Positive and Negative Consequences for Classroom Behavior Choices

It is now time to talk about Consequences. We'll talk about the Positive Consequences first.

Here are some of the positive consequences for good behavior.

You get a good grade as 60% of your grade is based on your behavior.

(Please note that I was a Conflict Resolution Teacher for five years in an EastTennesseeMiddle School. Their classroom behavior was the major way I graded the class. Later, when I taught seventh-grade English for two years, I made their behavior choices 20% of their grade. Needless to say, adjust these explanations to fit your classroom situation. These are simply some suggestions that might prove to help your classroom environment be more peaceful and harmonious.)

We have a pleasant class atmosphere.

This room is a safe zone from put-downs.

Everybody feels comfortable with each other.

We are able to learn a lot of positive life skills.

Explanation Of Communication Skills Time Process

Note to Teacher: The Poster example shown above could be hung on your magnetic white board. With dry erase markers, handwrite in whatever time a class may lose during the week every time three or more kids do that "chatty thing." The time that is left is the amount of "Communication Skills Time" (Free Time) they will have the last part of Friday for games, talking, homework, reading books or magazines, etc.

Another positive consequence for good behavior is that on each Friday, toward the end of the period, we will have a 10-minute period that I call "Communication Skills Time." In other words, "Friday Free Time."

Note to Teacher: Point to "Communication Skills Time" Poster.

During Friday Free Time, you can play games, you can move around the room, you can talk quietly with your friends, you can work on homework, you can read or draw or write notes, you can sleep, and so forth.

There is a way for that 10 minutes to be shorter and there is the way for that 10 minutes to be longer.

The way it can be shorter is that every time that 3 or more people do that "chatty thing," I will deduct 30 seconds off that 10 minutes. On Friday, it is whatever time there is left of that 10 minutes will be our Friday Free Time.

Now here is how it can be longer. On Friday, let's say that we get to the end of a story or role-play or a set of discussion questions, and we are at a really good stopping point. On every other day, we simply pick up where we left off the previous day, as I like to make really good use of every minute that we have together. But on Friday, let's say that we are at a really good stopping point, like I mentioned before. I look up at the clock and see that we have as much as 20 minutes left or 12 or 15. Then I look over to the board where I have the "Communication Skills Time" poster located. If I see that you never did that "chatty thing" during the week and we are at that good stopping point; then no promises, but it is likely that I will give you some reward time. And I love to give that reward time. It's a break for you. It's a break for me. It's a WIN-WIN situation. So you just need to make it easy for me to give you that reward time by never doing that "chatty thing" during the week.

Negative Consequences For Bad Behavior

It is now time to talk about the Negative Consequences.

Right now, you all have a 100% Behavior Grade. Every time you get your name written down on the Behavior Clipboard, your Behavior Grade goes down by 1 point: 99, 98, 97, and so forth.

Whenever and if ever you get your name written down on the Behavior Clipboard for the sixth time, there are several consequences that will happen:

• Your Behavior Grade is now 94%.

• You get a phone call home to Parent or Guardian.

• I will fill out a Pink Slip out that will be turned into our Assistant Principal that might affect any incentive field trips you go on.

• You get assigned to serve 1 hour of D-Hall (after school detention) or you get assigned to serve one day in I.A.P. (our In School Alternate Program).

The next time a pink slip happens is when you get your name written down on the Behavior Clipboard 15 times. Now the Consequences are:

• Your Behavior Grade is now 85%.

• You get another phone call home.

• You get another Pink Slip to the office.

• You serve another day of I.A.P.

The last time a Pink Slip happens is when and if you ever get your name on the Behavior Clipboard 30 times. The consequence is you now have a D- for your Behavior Grade in the class (70%) and there is a MAJOR VISIT TO THE OFFICE. I'm not sure what the consequence is as I've never had a student do this, but I imagine it would be getting suspended for a number of days and a Parent Conference.

More About Behavior Grade

Here is how I calculate your Behavior Grade:

As I've said before, since almost everything that we do in this class involves oral-speaking of some type, your Behavior Grade is worth 60% of your grade.

You start the quarter out with a 100% Behavior Grade. As long as you never get your name written down on the Behavior Clipboard for the whole quarter, 60% of your grade will continue to be 100%.

Like I mentioned before, each time you get your name written down on the Behavior Clipboard, your score goes down 1 percentage point. So if you got your name written down once, you would have a 99% Behavior Grade. If you got your name written down 5 times, you would have a 95%. If you got your name written down 10 times, you would have a 90% and so forth.

Once you lose a point for Behavior reasons, that point never can be added back in.

At the end of each day, I will total up the number of points you might have lost during that class period. That number will be written in the right-hand column of the Behavior Clipboard.

At the end of the week, I will total up your score for the entire week and write that on the following page of the Behavior Clipboard. There will be one of those pages for each week that we are together. Whatever your score is so far for the entire quarter is what I write in my grade book as your current Behavior Grade. If you have not gotten your name written down on the Behavior Clipboard at all, I will write in 100% as your current Behavior Grade.

Elect Class Recorders

It is time to elect three Class Recorders. These are the people who will write the names down on the Behavior Clipboard for me. These three people will take turns every third day writing down the names for me when someone chooses to break one of our rules.

To be a Class Recorder, you need to be able to:

• Print neatly

• Write small as the space is very small

• Behave Responsibly

• Don't doodle on this page as this is what I show Parents during Parent-Teacher Conferences.

• Understand that if you break a rule on the day that you are Class Recorder, you will be honest about writing your own name down

New Class Recorders will be elected at Midterm time to give other students this opportunity.

Please understand that a Class Recorder does not get to play police person. He or she will only write names down if I request that he or she does so.

Anybody who is interested in being Class Recorder, please raise your hand.

Note to Teacher: Hold Class Elections. I let the class choose the students by majority vote.

Additional Note To Teacher: I found having a Classroom Recorder was extremely useful so that I was not taking any classroom time away from our academics. It also helps eliminate that power play and blame game if you make certain you calmly ask the classroom recorder to put that student's name down on the behavior clipboard rather than using one of those harsh teacher voices like you might have heard on a Charlie Brown cartoon.

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If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at moreduntales@yahoo.com.