Teacher Evaluation

Teacher evaluations are used to measure teacher performance and success. Evaluations vary by state, county, district, and school. Most states have a type of evaluation process that is required to be used in the public school systems. Private schools and charter schools often have a little bit more flexibility with this. In this blog post, I am going to compare two different teacher evaluation systems. The first is the evaluation system shown in the Teaching Channel video regarding the new teacher evaluations at Herricks High School in Long Island, New York. The video can be found here.

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/preparing-for-formal-observations

The second system is the evaluation system used in the state of North Carolina. I am familiar with this system because I spent my first year teaching in a public middle school in North Carolina.

Herricks High School's system for evaluation seemed to be very effective and informative. The evaluator described that the new teacher would be observed four times throughout the school year. Each evaluation has three parts: a pre-observation meeting, a formal observation, and a post observation meeting. Both the teacher and the evaluator contributed to the conversation and were able to discuss the lesson before the new teacher was observed. This gave the evaluator some background on what she would be seeing and what she should look for. During the evaluation, the new teacher was able to be more at ease since she had already had a good conversation with her evaluator. After the lesson, the two teachers met and the post-observation meeting gave the new teacher an opportunity to reflect on her teaching and receive great feedback. She had an opportunity to dispute anything she did not agree with and to ask questions. The entire process felt very real. It wasn't just a form that was filled out and turned into a higher-up official. Instead, the process was a productive conversation that would give the new teacher valuable feedback that she could use to improve her teaching practices.

The evaluation system in North Carolina that I was exposed to was much more formal and calculated. I didn't have an opportunity to meet with my evaluator before the meeting. The evaluator in North Carolina is typically the principal of the school instead of a teacher who teaches the same subject area as the newer teacher. The evaluation form for North Carolina is broken down into many categories, and the teacher is scored as one of the following: Developing, Proficient, Accomplished, Distinguished, or Not Demonstrated. A teacher must meet each of the categories in the section to be given that score. For example, if a teacher meets everything in the developing section, and two out of three in the proficient section, she will be scored as developing. In order to be "proficient" she must meet all three areas in proficient.

In some ways, I think this is a great system. It is is consistent and it really does include all of the elements of a successful teacher. On the other hand, there is little room for discussion and for input that will actually help the teacher to grow. Each time I was evaluated, I felt as if I had no idea what to do next. I didn't know what my "next steps" were because the evaluator was too busy circling categories to make notes on my actual teaching. I realize that some rubric must exist, but I also think that personalized feedback is an important part of the evaluation process.

To conclude, I would like to include the categories in which I believe a teacher should be evaluated:

1. Leadership in the Classroom and in the School
2. Mastery of Content Area
3. Ability to Differentiate and Meet Student Needs
4. Maintaining a Positive Classroom Climate
5. Planning, Preparation, and Instruction

Pre-Assessment for Differentiation

Pre-assessments are an essential component of teaching effectively. As a math teacher, I find pre-assessments to be especially helpful when planning for instruction. I need to assess where my students are at before I can dive in and begin teaching new content. Mathematics material continually builds on previously learned material, so without a pre-assessment, I could be setting my students up for failure. 

With this assignment, I chose to focus on a topic that I would typically teach a few months into the year in pre-algebra. The topic is solving equations with one variable. I decided to create a ten question Kahoot quiz.  Click this link to access the Kahoot I created for a pre-assessment. This quiz will allow me to quickly and effectively assess student understanding. I will be able to gauge how well students remember how to solve equations. From there, I will be able to accurately group students into one of three groups. 

The first group will be reserved for students who miss 0-2 questions on the pre-assessment. These will be my students who really have a strong understanding of the material already, and are ready to move on and learn more. These students will be working in partners and independently. Since they have demonstrated that they understand the pre-assessment material, they will be focusing on furthering their understanding and even creating their own Kahoot with their own questions. 

