I only have data on how these strategies worked in my classroom. These were not school-wide strategies. Many of them would not be appropriate or effective with older students. All I know is that they worked well for me and allowed me to teach the majority of the time instead of constantly be managing behavior. And I know that they were all extremely effective with kindergarten students.
Hi Lori, thanks for your comment and questions. I'm glad you found the behavior post helpful. It seems like a lot of the questions you're asking are addressed in that post. For example, if someone says please stop and the other student doesn't stop, the next step is to either tell the teacher (at which point you'd say, "He told you to stop and you have to stop. You either stop that right now or we'll ask you to leave." leave the group, the activity, the playground, whatever) OR teach them about and give them the responsibility or sending the classmate to timeout themselves. Trust me, kindergartners do NOT want their peers to send them for a timeout and they will almost always start. Read through the post again, carefully (I know, it's long) and jot down the top three ideas you want to try and be ready to use them. You've got to be ready, so that it looks like you're totally in charge and you don't miss a beat and can just continue teaching. Good luck! Let me know how it goes!
I hear what you’re saying and it probably is true in some classrooms. I haven’t really experienced that so I guess it’s just the way that I handle it. My students seem pretty calm about it, just acknowledging that, “Okay, I have to stay in and talk to her about this again.”
I like how you said it, Dani—we make classroom management too complicated. To me, it should resemble how we manage our own children. Set the rules and standard operating procedures and hold kids accountable. No fuss, no muss. (Okay, maybe a little. 😂)
I love how you make sure everyone is chosen as the “winner” eventually. Great compromise!
Yes, I can’t imagine doing the star chart with every student. And there’s no reason to. When I think back on how much Brayleigh and Ashlynn improved on managing impulsivity because of the star chart… it was huge! Brayleigh even transferred it over to her handwriting!
I really enjoyed this post. Someone posted it on fb and I'm so glad I read it. I am teaching k for the 2nd year and I am struggling so bad with behaviors this year. I've been teaching forever and I've never felt like behavior was an area I struggled with...
That being said I had a few questions about some of the things you said. Firstly, once you've taught the please stop strategy what do you do when kids just don't stop?
I love what you said about it being a privilege to learn I'm certainly going to use that. I feel like I've said it but not with such clarity and precision. What do you do though with kids who refuse to come to the area or refuse to do work, they just don't seem to care?
And what do I do about those kids who purposely do what I've asked them not to...I've tried ignoring it, praising others and no luck. I'm sure teaching about impulsively would help I just feel like I don't know how to do it in a way they will understand.
I really appreciated these past two post about behavior. It made me feel that what I am doing in my classroom is okay. I have only been teaching for 5 years and have gone back and forth on whether to have a reward system. Personally, I always end up hating it and not following through on it because I have a few that always struggle to get a reward or cry when they don't get it. Thank you for your honesty and I will definitely take these words to heart as I go into my next year.
Wow, so much in these 2 posts. Thank you for all of the hours you put in to them. I have printed of them out and will be re-reading and making notes for future reference.
I think sometimes we make classroom/behavior management too complicated. I appreciate your more simplified approach. It's so much about determining and setting clear expectations and being consistent in holding students accountable and following through consistently (easier said then done, BTW. This takes a lot of planning in advance!). When teachers are wishy washy, students don't feel secure, and negative behavior ensues.
This year through an online course I have been taking, I am focusing on specific character traits, and using read alouds for each character trait focus. This will be helpful, but so many of the simple day-to-day routines you shared (please stop, please go away, 1 2 3 Magic, etc.) are great tools! I am staying away from reward systems completely, although we have a school-wide ticket/reward system that other teachers use, so there's that. Weekly "winners" get their collected tickets chosen and they get to choose a prize. Does anyone else out there have this dilemma? I can't really opt out of the system since specialist teachers, playground paras, and reading group teachers use the system. The part I play is "choosing" the winning tickets each week - which I don't actually pick winning tickets. Instead, I keep track of who gets chosen each week so that everyone gets "picked" over time. Not a big deal really, but it does work against the intrinsic motivation we want kids to have for making good behavior choices.
