Classroom Management Tips: Do You Really Need Behavior Charts?

👉 Get more info about behavior charts here: www.pre-kpages.com/behavior-r...
✨ Learn about my membership program here: bit.ly/teachingtrailblazers
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Here is a question I get all the time from my listeners: "Help, my kids are out of control! What can I do?"
Now, this is something every early childhood teacher has had to deal with in their career.
It's no secret that young children are not all angels. It's normal, they're kids, and they don't have as much impulse control as we do.
Plus, they're at that age when they're starting to feel like their own person and want to express themselves.
So, how do you make them behave in the classroom?
Well, what if teaching kids to behave wasn't about controlling their behavior, but instead about teaching them the skills they need to express their feelings and emotions?
And do you truly need behavior charts or are they obsolete?
This is exactly what I discuss in today's episode of Elevating Early Childhood, so, if this sounds like your cup of tea (and I know it does), tune in now!
Key Takeaways:
What is our goal with behavior in the classroom? (00:00)
Sharing one of your emails (00:16)
Behavior charts (01:58)
A story about Kevin (02:47)
Answering my listener's question (07:31)
Another quick story (10:27)
The importance of teaching the right skills (13:30)
Tip #1: Communicate (15:46)
Tip #2: Teach (17:30)
Tip #3: Differentiate (20:15)
What if your administrator mandates the use of a behavior chart? (21:33)
Peer pressure (23:27)
Additional Resources:
💠 Visit our website to find tons of pre-K teaching resources here:
www.pre-kpages.com/
💠 Get my book “Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers” here:
www.pre-kpages.com/teach-smar...
💠 Learn more about my membership program “Teaching Trailblazers” here:
bit.ly/teachingtrailblazers
💠 Get more info about behavior charts here: www.pre-kpages.com/behavior-r...
💠 Grab the Making Good Choices Behavior Management printable here: www.pre-kpages.com/products/m...
💠 Get a copy of "Punished by Rewards" by Alfie Kohn here: amzn.to/3I5k3XU
💠 Get a copy of "Teach Skills and Break Habits: Growth Mindsets for Better Behavior in the Classroom" by Dan St. Romain here: amzn.to/31cJNks
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Elevating Early Childhood is an early education podcast dedicated to helping Pre-K, Preschool, and Kindergarten teachers teach better, save time, and live more.
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#elevatingearlychildhood #preschool #behavior #behaviormanagement

[@lisapaffenroth8891]

I could not agree more with everything you said in this video. I have taught 3's for 9 years and here I am only two weeks into the year and I am ready to quit. I have 10 children in my class and one assistant. My assistant has little experience with children and a very old-school mentality. She constantly "scolds" the children and I spend as much time correcting her behavior as I do my children. Then she tells me that I am "not strict enough". And of my 10 children, I have 3 with serious behavior issues. I am not talking about wiggling, and talking during circle, these kids are rolling around and kicking friends, running all over the room, and being very disruptive. I was trained in a NAC accredited school and I feel like I have a lot of really good tools in my toolbox but I just am at my wits end on how to positively guide the three to participate appropriately in the activities.

[@chelseabrown1260]

I hear ya!

[@stephanieteal128]

This is so interesting. I am a teacher assistant in a NAC accredited learning center. We have 20 3 year olds with one lead teacher and one assistant. We face many struggles with behavior, even extreme behavior such a hitting and throwing toys out of anger. How do you handle these particular behaviors? I have also observed the children snatching toys from others and taunting each other with them. It can be very exhausting to deal with daily. I think we have too many kids between two of us.

[@PreKPagesvideos]

I'm going to assume you're in Texas or one of the neighboring states because those ratios are insane, I don't get how they can get away with that when other states have much lower ratios. Any classroom with 20 3 year-olds is going to be chaos. 3 year-olds hit and throw things out of frustration because a) they've only been on this planet for 36 months b) they may not have the language yet to adequately express themselves c) impulse control is an executive function skill that they haven't developed yet. What you can do: a) model repeatedly (daily) how to ask for a turn, wait for a turn, and what to do if someone says "no" b) give children the words they can use when asking for a turn and responding. This done through the daily modeling. Avoid using the term "use your words" because it assumes they already have the words to use. Never assume something has made it into their long term memory yet (see 36 month statement above) Hope this helps and good luck!

[@xNCFOREVERx]

When I do whole class rewards, I don't count students that are working on behaviors towards the reward. Also, I focus on improvement, not perfection when it comes to whole group points as well. I teach Kinder. I don't like behavioral charts bc it does not focus on improvement nor are they positive. I like bucket filling. I teach and model expectations as well as behavior, it helps a lot! We have problem-solving circles too if things come up

[@thesub-mission5038]

Your videos are great! I’m not a teacher but I watch your videos to know what to prep my pre K and Kindergartner for next school year. Thank you! Keep up the videos

[@mem4386]

Your video is excellent especially the perspective that you give us. I appreciate your help to be better teacher because I really enjoy teaching

[@smartypantsladies]

What you are speaking about now....really is why I like to use SEL as much as I can.

[@angelanew619]

Thank you so much for this video because I was told to use behavior chart for two years old. Most of the twos will not understand why we are using a behavior chart. I agree it is important to teach the skills you want to do.

[@charlenesteward195]

This was so good! Being an "out the box" type teacher myself , I totally agree with all of this. I have never used or had to use behavioral charts or incentives in my class. And I take great pride in that. Thank you for the confirmation 🙂.