The second group will be for students who miss 3-4 questions on the pre-assessment. These students will likely remember how to solve equations, but need to brush up on their skills before moving on. After working in groups on problems similar to what was seen on the pre-assessment, these students will retake the Kahoot. Assuming they have mastered the material at this point, they will begin working with a partner on enrichment problems. They will use algebra tiles to assist them in their problem solving and to gain a deeper understanding of how equations work. As a final assessment, they will be taking an enriched version of the Kahoot with more challenging problems. 

Finally, my lowest group and the group that needs the most intervention will be the students who miss 5 or more questions on the Kahoot. These students will need one-on-one and group intervention to relearn the material before moving on. They will work with the teacher in a small group to learn how to solve one variable equations. After relearning the content and practicing on their own, students will retake the original Kahoot. From there, they will work with a partner and with algebra tiles to get more practice solving equations. Then, they will retake the Kahoot one last time to demonstrate mastery. If at any time the students in this group seem to have mastered the content, they can be moved into the mid-level group.

I created a chart to display all of the strategies and assessments I plan to use. Here is the link to my Lucid Chart. You can also view it below.

References: 


Pendergrass, E. (2013). Differentiation: It Starts with Pre-Assessment. Educational Leadership, 73 (4). Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/dec13/vol71/num04/Differentiation@_It_Starts_with_Pre-Assessment.aspx

High Stakes Assessments

In our public school systems in the United States, high stakes testing has become a huge topic of conversation and debate. Districts, states, and even the federal government use state tests like the STAR exam or the North Carolina EOG exams to determine which teachers will get raises and how much funding the school will receive. These scores can have great implications on students, teachers, schools, and districts. During my past few years of teaching, I have had an interesting experience with high stakes testing. During my first year teaching, I taught in a Title 1 public school in rural North Carolina where high stakes testing were constantly at the forefront of my mind. After that, I moved to California and had a polar opposite experience working in a private college prep school in San Diego that is not required to use state exams. I have chosen to compare and contrast the effects of high stakes testing, and lack thereof, at these two very different schools.

During my time in North Carolina, I will admit that I often taught to the test. It is a phrase all educators have heard, and we don't like to admit to it. As a first year teacher at E.E. Smith Middle School, I felt a lot of pressure to make sure that my students passed the state exam. The school I worked out overly emphasized testing. Students were required to take benchmark tests six times per year, and these scores were poured over at staff meetings. Every teacher was brutally aware of their own scores and their fellow teachers' scores. I felt an immense amount of pressure as did my students. I issued many tests and quizzes in class to try to prepare them for these high stakes tests. Many hours were spent testing and preparing for taking the test. In an ideal world, I would have loved to have the opportunity to spend more time on project based learning and non-traditional assessments. Though I do think that high stakes tests are valuable and necessary to some degree, they begin to lose some steam when they are overused and over emphasized. Once February came around, it seemed that all we talked about in class was preparing for the 8th grade math EOG (end of grade) exam. The students were stressed about passing and I was stressed about preparing them. Our school did not have a strong track record and most of my students were performing below grade level. High stakes tests don't show student growth, and I was concerned that my students would be disheartened by their scores and I would be embarrassed as well. Math and Language Arts teachers alike were always on edge about EOG exams, and students were frustrated with the pressure.

The school I currently teach at could not be more different that E.E. Smith. Pacific Ridge School is a private 7th through 12th grade school that is nontraditional in many ways. Teachers have a great deal of freedom in how they teach their content, and standardized tests do not exist. Being a private school, we do not have to subscribe to the state standards. When I first began working at Pacific Ridge, I wondered how students would be motivated without a test at the end of the year or the grading period to hold over their heads. I was so used to the idea of preparing students for a high stakes test that I didn't even know where to begin with my lessons. I quickly realized what a privilege it was to simply be able to teach my content and have freedom to use creative assessments rather than high stakes tests. Students were more engaged and actually enjoyed assessments to some degree. I still am at times surprised by the stark difference in student moral. Of course, these students will one day take part in high stakes testing like the SAT to get into college, but it is not an immediate concern for my middle school students. I have found that the overall moral and motivation is much higher when students are excited about a project or a creative way to demonstrate their learning. I still use chapter tests on a regular basis, but these just let me know I am teaching them what they need to know and they are understanding the material. There is much less pressure to get every single student to perform at the same standard. Instead, there is a big focus on growth and on the whole student and the whole picture, not just their test score.