I'm still on the fence with the star chart. I see its value, and saw first-hand with your frequent flyers how it helped them. I think my implementation was off, as I decided to try and "include" everyone in having a turn to be on the chart. This ended up being counterproductive and ineffective really for my frequent flyers. I think I just need to see who my students are and get a handle on the behaviors I am going to have before I make any specific behavior modification plans. Every year is a new year with different challenges.
You can always fade off the external rewards as the child increases use of skills to move from external to internal motivation! It is great for teaching a behavior/skill but fading the reward off should be the goal eventually!
The strategies shared here offer practical and thoughtful ways to support self-regulation and positive behavior in a kindergarten setting, fostering a classroom environment that balances accountability and compassion. Framing time-out as a positive choice rather than a punishment empowers students to self-regulate while maintaining dignity, while involving peers in addressing behaviors encourages collective responsibility when done thoughtfully. Tools like star charts can provide clear goals and celebrate progress, though their implementation should consider teacher capacity and equity. To ensure these strategies work effectively in a turnaround context, it’s important to align them with the school’s culture, monitor their impact, and provide professional development to support teachers. To what extent have you see these practices work in turnaround situations?
I like several of these and use these when coaching staff on behavioral techniques. Let us not forget that relationships is the core and many times, children need to feel a sense of belonging. Writing names on a board does not provide a sense of belonging and I do, indeed, see this as public shaming. If a teacher needs a reminder, a sticky note would do just as well. We have to always take into considering trauma and the impact that certain things can trigger in students as well.
Hello and thank you for your comment and questions! These strategies align with our school culture as they complement well our:
1. Classroom vision - We want a clean, safe, and fun classroom so we can learn and have fun.
2. PBIS slogan - ROAR (respect, on-task, always safe, responsible)
3. SEL "curriculum" called Habits of Mind
I only have data on how these strategies worked in my classroom. These were not school-wide strategies. Many of them would not be appropriate or effective with older students. All I know is that they worked well for me and allowed me to teach the majority of the time instead of constantly be managing behavior. And I know that they were all extremely effective with kindergarten students.
Hi Connie! Thanks for your comment. I see that you also emailed me about this. I will respond to you there.
Hi Lori, thanks for your comment and questions. I'm glad you found the behavior post helpful. It seems like a lot of the questions you're asking are addressed in that post. For example, if someone says please stop and the other student doesn't stop, the next step is to either tell the teacher (at which point you'd say, "He told you to stop and you have to stop. You either stop that right now or we'll ask you to leave." leave the group, the activity, the playground, whatever) OR teach them about and give them the responsibility or sending the classmate to timeout themselves. Trust me, kindergartners do NOT want their peers to send them for a timeout and they will almost always start. Read through the post again, carefully (I know, it's long) and jot down the top three ideas you want to try and be ready to use them. You've got to be ready, so that it looks like you're totally in charge and you don't miss a beat and can just continue teaching. Good luck! Let me know how it goes!
I hear what you’re saying and it probably is true in some classrooms. I haven’t really experienced that so I guess it’s just the way that I handle it. My students seem pretty calm about it, just acknowledging that, “Okay, I have to stay in and talk to her about this again.”
Excellent point! Thank you!
Are you talking about one of my students on a video you clicked on?
I like how you said it, Dani—we make classroom management too complicated. To me, it should resemble how we manage our own children. Set the rules and standard operating procedures and hold kids accountable. No fuss, no muss. (Okay, maybe a little. 😂)
I love how you make sure everyone is chosen as the “winner” eventually. Great compromise!
Yes, I can’t imagine doing the star chart with every student. And there’s no reason to. When I think back on how much Brayleigh and Ashlynn improved on managing impulsivity because of the star chart… it was huge! Brayleigh even transferred it over to her handwriting!
