Classroom Behavior Management Ideas Using a Stoplight
Developing new classroom behavior management systems is important for a couple of reasons. First of all, students might grow immune to one particular program and stop responding to it. Additionally, when there is some sort of game involved, many younger children will be more likely to respond to the approach.
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Stoplight Poster for Talking
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Create a picture of a stoplight on a poster board and attach to the blackboard or somewhere else that students can easily see. Draw red, green and yellow circles in a stoplight fashion. Have an arrow that you can easily attach to the poster. When students are supposed to be silent, change the arrow to red. Point the arrow toward the yellow circle when they can whisper at their seat and toward the green when they can walk and talk.
Stoplight Poster for Limiting Talking
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You can utilize the same poster board to quiet the children down when they are being too loud. Instead of just using it to direct the initial actions, move the arrow to red when they are becoming too loud at either the yellow or green levels. Make sure to explain to the children what you are doing. Younger children are often intrigued by such practices, and some teachers have found that their classes are more inclined to listen to the stoplight than to them.
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Individual Assessment
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You can use the stoplight to access individual student behavior as well. Construct a stoplight made out of wood or consider purchasing a ready-made one. Each student should have a clothespin with his name on it. Create pockets next to each color on the stoplight. All of the students' clothespins should be attached to the green pocket at the beginning of the day. Students who misbehave once are moved to the yellow area and students who misbehave more than once are moved to the red area.
Modified Stoplight
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An alternative to the individual assessment idea is to add another color level to the stoplight. Orange is appropriate, since it is the blend of red and yellow. When a student misbehaves, she moves to the yellow. Two acts of misbehavior warrant a move to orange, as well as some sort of punishment. Students are only moved to the red if they engage in a severe act of defiance, and they receive notifications home to their parents.
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References
- Photo Credit RE class image by redrex from Fotolia.com