Unit Plan: Area and Perimeter

4th Grade Mathematics

Standard: 

4.MD.3 Apply the area and perimeter formulas for rectangles in real-world and mathematical problems. For example, find the width of a rectangular room given the area of the flooring and the length, by viewing the area formula as a multiplication equation with an unknown factor.

Vision for the Unit: 

This unit will be goals-based and will include a final culminating project. Each day, students will be working toward meeting a specific objective or goal. The goals will be posted on the board, and students will be aware of what they are working towards at all times. We will spend on average two days per goal/objective. In addition to being goals-based, my vision is to also include various projects and hands-on learning activities. My lesson plans provide more details regarding these projects and activities, and the culminating project for the unit is described below. 

When I think about this unit, I have a vision of students being very hands-on at all times. I want students measuring objects to make calculations, collaborating with peers, and finding unique ways to solve problems. This unit is very application based and I want students to see the value of understanding and using area and perimeter in the real world. All the lessons will be developed with that in mind. I want students to think critically, learn to approach problems with different methods, and have an excellent conceptual understanding of area and perimeter by the end of the unit. 

I have selected the approaches listed above because I think that keeping my unit goal-oriented and project based is the best way to help students achieve mastery of these concepts. In general, I think that math units should be based on goals and centered around projects to keep things interesting and keep students engaged. 

Summative Assessment: 

There will be two summative assessments in this unit. The first assessment is a project-based assessment, and the second is a unit test.

Design Project: Students will be given a floor plan of a house that is on a piece of rectangular land. Students will be asked to use their knowledge of area and perimeter to find how much carpet they would need (in square feet) to re-carpet the entire house. Students will also have to find the perimeter of the yard, so that a fence can be installed. Finally, students will be given a price for the carpet and the fencing materials. They will need to find out how much it will cost for all of the renovation based on their area and perimeter calculations. Students will have options for types of carpet they can select. There will be different price points, so no to projects will be identical. This will be a great, fun way for students to demonstrate their learning. 

Test: The second assessment will be a more traditional assessment. Students will take a unit test to demonstrate their learning. The test will cover all objectives described below. 

Objectives:

Objective	Level of Bloom’s Taxonomy
Objective 1: Students will be able to provide and explain the area and perimeter formulas.	Remembering and Understanding
Objective 2: Students will be able to find the area of any given rectangular shape, building, or room by applying the area formula (A=lw).	Applying
Objective 3: Students will be able to find the perimeter of any given rectangular shape, building, or room by applying the perimeter formula.	Applying
Objective 4: Students will be able to apply area and perimeter formulas to work backwards & find the length of missing sides when provided with the area or perimeter.	Analyzing and Evaluating
Objective 5: Students will be able to create their own area and perimeter problems to demonstrate understanding of the standard.	Creating

Sequencing and Scaffolding: 

I will be teaching the lessons in order of the objectives listed above. Below is an overview of my pacing for the lessons: 

Day 1: Introduction to Area and Perimeter (Objective 1) 

Day 2 & 3: Area of Rectangular Shapes (Objective 2)

Day 4 & 5: Perimeter of Rectangular Shapes (Objective 3)

Day 6 & 7: Working Backwards (Objective 4)

Day 8: Application and Creation with Area and Perimeter (Objective 5)

Day 9: Design Project (Objectives 1-5)

Day 10: Unit Test (Objectives 1-5) 

