Behavior Plan

Creating a behavior management plan can be challenging for new teachers.

Teachers have to know the necessary steps to take to develop an effective behavior
management plan that would create a positive learning classroom environment.
Moreover, as a teacher one has to try to get to know the students cultural background to
understand the different behaviors encountered. A behavior management plan is a great
tool for teachers to use to gain control of their classroom, as well as to conduct effective
instruction.
The first step I would take before school starts is to make my lesson plans and to
do a tentative behavior management plan. On my behavior plan I would include rules,
expectations, consequences, positive, and negative reinforces. All of these components
will help me in the management of my students and influence classroom routines. It is
difficult for first year teachers to gain the control of the class because of the lack of
experience, however that should not impede from showing who is in command of the
classroom. Students need to be aware that learning is fun and when the teacher asks to do
a task, or seeks their attention to guide them to work, behaviors should not affect their
learning.
Having the opportunity to teach can give you wonderful experiences. In addition,
it gives an educator the opportunity to assess and reflect on best practices. This allows
the individual to see any areas of needed improvements. When I have my own classroom

I will start with organizing it in ways students could feel welcome. Depending on how
many students I have I will set up the desks in groups of four or six students with each
desk clearly label with the owners name. Also, I will give the groups a name based on
the theme of the school year. I will create bulletin boards with subject titles ready for the
students work to be put up. I will create different instruction charts to hang around the
classroom. The charts will consist of rules expectations, and classroom lessons.
Moreover, I will create a word wall organized in alphabetical order that students can use
when they encounter unknown words when reading.
I will also decorate the door based on the monthly theme and with the students
names. This will make the students feel comfortable and welcomed. I will also create a
bulletin board with balloons stating the months of the year written and birthdays. I feel
students act differently when the teacher shows interest in their personal life. I will also
create a library with a nice clean carpet, and along with a beanbag seat for students to feel
encourage to read. Also, students can go to this space when they need alone time to
reflect on any issues or to calm down.
The first day I meet with my students I will go over the rules, expectations,
consequences, and positive reinforces. When in the classroom I will greet the students
and show them their sitting area. I will introduce myself to the students, and then will
ask them to take everything out of their backpack and place it on their desk. I will then
play a game to help everyone learn their classmates names and an activity to break the
ice and the tension from the first school day.

After getting settled I will speak about my expectations for the school year and of
the students. Letting them know what I expect from them will reflect as my interest in
their success. I will then start developing the classroom rules in collaborative approach
with my students. I will then help students come up with rules they feel are important. I
will explain the importance of the rules as part of the classroom environment. I think it is
important to have the students engage in creating the classroom rules because it helps
them monitor and reflect their behavior.
In regards to reinforces and consequences, Im an advocate of using positive and
negative reinforces along with consequences in the classroom. As a teacher, one has to
be able to recognize when students are doing a good job. We have to let them know
through praises or by giving them something of their choice to make them feel encourage
continuing the positive behavior. On the other hand, I feel students need to have
consequences when behaving inappropriately. When students know a consequence will
follow a negative behavior, they rethink their actions because they do not want to have
something that they like taken away.
A behavior management plan I find effective is to have a chart similar to the
traffic light to monitor behaviors. However, instead of displaying the three colors it will
consist of six tiers. From top to bottom: star student, keep up the good work, lets get
ready to learn, improve my behavior, work harder, time out. Every student will start in
the middle of the chart, where it says lets get ready to learn and will move accordingly to
their behavior. The behavior consists of staying on task during instruction or on class
activities, following the rules of the classroom in and outside of the classroom, and
respecting peers. I will have clothespins labeled with the students names and placed on

the chart. If the student ends up on time out, I will have a conference with them to
discuss the negative behavior and how could it have been prevented. Also, I will have
them write a note to their parent explaining what happened and they will take it home to
have the parent sign it. By doing this the parent will be aware of the occurrence in school
and they can also communicate the incident with their child. This action will help the
student reflect on what they did and can help prevent similar behaviors in the future.
It is important to be aware of the surroundings in the classroom while giving
lessons or having independent activities. This gives students less opportunity to engage
in negative behavior because they know you are aware of everything that goes on, even
though you are not necessary looking at them. Furthermore, in order to manage my
classroom effectively I will not stay in one place in the classroom. I will be walking
around the classroom, and will look at students while they work. Helping students during
classroom activities creates a positive learning environment in the classroom.
Another important factor in having a positive learning environment in the
classroom is the engagement of students in lessons. I will try to make my lessons
engaging as well as the completed activities after the lesson. I will start my lessons
assessing students prior knowledge to know their knowledge and skills on the subject or
content that will be the focus. Engaging students through the lesson helps maintain
students interest. It also helps students take an informal assessment on their
understanding of the lesson, and identify the needed areas of improvement of my lessons.
Moreover, as a teacher I can assess students understanding of the lesson, through
questions and activities. If I notice that some students are still having difficulties, I will
then explain the lesson a different way where students can understand the content.

