Confidently Teach Your Behavior Management System with These 3 Tips

Okay, you have your behavior management system planned out, your routines and procedures written down, and your consequences and rewards ready to go! So….now what? I’ve curated my top 3 tips just for you so you can confidently teach and implement your behavior management system during the first weeks of school. 

Not to worry if you don’t have your behavior management system nailed down just yet. Check out this blog post to streamline your classroom management methods so you can hit the ground running with your implementation. 

Tip #1: Practice Classroom Management Routines 

We have all heard the age old saying, “Practice makes perfect,” but I’m telling you…there is NEVER enough amount of practicing when it comes to implementing your behavior management system. 

As soon as you have taught your classroom management routines, it’s time to practice, practice, practice starting day one! 

On the first day of school, model your classroom management routines and expectations for your students and let them practice. Now, I know what you are thinking…this sounds a little boring, but guess what?? It doesn’t have to be! Stay with me here!

Make practicing your routines and procedures fun for your students and integrate it into your day. Get creative with this or try some of the ideas below. 

Examples: 

• Make lining up for lunch a game! If your students are seated in groups, have them practice lining up table by table. If a whole table group can perform the expectation the first time, award table group points. Give out a Skittle at the end of the day for the table group with the highest points. (You would be amazed at what students will do for a Skittle….haha!) 
• Make a Kahoot! Game to review your classroom rules, routines, and expectations. This is so much fun, and your students will LOVE it! 
• Play Transition Tic-Tac-Toe with your students. You can read more about this strategy here. It is pretty self-explanatory. If your students can transition within the time frame, they add a token to the tic-tac-toe board. If they do not make a transition, reteach and practice again…then the teacher adds their token to the tic-tac-toe board. If students earn a tic-tac-toe, they can earn a class reward. This is a really fun and effective strategy! 

Tip #2 Consistent Classroom Management 

The best advice that I was ever given for implementing behavior management systems is to stay firm, fair, and consistent. Let’s break each of these down: 

• Firm: Being firm does not mean being unkind or strict. It means that you have set a boundary that students will not cross. If students don’t line up quietly, being firm looks like you having the entire class go back to their seats to try lining up again until they can all demonstrate the expectations you have set. 
• Fair: Teachers who demonstrate fairness, do what they say they will do. Don’t bend your rewards and consequences “just this one time.” I promise you that it will backfire. If one of your best students earns a negative consequence, you must treat them the same as you would one of your frequent behavior fliers. 
• CONSISTENCY IS KEY!!! Stick with your plan. Consistent classroom management practices allow you to know if what you are doing is working or not. Your students crave routine, and staying consistent will only help them respond quicker. If after 3-4 weeks of being consistent you find that your students are not responding to the plan, take it as your sign to tweak or try something new. 

Tip #3 Behavior Management Tools 

This tip is more of a caution when it comes to using behavior management tools. If you scroll through social media, you will see lots of different behavior management tools that teachers love and use in their classrooms. 

These are all wonderful ideas, and you should definitely save them if they spark your interest. However…simple is best when it comes to classroom management. I have made the mistake of adding everything and the kitchen sink to my behavior management system, only to find out that I couldn’t stay consistent with it all, it became time-consuming, or I ran out of ideas when things went south. 

It’s best to start simple and add from there as you see fit for the needs of your students. You can always keep those wonderful and fun strategies in your back pocket to use when you need to add a little extra spice. Just make sure that you can remain consistent. 

There you have it, my friend! I’m so excited for you to get those systems up and running. You are well on your way to a smooth running, chaos-free classroom! 

If you are looking for more ideas for developing your perfect classroom management system, download the guide below. Don’t miss page 9 for my BEST trick when it comes to dealing with disruptive behavior during instruction. I think you will love it!