I have already created three lessons for this unit. I will need to create lessons for 7 more days, as well as create a unit test. I also will need to work on developing a rubric and more specific information for the design project. The way that I have set up my lessons and pacing makes it easy to scaffold material. I wrote my objectives in a way where they will build off of each other as we progress through the unit. At the beginning of the unit, we will do an overview of area and perimeter. As the unit progresses, the learning will become more hands on and student-centered. By the end of the unit (Day 9) the activity will be 100% student focused. I will be fascinating rather than “teaching” and will be able to move about the classroom and provide reinforcement and help when needed. I decided to still have a test at the end of the unit, because I think it is important for students to “practice” testing. I don’t want them to struggle when we reach end-of-grade exams at the end of the year. They need to be set up for success, so sometimes a more traditional assessment is necessary in addition to project based assessments. 

Planning Assessments

Planning thoughtful formative and summative assessments is an essential part of the teaching process. Formative assessments keep the teacher constantly informed about how well a student understands the material. Formative assessments can range from something as simple as calling on students to answer questions, to a brief exit ticket, to a group project. In contrast, summative assessments are used to provide the teacher with a final understanding of student learning. Summative assessments include unit exams or state testing done at the end of the year.

In this post, I am going to focus on the importance of developing effective and informative formative assessments. The assessments will revolve around helping students to meet a specific objective:

Students will be able to find the perimeter of any given rectangular shape, building, or room by applying the perimeter formula. 

In planning my formative assessments, I will keep several things in mind:

1- Timing: Is this assessment going to easily fit into my busy schedule? Is it reasonable to think that I will be able to get this down in a timely manner?
2-Accuracy: Is this assessment going to provide me with accurate information about where my students are at with the material?
3- Consistency: Is this assessment going to be consistent with providing data and feedback? Will I be able to use this assessment for all students so I can compare their learning and level of understanding?

Next, it is time to plan my formative assessments for the objective. I have selected four formative assessments that I think will meet the above criteria, and benefit my students learning while providing me with valuable information. The assessments are provided in the order in which I would use them in my lesson:

1. Bell Ringer: Students have 3 minutes to answer 3 questions about perimeter. This will be quick, straightforward, and fairly simple. Students will turn the sheet in as soon as it is finished, so I can quickly scan their answers and see how they are doing with perimeter. Students should already know the perimeter formula. The focus in 4th grade is on application. Therefore, three simple questions asking students to compute perimeter for rectangular shapes should be a reasonable task. The information will let me know if students already know perimeter. If they don't I will be able to quickly reteach the formula. If they do, we can move on and get into the application problems sooner than later.

2. Partner Perimeter Race: Students will have a partner. Each partner will have a ruler and together the students will share 10 cutout rectangular shapes. The shapes will be made of laminated, colored, construction paper. Students will use rulers to find the length and width of the shapes, and compute the perimeters. Partners will write down their final answers, including units (feet, inches, centimeters, etc) on a sticky note (with their names of course!). Students will stick the note on the door as they leave for recess. I will review the answers at recess and see how students are doing. Then I can make an assessment about where to go from there. IF students are ready and have mastered these simple perimeter problems with measurement, we can move on to word problems.

3. Perimeter Jeopardy: Students will be split into groups of four. I will have created a jeopardy game with questions about perimeter. The questions will include easy problems, such as simply computing perimeter when given a picture of a shape, and more challenging problems such as word problems describing real life situations. All students will be required to answer the questions, even if it is not their groups turn to choose a category. I will be able to quickly gauge which students have mastered the concept, and provide additional instruction when needed throughout the game.

4. Exit Ticket: I will have a poster on the wall at the back of the classroom. As students are dismissed to get their backpacks at the end of the day, they will put a sticky note on the poster answering TWO of the following:
-What is one thing that you liked from today's lesson on perimeter?
-Describe what perimeter means?
-What is the perimeter formula?
-If you have a question about perimeter still, what is it?
-Create your own perimeter problem and solve it!