I believe an effective teacher needs to have in placed all of the behavior

management components in their classroom in order to have the best classroom
environment. It is not easy as a first year teacher to conquer effectively all of the
components; however one should learn best practices. If things do not go as planned,
then a revision should occur to find an appropriate and effective strategy that can get the
designed outcomes.
I believe the theorists we have examined play a part in constructing a behavior
management plan for the classroom. However, there were some I feel fits more to my
management plan than others. One of the theorists I strongly like is B. F. Skinner.
Skinner was famous for researches on operant conditioning in positive and negative
reinforcements. He believed in taking something away to stimuli the response. I think
this strategy works with any type of population. I have witnessed children change their
negative behavior into a positive behavior using the Skinner theory. You can even have
students follow directions and stay on task using this method. Using positive praises
when students are doing the correct action makes the child aware of what a great job they
are doing and they would want to keep it up to get recognized more by the teacher.
Skinner also believed in negative consequences. Children should receive a
consequence for negative actions done. According to Skinner, children would be stimuli
to change their negative behavior to a positive behavior when given a negative
consequence. When children receives a negative consequence they would do their best in
not repeating it because they can make a connection with what had happened to them
when they misbehave and they would not want to go through it again. I think B.F.
Skinner theorist comes in hand in the classroom. Students need to have reinforcers that

would push them to do their best in the classroom room in order to succeed. Also,
reinforcers can show the students that the teacher is interested on their academic success.
Students can notice the teacher is paying attention to the work they are doing and at the
same time they help them to do better in the areas they have difficulties.
Furthermore, adding consequences in your behavior management plan would help
one as a teacher have control of the classroom in regards to having less students
misbehaving. When students know that the teacher does not accept clowness, breaking
classroom rules, or any other type of disruption behavior they would think about it twice
to misbehave. Of course there are always one or two students that would make it difficult
for teachers to conduct the lesson smoothly, but when that happens the teacher has to
immediately let the student know that is not acceptable. If the negative behavior
continues then, the teacher should act immediately and give a consequence to the
negative action. It is important to be consistent through this process because it helps
students understand that rules should be followed and that if rules are broken they will
lose privileges.
Another theory I find useful to apply in the classroom is the Glasser Model. The
goal of this model is to create a reality therapy for classroom management. The idea
behind this therapy is that people need to meet the basic needs of love and the need of
finding self-worth. This is achieved by people giving and receiving love. In the
classroom we find students who have the need to feel cared and loved. They might not
be receiving any love or attention from home and seek this attention in school. Some
students do well in the classroom when the teacher shows interest towards them. Glasser
also believed the teacher should help students be more independent. Teachers should

only have to guide the students to make good choices that would lead them into good
behavior. Moreover, when the teacher satisfies the students basic needs it helps bring
together the classroom as a community as well as there would be less disruptive behavior
during lesson time. I would use the Glasser Model along with the Skinner Model,
because rewarding and making students feel comfortable in the classroom creates a
successful learning environment.
I also find the Assertive Discipline Canter Model theory to be useful in the
classroom. Canter believed that teachers should be assertive into letting students know
about the classroom rules. Furthermore, students should be told what is expected of
them, as well as the consequences if there were any rules not followed. The model also
states it is important for teachers to use clear instructions, firm voice and eye contact, so
that the students would understand what is be told and what is being expected of them.
I see myself using this model in my classroom but adding other theorist to make it
work better. What I like about Canters theory is that you have to be assertive when
telling the students the expectations and when creating classroom rules. I also like that
Canter believe it is important that teacher should speak to their students in a firm voice,
be clear when discussing rules and expectations, and use a calm voice in the classroom.
As a teacher I feel one has to be clear when explaining rules and expectations to the
students. It is important for the students to understand what is expected as well as the
classroom rules in order for them to follow it properly. Moreover, I think that when a
teacher uses a firm voice, it shows the students the teacher means business. The students
would realize that the teacher would not accept any fooling around. If there is any rule
breaking a consequence will follow. By using consequences it helps the student to self

reflect on what they have done incorrectly. Using eye contact helps one as a teacher to be
more aware of the classroom and it helps to have classroom control. When a student is
not doing the appropriate behavior and there is eye contact between the teacher and the
student it helps redirect the student focus to the appropriate task. I also think that when
using clear sentences it helps the student understand with less confusion what the rules
and consequences are in the classroom.
On the contrary, the Canter model can be seen as very authoritarian because it
does not give any chance to students to be involved in creating any of the classroom
rules. It can also be seen as overpowering young children and humiliating to older
students. The model does not seem to give the student much responsibility, which can
cause a little of chaos in the classroom. However, I think that this model can work
successfully applying in it in conjunction with the Skinner Model and the Glasser Model.
I do not think one model is enough to use in the classroom. To have an effective
classroom management you cannot use only on theorist. To have an effective classroom
management plan it is best to combine different models in order to create a successful
classroom environment.