Behavior Charts
Every year I have had someone come into my class and the first thing they look for is the "clip-down" chart. I hope when you visit at Open House tonight that that isn't your experience. I do use a chart to track behavior, but I call it "The Mountain." Expedition climbers tie themselves together when they are mountain climbing in order to support each other. Ninety-Five percent of the time, I use the mountain to reward behavior that exceeds my expectations and show the class who is out front leading us up the mountain that day.
Everyday we start the day at Base Camp. There is nothing you can do to start your day lower than that. I focus a lot on teamwork in my class and I believe that if the same student has ended the day clipped down on multiple days in a row then that is a failure on my part as a teacher and our part as a team to not properly support our teammate.
When students reach the summit of the mountain they earn a dot on their clip to commemorate their achievement. They also earn a parent contact for great behavior. If students earn their sixth dot, they get to retire their clip to my Hall of Fame. Then they earn a silver clip to show they have consistently shown leadership in class.
My philosophy is to use my behavior management system to support and build students up. This should not be something to fear or be worried about.
Love this idea!
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