I loved her smile it was like sunshine!
Great! Thank you for your feedback! You’re going to love not having to find the time and money to hand out all of those rewards.
I really enjoyed this post. Someone posted it on fb and I'm so glad I read it. I am teaching k for the 2nd year and I am struggling so bad with behaviors this year. I've been teaching forever and I've never felt like behavior was an area I struggled with...
That being said I had a few questions about some of the things you said. Firstly, once you've taught the please stop strategy what do you do when kids just don't stop?
I love what you said about it being a privilege to learn I'm certainly going to use that. I feel like I've said it but not with such clarity and precision. What do you do though with kids who refuse to come to the area or refuse to do work, they just don't seem to care?
And what do I do about those kids who purposely do what I've asked them not to...I've tried ignoring it, praising others and no luck. I'm sure teaching about impulsively would help I just feel like I don't know how to do it in a way they will understand.
I really appreciated these past two post about behavior. It made me feel that what I am doing in my classroom is okay. I have only been teaching for 5 years and have gone back and forth on whether to have a reward system. Personally, I always end up hating it and not following through on it because I have a few that always struggle to get a reward or cry when they don't get it. Thank you for your honesty and I will definitely take these words to heart as I go into my next year.
Wow, so much in these 2 posts. Thank you for all of the hours you put in to them. I have printed of them out and will be re-reading and making notes for future reference.
I think sometimes we make classroom/behavior management too complicated. I appreciate your more simplified approach. It's so much about determining and setting clear expectations and being consistent in holding students accountable and following through consistently (easier said then done, BTW. This takes a lot of planning in advance!). When teachers are wishy washy, students don't feel secure, and negative behavior ensues.
This year through an online course I have been taking, I am focusing on specific character traits, and using read alouds for each character trait focus. This will be helpful, but so many of the simple day-to-day routines you shared (please stop, please go away, 1 2 3 Magic, etc.) are great tools! I am staying away from reward systems completely, although we have a school-wide ticket/reward system that other teachers use, so there's that. Weekly "winners" get their collected tickets chosen and they get to choose a prize. Does anyone else out there have this dilemma? I can't really opt out of the system since specialist teachers, playground paras, and reading group teachers use the system. The part I play is "choosing" the winning tickets each week - which I don't actually pick winning tickets. Instead, I keep track of who gets chosen each week so that everyone gets "picked" over time. Not a big deal really, but it does work against the intrinsic motivation we want kids to have for making good behavior choices.
I'm still on the fence with the star chart. I see its value, and saw first-hand with your frequent flyers how it helped them. I think my implementation was off, as I decided to try and "include" everyone in having a turn to be on the chart. This ended up being counterproductive and ineffective really for my frequent flyers. I think I just need to see who my students are and get a handle on the behaviors I am going to have before I make any specific behavior modification plans. Every year is a new year with different challenges.
You can always fade off the external rewards as the child increases use of skills to move from external to internal motivation! It is great for teaching a behavior/skill but fading the reward off should be the goal eventually!
The strategies shared here offer practical and thoughtful ways to support self-regulation and positive behavior in a kindergarten setting, fostering a classroom environment that balances accountability and compassion. Framing time-out as a positive choice rather than a punishment empowers students to self-regulate while maintaining dignity, while involving peers in addressing behaviors encourages collective responsibility when done thoughtfully. Tools like star charts can provide clear goals and celebrate progress, though their implementation should consider teacher capacity and equity. To ensure these strategies work effectively in a turnaround context, it’s important to align them with the school’s culture, monitor their impact, and provide professional development to support teachers. To what extent have you see these practices work in turnaround situations?
I like several of these and use these when coaching staff on behavioral techniques. Let us not forget that relationships is the core and many times, children need to feel a sense of belonging. Writing names on a board does not provide a sense of belonging and I do, indeed, see this as public shaming. If a teacher needs a reminder, a sticky note would do just as well. We have to always take into considering trauma and the impact that certain things can trigger in students as well.