Understanding and Applying Standards

The process of unpacking a standard can feel daunting at first, but by following careful methods and putting in the work, it is absolutely worth it. As a teacher, I must focus on first unpacking standards to ensure that I have a plan for covering everything my students need to know. Next, I must focus on backwards mapping so that students can arrive at the end goal. Teaching is not simply about putting information out there for students to absorb. Teaching is about finding a way to teach a student something that they can use and apply later. If the end goal is not always in sight, teaching efforts may be useless. In addition, writing out SMART goals is an excellent way to provide both the teacher and student with a goal that can be easily met. 

In activity one, I chose to unpack two 4th grade mathematics standards based on the California Common Core curriculum. I found this process to be a bit overwhelming at first, as I wasn't sure where to begin. The videos I watched helped me to understand what it meant to "unpack" a standard. From there, I was able to break down each standard and pick out the important nouns and verbs. Next, I was able to think about the end goal, and possible projects or ways that students could achieve the goal. I found this activity to be very helpful. As a new teacher, unpacking standards will be very important as I begin to dive into the curriculum. Standards often contain a lot of content, and the process of unpacking helps to break down the important topics and give direction for planning. 

After selecting and unpacking two standards, I began activity two. In this activity, I learned about the process of backwards mapping, and then applied it to my selected standards. I love the idea of backwards mapping. It ensures that the teacher is keeping the end goal in mind at all times. No activity or assessment is done without purpose. Students can buy into this idea. Valuable instructional time is not wasted, and lessons are taught thoughtfully. I absolutely plan to use backwards mapping when I begin unit planning as a teacher. After looking at standards, it was very helpful to first consider the skills and proficiencies that students should acquire. From there, I considered how I could best help students to achieve these skills. Finally, I considered what assessments I would need to create and administer to let me know, as the teacher, that students have mastered the skills. 

The last activity was especially helpful as I begin to think about unit planning. Be able to write clear objectives that meet the SMART criteria is an important skill. Objectives not only help the teacher, but provide the student with a sense of what they should be working toward. Objectives are key to success, and keep the classroom and the lesson goal oriented at all times. 

Overall, I felt that the activities this week really helped me to gain a greater understanding of the importance of unit planning. I picked up several extremely helpful skills and methods that I plan to use. 

Backwards Mapping

As a California resident, I have chosen to take a closer look at the Common Core State Standards adapted for California. I hope to teach elementary school, so I have selected a standard for 4th grade mathematics. The California math standards can be accessed at:
http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/documents/ccssmathstandardaug2013.pdf 

Standard 4.MD.3 (The abbreviation should be read - 4th Grade.Measurement and Data.Standard 3) Apply the area and perimeter formulas for rectangles in real-world and mathematical problems. For example, find the width of a rectangular room given the area of the flooring and the length, by viewing the area formula as a multiplication equation with an unknown factor.

I selected this standard because it focuses on applying mathematics to a real world problem. Common Core curriculum is focused on application and helping students to reach an endpoint where they are successful mathematicians who can apply their learning to life outside the classroom. To me, this standard has a clear endpoint and can also be taught in exciting ways. There is no need to teach this standard traditionally. Instead, students will be able to explore through measurement and real life calculations. This standard will allow me to create several fun, engaging lessons for a 4th grade class.

Common Core has developed 8 standards of mathematical practice. When beginning the backwards mapping process, I have found it is very important to first take a careful look at these practices. Common Core has created these practices as an end result for all students, whether they are in Kindergarten or in 12th grade. The chart below details the mathematical practices: 

With these ideas in mind, I can move forward with the backwards mapping process and take a careful look at my selected standard: 

Apply the area and perimeter formulas for rectangles in real-world and mathematical problems. For example, find the width of a rectangular room given the area of the flooring and the length, by viewing the area formula as a multiplication equation with an unknown factor.

