Peer Interaction Tracking Chart

This is a chart I use to track positive peer interactions for students. This helps me to see if they are applying the social skills learned in my classroom to non-structured settings (lunch, recess, and hallways). The directions for usage are at the top of the chart. I hope it is useful to you!

Classroom Visits

This is my first year teaching as an exclusive BD teacher. In my previous positions, I work with students who may have had both academic and behavior goals on their IEPs. Now, I share my students with academic special education teachers. It is a pretty nifty system most of the time. But, sometimes working exclusively with BD kiddos, I get stuck in a rut and visiting other classrooms can be a way to dig myself out!

My principal and superintendent granted me the privilege to visit two BD classrooms in neighboring school districts today. It was both comforting and enlightening. The teachers that I spoke with shared many of the same concerns about their students as I have. Students refusing to use or carry behavior tracking charts, other teachers not taking the behavior charts seriously, and finding time to teach the necessary social skills when there is so much pressure to use special education time for work completion.

However, I also did gain some valuable ideas about teaching methods and curriculums to use back in my classroom. One teacher chose to use some behavior specific programs. The other two teachers chose to use a variety of materials, including games, to help students learn social skills. I think that each teacher needs to find what works best for his/herself and his/her students.

If you are given a chance to spend a day visiting classrooms, especially at other schools, be sure to jump at it! It just might be the refresher you need!

Have You Filled a Bucket Today?

One book that I love to read in my classroom is Have You Filled a Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud. I like to read this story in conjunction with an actual bucket and objects to put in the bucket.

When I read this story, I have students write down things that they or others have said that would be bucket fillers and things that they or others have said that would be bucket dippers. After I read each statement aloud we either add something to the bucket or we take something out. It is a visual way to show how out "buckets" work and the things we say and do do affect others.

Try it in your classroom!

Behavior Tracking Charts

In special education, we are required to track student progress on a consistent basis. In my case, I do this daily for most of my students. For these students, they carry a "Behavior Tracking Chart" with them throughout the school day. The chart looks something like this:

Students are expected to carry this chart with them to each of their classes. I figure a percentage of positive (+) out of a total number of marks given. For example, if a student earns four +'s for the day and four -'s, then he/she will earn a score 50%. I then average these percentages over a two-week period and enter that data into the student's IEP.

If the student is entitled to or benefits from breaks, I use the "Breaks" column to track this information. I also make sure to read any comments from teachers and address those as necessary.

Reasons these charts work well:

• The charts provide immediate feedback to a student on their behavior during a particular class period.
• Stakeholders (parents, teachers, administration, etc.) can get daily reports on a student's behavior.
• Behavior can be seen to have its rises and falls and patterns may begin to emerge (issues with particular teachers, times of day, certain subjects, certain days of the week, etc.).
• The chart can be used for the student to earn rewards.

Difficulties with the behavior charts:

• Sometimes when a student earns a minus (-) for his/her behavior, she/he may "fall off the wagon" for the rest of the day.
• The charts are not necessarily private since they are brought out each class period. They can cause peer issues of teasing.
• Students may not really care about how their day is going so the chart doesn't have any "teeth."
• Teachers may have other behavior issues with students that are hard to track on the chart.

As you might assume, problems also arise with this type of data collection. The most frequent issues I run into are:

• Students refusing to carry the chart.
• Teachers not filling in the chart.
• Students "losing" or destroying the chart when they receive a minus (-) sign or poor overall score.
• Students not taking the chart to particular classes.

Solutions that I have tried with these issues include (none are perfect!):

• Offering rewards for returning a completed chart.
• Having students serve lunch/recess time in my classroom.
• Having the chart move among just teachers.
• Switching the students data collecting system.
• Reminding teachers to ask the students for their charts.
• Having the student carry the chart only on certain days of the week.

I hope this chart can help you and your students track daily behavior!

Negotiating with Students

As teachers (and parents, I assume), we want the children in our lives to be able to negotiate for their rights and privileges. However, when a student at school asks to do something a little differently, they are often met with confrontation and ridicule from their teachers. From my perspective as a special education teacher, I need my students to be able to advocate for themselves and negotiating is a life-long skill that can help them do just that.

Negotiating is a powerful tool to utilize with students. It can be motivating for them to have the power to choose which problems they will be doing. It can be encouraging to them that they do have some choice in how they will do a project. Many times, students are willing to do more than what we ask of them but teachers often limit this when they don't give students the chance to negotiate a deal with them.

Negotiating with students doesn't have to be time consuming. Today, for example, I gave a student a packet of 130 math problems. I asked how many he thought he would be able to do. He told me he would be willing to do 50. 50! How many students do you know that would happily do 50 math problems if that was what was assigned to them? However, when I gave this student the choice of how many problems to do, he was willing to do more than what I would have likely assigned in the first place.

If, in your case, you don't think doing 50 problems is enough, then you begin the negotiating process. This is where you can offer 75 (or more) problems and meet in the middle with your student. What a powerful skill you are truly teaching your students that would have been a lesson missed if you as a teacher were unwilling to negotiate!

Early Morning Exercise

Recently, I started doing morning exercises with my fifth and sixth grade students. I do this for a few reasons.

1. Exercise boosts brain power. (Check out John Medina's book Brain Rules - I couldn't put it down!)
2. Exercise produces endorphins (Those lovely "happy" feelings!)
3. Exercise gets students following directions right away.

I run the session by having students draw tongue depressor sticks with an exercise, stretch, or yoga pose written on the stick. Each student draws one stick and we perform that exercise. These are the exercises, stretches, and yoga (kid friendly names) poses we are currently using (subject to be added to!):

• 20 arm circles
• 15 seconds of hurdler stretch
• 30 seconds of bridge pose
• 30 seconds of mountain pose
• 5 deep breaths
• 10 push-ups/knee push-ups
• 30 seconds of tree pose
• 10 seconds of downward facing dog
• 10 knee bends
• 30 seconds of chair pose
• 30 seconds of candle pose
• 30 seconds of toe reaches
• 10 windmills
• 30 seconds of rag doll pose
• 30 seconds of butterfly stretch
• 10 straight jumps
• 30 seconds of child's pose
• 30 seconds of plank pose
• 30 seconds of a forward bend stretch
• 30 seconds of table pose
• 10 sit-ups/crunches
• 10 jumping jacks
• 30 seconds of peacock pose

Try this in your classroom at any time of the day to see if it helps your students to focus and be more ready to learn!