management plan

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Home : 2005 : May : 14

management plan
By Carolyn

I also teach kindergarten students. I have three classes of them. (I teach Spanish.) I have found that they basically respond in the same way as other age groups do to discipline plans.

With my K students, I use "smiley
face" cut-outs that I bought at the teacher store. They really do know that I'm unhappy when I turn the smiley face upside down, and that the group is in danger of not getting their "star" for the class that day. Three smileys upside down, and they don't get their star towards their "fiesta."
I have found over the years that children respond better to your requests when you approach

discipline in a positive, rather than a negative way. We can't ignore the negative approach altogether, but a positive approach, combined with continuous reinforcement, goes a long way towards changing behavior.

Have you tried:

1. I like the way Sarah's table is quietly sitting and is ready to listen.

2. Wow. Look at Jona;than's table! They were cleaned up first.

3. Individual behavior charts on the wall, with smiley stickers given for really great days.

4. Working with the lights off to calm them down.

5. Playing quiet background music.

One first grade teacher I work with had a really unruly class at the beginning of the year. She is soooo positive that she really turned the kids around. If they do very well, she, or another teacher who has caught them being good, write letters on the board to make the word COMPLIMENT. The kids also get marbles in their jar when their table is especially good at listening or behaving.

It's a lot of time and effort, but I think that the kindergarten children just need constant reminders and reinforcement for good behavior.