First, I must consider the skills or proficiencies that students should develop by the time they have completed this unit. 

• Students will be able to find the area of any given rectangular shape, building, or room by applying the area formula (A=lw).
• Students will be able to use their knowledge of multiplication and division to find the length of a missing side when given one side and the area of a rectangular shape. 
• Students will be able to find the perimeter of a rectangular shape, room, or object when given only two side lengths. 
• Students will understand the two perimeter formulas and how to apply them. They will also understand that the formulas mean the same thing, but sometimes one formula is more beneficial to use than the other. (P = 2L + 2W or P = L + L + W + W). 
• Students will be able to find the missing side length using multiplication and division when given the perimeter and the length of a different side. 

Next, it is time to plan assessments that will ensure that students have learned the material and can apply their knowledge. 

• Karl's Garden: This will be an assessment to ensure students understand area, but it does not cover perimeter. Please see- https://www.illustrativemathematics.org/content-standards/tasks/876
• Quiz: Students will take a quiz where they are given 6 word problems. 3 will be dealing with area and 3 will be dealing with perimeter. Students will demonstrate their knowledge by drawing diagrams of the situation and calculating the correct answers. 
• House Design: Students will be given a floorpan of a house on a piece of rectangular land. Students will be asked to use their knowledge of area and perimeter to find how much carpet they would need (in square feet) to re-carpet the entire house. Students will also have to find the perimeter of the yard, so that a fence can be installed. This will be the final assessment for the unit. 

Finally, it is time to plan the learning experiences that will take place so that students can learn the content: 

• Area Exploration Activity: Students will be given clipboards, yardsticks, pencils, and a data recording sheet. They will be instructed to go around the room and find the area of 5 rectangular objects. They will fill in the length of each object and the width of each object, and record the data. Students will then compute the area of the object. 
• Perimeter Exploration Activity: Students will be given clipboards, yardsticks, pencils, and a data recording sheet. They will be instructed to go around the room and find the perimeter of 5 rectangular objects. They will fill in the length and the width of each object, and record the data. Students will then compute the perimeter of the object. 
• Missing Sides Activity: Students will work in partners for this assignment. Each set of partners will be given a basket with 3 rectangular items. There will be missing information from each item. The idea is that students will explore how to find missing lengths when given the area or perimeter. Students will need to think a bit deeper and figure out how else they can apply the formula. The items will be as follows: 
• Textbook with a label indicating the length of one side of the textbook and the area of the textbook. 
• A small square box indicating the perimeter of the box, but no side lengths.
• A picture frame listing the length of one side and the perimeter of the frame. 

The procedure of backwards mapping is an excellent way to make sure that I, as the teacher, have thought through the learning process carefully. As I worked on this task, I carefully considered what activities and assessments would help students to achieve the end result. 

Chart was accessed at: http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/documents/ccssmathstandardaug2013.pdf

Behavior Checklist

Student Behavior Checklist

In Class: 

Morning-

• Entered classroom quietly and started morning work.
• Quietly completed morning work.
• Stayed in seat during morning work.
• Did not need redirection during morning work. 
• Attentive during group instruction
• Productive during literacy centers
• Worked quietly without distracting peers
• Needed no redirection during morning

Afternoon-

• Came in quietly after lunch
• Began independent reading without being asked
• Completed math classwork
• Appropriately interacted with peers during group work (no excessive talking)

Behavior-

• Had a great day!
• Had a good day, but needed a few reminders.
• Not such a good day. Tomorrow will be better.  (Check which applies)
• Too much talking
• Off task
• Disruptive
• Did not complete assignments
• Other: _____________________________________________

Teacher Comments-

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

At Home: 

• Completed homework
• Worked quietly 
• Productive while working
• Did not spend an excessive amount of time on assignment

Parent Comments-

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Applying Classroom Rules and Procedure

Behavior management in a classroom can be a challenge, but a well thought out behavior plan can help a classroom to run smoothly. Managing behavior is crucial because students cannot learn when they are out of control or misbehaving. A well managed classroom is essential for providing the very best type of learning environment, where students can get the most out of every second of instructional time. 