[@debkeller2440]

I try to put my son in timeout he don't listen to me on my mom I tried paying him timeout because he likes to hit people and so stuff on the ground is only 10 years old and you don't chart and takes him in a corner doesn't doesn't work at all for my son

[@user-dy2sd6rk3s]

Love your transparency! You are an excellent teacher and provide a wealth of knowledge! Thanks so much.

[@myesltalk]

This is truly refreshing. I've learned a lot from you.

[@PreKPagesvideos]

I'm so glad!

[@Maple108]

Amazing strategies

[@jengiolando4159]

This goes for all levels. Pre-k on up!

[@PreKPagesvideos]

absolutely!

[@ascensioncano3606]

I love your videos and tips you have. Thank you so much...

[@PreKPagesvideos]

You are so welcome!

[@scarlettestrella8]

I have a 3 year old who hits throws and sometimes he targets the children i have 8 students and I'm by myself when he starts hitting and throwing i hold him and do a gentle restraint and I explain its not okay to hit if he is angry or throw i offer him other choices he yells no i explain i cant let him go until his body is safe its been so stressful this is my first year i tried the 5 star chart get a reward it was m&ms but he flips out when he doesn't get the m&m so that doesn't help

[@jengiolando4159]

It sounds like some of his needs aren’t be being met.

[@heidiwurl4454]

The power of our words

[@margaretconner9733]

Your videos have been so helpful! I am an old school teacher and new at the pre-K level and seeing your videos have really opened up my eyes to knew ideas and the important relationship between parents and the children. All are individual's and it is important for us as the early educators in their lives to help them succeed. Thank you!

[@user-su5nz9zh8p]

Love your information ❤

[@PreKPagesvideos]

Thanks for watching!

[@ebbrown8771]

This was good! I had to rewind and re-hear 12:48 a few times… Very good advice! Teaching behavior as an internal motivator… To be competent in the skill of self regulation ❤️

[@PreKPagesvideos]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@stephaniecole-sanchez9570]

agreeeeee. These extrinsics are ironically 'old school' tho they're ripped from Pinterest. It creates more antagonism and worse...ambivalent adults.

[@chelseabrown1260]

Thank you for the incites! I agree with everything you are saying. I use the star jar and look at it as more of a teamwork goal and activity for my class :) If we all work together we can earn a star. Now my star jar fills up quickly and everyone contributes. I also say if so and so is using their walking feet so they get a high five! They love it. Don't get me wrong I am doing all the following you have suggested but there is something about using these small fun fair tactics that has changed my class… however this is the first year I have actually used it. I am a big believer that every class has its own needs. Anyways good to have lots up your sleeve as an ECE :)

[@carolinabock2453]

Thank you so much for this!

[@yolandawilburn5581]

Oh my goodness this was right on time for me and I plan to share it with my co-teachs in my program.

[@vanessalevin7467]

@@yolandawilburn5581 Fantastic, I'm so glad you found it helpful!

[@vanessalevin7467]

You're welcome, I'm glad it resonated with you!

[@1_viewer]

Wahhh! 😥. No easy fix. Okay. Love that its about teaching vs compliance. I’ll try to keep that in mind tomorrow in class as i meet challenging behaviors. 👩‍🏫

[@vanessalevin7467]

@@1_viewer What makes it even trickier (and perhaps another podcast episode?) is that you can't teach skills when the behavior is occurring.

[@jengiolando4159]

I’ve also seen teachers use teacher vs student behavior systems.

[@ccc919]

What about behaviors like getting out of their seats and shouting out. These behaviors are very disruptive. How would you address these behaviors?

[@vanessalevin7467]

Those are skills that need to be taught, just like any other behaviors. There are other factors to be considered, such as hold old the children are, how long they're asked to be seated etc.

[@PORT.design]

I have been trying to figure out ways to have better behavior and classroom management in my classroom and of course do it in more developmentally appropriate ways. However, I have two big challenges 1. I have a large class size of 28 children 2. They are all Chinese and have very limited English speaking skills. Logically I know that it is my job to help teach them how to better manage their behaviors but due to the langauge divide I am at a loss on the best strategy to do this.

[@PreKPagesvideos]

You're in luck, I've worked exclusively with English Language Learners for more than 20 years - I started my career in Seoul, S. Korea. What you need are plenty of visuals like this: www.pre-kpages.com/products/making-good-choices-behavior-management/

[@jengiolando4159]

How do u feel about class dojo, besides it being confusing to set up?

[@PreKPagesvideos]

I know many teachers use it just for the communication aspect - without the points portion, but in my opinion it's not appropriate for behavior.

[@jengiolando4159]

@@PreKPagesvideos maybe u can do a video on that.

[@jengiolando4159]

I just noticed marble was misspelled!

[@PreKPagesvideos]

Are you referring to the blog post or on the video itself? I checked the blog post and found only one typo (expectations) but no references to marbles or spitting. If it's a typo on the captions that appear on the screen, then I can't fix it as this video was edited by my production company.

[@jengiolando4159]

@@PreKPagesvideos yes.

[@SuperRuthJ]

I have been teaching for 20 years and dislike the behaviour chart system! Never helped the behavioural problem. Even for my own children never liked it. These charts are demeaning to the child!

[@lecarsan7611]

I love the information provided but all the pop-ups throughout the video can be distracting...

[@PreKPagesvideos]

You may prefer the audio only version of the podcast, which is available on your favorite podcast app.

[@christysherrillbrock]

Please stop with the pop up noises. So annoying

[@PreKPagesvideos]

You may prefer to listen to the audio only version on your favorite podcast platform without the sound effects. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/elevating-early-childhood/id1559269005

[@jengiolando4159]

@@PreKPagesvideos i have this on both podcast and youtube. The popping sound comes up on the podcast as well.