For that reason, I don't have specific consequences that match misbehaviors or that correspond to the colors on my chart. I often offer choices regarding consequences to give the child some control (rather than engaging in a power struggle). For example: if a child does not complete his work during a lesson--due to "fooling around" or refusing to do it--I will offer him the choice of completing it at recess or center time. I am not punishing him; sitting out to complete the work is a natural consequence of not doing it in class. Another example: if a child is disrupting the class, I will offer him the choice of putting his head down at his table or sitting in our quiet chair (time out chair).

At the end of the day, children who are on purple get a small treat (pencil, eraser, tattoo, etc), children on green get a sticker or stamp, yellow gets nothing, and red gets a note or phone call home.

You can make a color card behavior chart by gluing (or using sticky-back) library pockets to a poster board. Then laminate the entire chart and use a razor blade to slit the pockets open. You can also use commercially made pocket charts--see picture on side panel for example(www.lakeshorelearning.com).

This is my teacher-made chart. It worked fine but only survived one year.

This system works very well for most of my children. For those who need something "extra", I use an individual behavior chart.

Tips and Tricks
	Name Tags That LAST For name tags that last, purchase one or two poly binders (the floppy kind). Cut the front and back cover off of the binder. Cut these sheets into name tags (I just use rectangles but you could get fancy). I used name badge clips (from Staples) but if you are short on funds, you could just use yarn or ribbon to attach the name tag to the child. For the badge clips, I hole punched a large oval (used a regular hole punch--several holes together) and slipped the clip through. For yarn or ribbon, just punch two holes and thread. You can write the children's names directly on the name tag or put a label on (but some children like to peel the label off). Since my tags are clear, I wrote directly on the tag and put a label on the BACK so the name will show up.
	Desk Tags That LAST A few years ago, Mailbox magazine suggested using paint stir sticks for name tags on tables or desks. They recommended painting one half red (for first name) and the other yellow (for last name). That was too time consuming but I did like how the sticks lasted all year. Now I simply spray paint the sticks yellow (use a glossy finish--Rust-oleum Gloss Protective Enamel works great!). To make a good idea even better, I use Velcro to attach the sticks to my tables. This makes it very easy to change assigned seats. I put the rough side of the Velcro on the table and the soft side on the sticks. I use one piece at each end of the stick. Make sure you place it in the same place on each stick so that they will be interchangeable. To make it very simple to apply the Velcro to the tables, I put the soft side on the sticks first and then stick the rough side to it. I lay out all of the sticks on the table and then peel the backing from the rough side. I have only had one stick destroyed in 5 years and that really required a lot of effort from a tantruming child!
	Lunch Money Containers My students use pin numbers when they purchase their lunches in the cafeteria. Of course the numbers are usually 4 digits and not very easy to remember. To help the children remember their numbers and to keep track of lunch money, we use empty film canisters. I use a silver Sharpie to write the child's name and pin number on the container and I cover the writing with clear tape (to keep it from rubbing off). The containers are the perfect size for holding coins. Bills can fit if you fold them. One additional benefit is that if the child gets change, the cafeteria staff just puts it back in the container. I provide the cafeteria with a plastic basket for the containers and they collect them from the children as they pay. No more coins accidentally thrown away with the tray.