Providing Positive Reinforcement to Well Behaved Students:

Once classroom procedures, norms, and rules have been established, it is important for the teacher to reinforce good behavior on a regular basis. Students should be recognized for making good choices, for being kind to each other, for working quietly, and so on. Although these behaviors may be “expected” I believe that there is no such thing as too much positive reinforcement. Verbal reinforcement is very important at all ages. When a student makes a good decision and the teacher recognizes that choice, the teacher is not only providing that particular student with reinforcement, but is providing the entire class with a reminder that good behavior will be recognized. In my classroom, I plan to give verbal reinforcement as often as possible. 

Aside from verbal reinforcement, there are many other positive reinforcement strategies that can be used. Personally, I like token economy systems. I think that they work well for rewarding students for good behavior, and help students to work toward long term goals. If a student is on task, he or she may receive a “token” for their behavior. Students keep the tokens until they collect a certain number, or until the teacher has a special day where students can redeem tokens. Tokens can be redeemed for anything the teacher sees fit. As an elementary teacher, I plan to allow my students to redeem tokens for the following activities or rewards. Here are some ideas for “prizes”:

1. Lunch with the teacher
2. Sit in the teacher’s chair for the day
3. First to leave for recess 
4. Choice of PE activity for entire class for one day
5. A book from the teacher’s library

Example of Using Positive Reinforcement: 

Johnny is a 4th grade student. He is doing a great job sitting quietly at his desk waiting for the teacher to give instructions. Some of his classmates are talking with one another, but Johnny is waiting patiently and quietly without even being asked. His teacher notices his good behavior and says, “I see Johnny is ready to learn!” She quietly hands him a raffle ticket to use in the classroom token economy system she has set up. The rest of the class grows quiet as they see that Johnny is setting a good example, and was even rewarded for his excellent behavior. 

Response to Students When Rules are Broken and Procedures are not Followed: 

When class rules are broken, the teacher must deal with it quickly and directly. I believe that the student should first be given a verbal warning. If the student continues to break the rule or misbehave, then I would go to the next step in my behavior management process. In an elementary classroom, I like the idea of using a clip chart to manage behavior, in addition to the token economy described above. I would ask that the student move his clip down is he did not respond well to the verbal warning. From there, the student has the choice to improve his behavior or to move the clip down again. If the student is defiant, it may be necessary to take him aside, out of the earshot of other students, and have a private conversation. First, I would point out what behavior I saw. Next, I would give the student a chance to correct the behavior, apologize, or speak up, depending on the circumstance. Many times, this is all it will take to get a student back on track. If this doesn’t work though, the student may need further consequences. At this point, I would take away minutes from the students recess. I think that this is often a good strategy in elementary school. I don’t believe in taking away the whole recess, as students need time to get out their energy, but taking away even 3 minutes can have the necessary impact most of the time. In the case that the student continued to misbehave throughout the day, I would make parent contact. In elementary school especially, parent contact is very important. I want parents to be on board with what is going on in the classroom at all times, academically and behaviorally. 

Example of a Consequence: 

Sarah is a 2nd grader. The teacher asks for students to quietly come to the carpet for read aloud. All of the students stand up from their desks, walk to the carpet and sit down. Sarah stands up, starts talking across the room to a classmate who does not respond, and then stops on the way to the carpet to get a drink of water without permission. The teacher walks over to Sarah at the water fountain and reminds her that she needs to walk directly to the carpet quietly. Sarah gets upset and argues with the teacher. The teacher asks Sarah to move her clip down, and to think about changing her behavior so that she does not have further consequences. Defeated, Sarah moved her clip down and takes her place on the carpet quietly.