Train the teacher not the kids!
When I first started teaching many years ago, I found an old book written in the 1950s by a grade one teacher. I don't remember the title of the book or the author’s name but I do remember a simple tip she had that worked well in my classroom over the years.
This teacher said she kept a checklist of student names on her desk and every time she said something positive to a child, she put a check by his or her name. This way no child was left without encouraging attention.
Taking the idea one step further…
I took her tip one step further and kept track of each time I had a one on one conversation with a child.
It can be difficult, especially with a larger class to discover who your students really are and to help each one feel valued and heard. The more boisterous kids demand your attention and it is easy to spend your entire one on one time with them.
As items easily got lost on my desk, I posted a clipboard with photocopied checklists in an area of the classroom that I passed by often. I attached a pencil to keep my life simple and placed completed checklists at the back for reference.
A quick visual aid
The checklist quickly showed me the kids I had interacted with and the ones I hadn't. I taught myself to look at the list regularly throughout the day. Each time I talked to a child individually (not correcting them, just getting to know them) I would put a check by their name. I chatted with the child like I would a good friend, responding with eye contact and active or reflective listening.
In every way I could, I helped each child to feel valued by giving her/him moments of my time. If another student tried to interrupt, I put my hand out flat in front of them (a signal taught earlier), which meant, “wait”. Some weeks I chose a topic, such as, "Tell me about one of your favorite games", and interviewed each child.
I tried this method and liked its simplicity, ease of implementation, and how it was a visual reminder for me each day to pay attention to all the children.
I needed the stars, not the kids!
I realized that instead of giving children stars for good behavior, it worked much better to give myself check marks when trying to create a more positive classroom. I found, as a teacher of young children, that I was so busy during a school day that my best intentions to comment on the kids' actions or focus on their positive behaviors were often left undone by the end of each day.
When I tried the type of large poster checklists where you put a star by a student's name each time they completed a task, I found it left a negative atmosphere, as certain children consistently had a big row of stars and others had few.
Each time I wanted to put a new thing into effect, such as training the children to place items into buckets when cleaning up (rather than throwing them!), I would put up a checklist of student names with a reminder of the checklist’s purpose, then comment as each one did it correctly.
Comment on the action, not the child
Commenting on the child (Suzy is so wonderful) results in a competitive feeling in the room. Commenting on the action (Thanks for placing the blocks in the bucket carefully, Suzy) results in more children noticing the behavior and copying it.
Increasing acts of kindness…
I remember one time wanting to increase acts of kindness in the room. I wrote acts of kindness at the top of the list and each time I commented on a student's behavior where they had acted in a kind way, I put a check mark by their name. This forced me to watch the children who did not have a check mark until I saw even the tiniest act of kindness from them.
As the children heard me comment on their actions they were encouraged to repeat them. Example, "Class, did you notice how Peter helped John wash his paint brushes? That was an act of kindness. Thank you."
I reminded myself regularly that developing a positive class team takes time. Training children to be successful with new skills, routines and rules takes practice not only for the kids but for the teacher as well.
Time to go to my chart and give myself a star!
More suggestions from kindergarten-lessons.com for creating successful students…
Developing positive classroom behaviour
Kindergarten Readiness
Helping parents support their child's learning at home
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Happy teaching,
Patricia from kindergarten-lessons.com