So…as they say, “Behavior Happens”! After having several classes with my kinder and 1st grade students, I realized that I was going to have to come up with a way to encourage several students to make better choices. I talked to the classroom and other specials teachers, and together we brainstormed different behaviors that were causing problems in all our classes.
At my school, library is a part of the Special’s rotation along with PE, Art, Music, and Theater Arts. Except our district has combined Music and Theater Arts and we call it “Performing Arts”. So this is what our form looks like. Each of us will use this same form to that the students will be familiar with it.
For each form, I included an editable version where you could type your own behaviors that you wanted to monitor.
I’ve used the form with one student already. When he came to the library, I went over the form. We checked “library” and then I asked “What kind of day would you like to have?” He wanted to have a happy day, so we put a check mark by that face. I then went over the bottom portion and said “These are the things that you need to focus on doing in order to have a great day.” As I taught the lesson for the day, I gave him one reminder and after that I simply put a tally mark next to each behavior that happened. At the end of library, I showed him the form again and we counted the number of tally marks. I asked him “Do you think this was a good day?” and he agreed it was not his best day. I had him look at the number of tally marks and set a goal for the next library visit. (He had 8 tally marks, and set a goal of 6). I wrote that at the bottom of the page, gave him a high five for setting a good goal, and sent him on to class.
I’m hoping that by making him aware of the frequency of the distractions, he will be able to control his behaviors over time. I’m also going to talk to him on what he likes to do and use that as another way to encourage him to make good choices during the library lesson. I’m crossing my fingers that the next time he comes we can lessen the number of tally marks to a manageable number.
Do you have any other ideas on managing behaviors in your library? I’d love to hear your ideas!
Sandy
This is genius! Because I know what the classroom teachers say: What happens in the library, stays in the library" They don't want to know. But that doesn't change behavior expectations during an enrichment.
Thanks Patti! I do believe that all teachers (classroom, support, specials, etc) need to work together to help students be successful in all areas of school. I know this has helped with the communication between teachers and myself this year and hope it helps you as well!
This is a wonderful idea! It is such a smart idea to ask the student how they want to do in the class before they attend!
Thanks Angela! It proved helpful with certain students to get them back on track! 🙂