Dear New TK and Kindergarten Teachers: Get Them Under Control

When an administrator walks into your classroom he is looking for many things but you can bet your last dollar that your classroom control is what he will notice first. Forget Common Core, Big Idea, Curriculum Maps, room environment, your highly engaging lesson, etc. if the kids are hanging off the ceiling. I hope new teachers are looking around for strategies that might work in their room so they can rock out behavior management. It is crucial. Set the tone now, while you can. Read on and see if this might be a solution!

So mine is a little different than most but I made sure I was using academic language to stay consistent with Common Core. Right? You can put this together in no time but the real work is in modeling this until you feel like screaming. When students are not doing what you expect, refer back to the chart. Ask them, " Are you on task?" " Are you being a learner?" No matter what, expect a five year old to say yes, regardless of what he is doing! Anyhow, this is far more explicit and will be a good management tool if you use it daily.  For very young children you can use a small photo on the end of each clothespin, as well as their name. This will serve as a scaffold for them. It is important for them to recognize their own pin and care about its placement

Allow children to make mistakes and the Oops can be a warning. If  behavior improves move their clothespin or students have nothing to gain by getting back to workand making better choices. Forgive them. Students at this age can be really impulsive and often give little thought to the consequences of their actions. What system do you like to use in your classroom for behavior management? If you like it you can grab it {here} and leave me a comment if you want.