# data[].attributes.headline
A Color Classroom Behavior Chart Using Clothespins

# data[].attributes.subject
A Color Classroom Behavior Chart Using Clothespins

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Good classroom management is the foundation of successfully managing behavior. Manage behavior, and you can focus on instruction. Students with disabilities often struggle with behavior, often because they don't always understand the "hidden curriculum" often communicated with raised eyebrows.

A Flexible Tool for a Productive Classroom

A simpler color chart may be appropriate for resource room or self-contained classroom. For an inclusion class or a class with more than ten children, this larger chart, introduced by Rick Morris (New Management) offers a more distinctive range of options, from outstanding to parent conference. It helps a teacher differentiate according to the needs of students. It is an effective and easy strategy to implement to create positive behavior support.

An advantage of this system is that everyone begins on the green, ready to learn. Everyone starts at the same level and has the opportunity to move up, as well as moving down. Rather than having everyone start at "the top," as a color card program does, everyone starts in the middle. Color card programs usually insist that once a student loses a card, they don't get it back.

Another advantage is that red is on the top rather than on the bottom. Too often students with disabilities, who may find conforming difficult, end up "in the red."

How It Works

You create the chart with construction paper, overlapping the paper in the back before you mount the titles and laminate the chart. The bands from the top are:

Red: Outstanding

Orange: Great Job

Yellow: Good Day

Green: Ready to Learn. Everyone starts here.

Blue: Think about it.

Purple: Teacher's Choice

Pink: Parent Contact.

Establish a classroom rubric that establishes:

1. Rules for how you move down. What behaviors are unacceptable and move you from one level to another? Don't make these too rigid. It's a good idea to give students a warning. You might even move a child's clip to your sleeve and put it back if they have followed the rules to the next transition.

2. The kinds of behavior or character qualities that will move your clip up. Being polite to classmates? Taking responsibility for and accident? Turning in high-quality work?

3. Consequences of moving down the scale. There should be a list of teacher's choices: Loss of access to the computer? Loss of recess? Be sure these choices stay at school, and they shouldn't include extra work or busy work, like writing sentences. Teacher's choice is also not the time to send a note home.

4. Benefits for reaching outstanding: three outstandings give a student a homework pass? A single outstanding qualifies a student for a preferred job, like office messenger?

Create the clothespins. Children who are in second grade or older should probably create their own: it gives them ownership in the chart. Those of you who like everything to always be tidy, remember that you want the clip to be your students, and not yours. You want them to own their own behavior, not blame you.

Procedure

Place, or have students place, their clothespins on the green.

During the day, move students' clothespins when they break a rule or exhibit exemplary behavior: i.e. "Karen, you left your seat during instruction without permission. I'm moving your pin down." "Andrew, I really like how you kept everyone working in your group at the math center. For outstanding leadership, I'm moving your pin up."

Administer consequences or benefits in a timely way, so it continues to be a learning experience. Do not use loss of a party on another day or an access to a field trip in another week as a consequence.

Notes from the Field

Teachers who employ this system like the fact it gives students an opportunity to move up. In other leveled systems, once a child moves down, they're out.

Teachers also like the fact that this system recognizes students who do a good job. It means that as you teach, you are naming the behaviors that you like.

Rick Morris offers a free printable brochure for the Clip-Color Chart at his site.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A Color Classroom Behavior Chart Using Clothespins

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Good classroom management is the foundation of successfully managing behavior. Manage behavior, and you can focus on instruction. Students with disabilities often struggle with behavior, often because they don't always understand the "hidden curriculum" often communicated with raised eyebrows. A simpler color chart may be appropriate for resource room or self-contained classroom.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
PBS stands for Positive Behavior Support, which seeks to support and reinforce appropriate behavior in school and eliminate negative, problem behaviors. Focusing on reinforcing and teaching the behaviors that lead to learning and school success, PBS has proven to be significantly better than the old methods of punish and suspend.

There are a number of successful strategies for supporting positive behavior.

Among them are color behavior charts (as in the illustration,) color wheels, token economies and other means of reinforcing behavior. Still, the other important components of a successful positive behavior plan include routines, rules and clear expectations. Those expectations should be posted in the halls, on classroom walls and all the places students will see them.

Positive Behavior Support can be class-wide or school-wide. Of course, teachers will write behavior plans in collaboration with behavior specialists or psychologists that will support individual students, called BIP's ( Behavior Intervention Plans) but a class wide system will put everyone in the class on the same path.

Positive Behavior Support plans can be adapted to support students with disabilities. By making modifications to the plans, and using the reinforcers designed for the whole school, or the strategy (color chart, etc.) to describe the behaviors and the consequences (i.e. Quiet hands when the clip goes to red.

No calling out when the clip goes to red, etc.)

Many schools have school wide positive behavior support plans. Usually the school has a single set of cues and prompts for certain behaviors, clarity about school rules and the consequences, and means to win prizes or special privileges. Often, the behavior support plan includes ways that students can win points of "school bucks" for positive behavior which they an use toward bicycles, CD or MP3 players donated by local businesses.

Also Known As: Positive Behavior Plans

Examples: Miss Johnson started a Positive Behavior Support plan for her classroom. Students receive raffle tickets when they are "caught being good." Each Friday she pills a ticket from a box, and the student whose name is called gets to pick a prize from her treasure chest.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Positive Behavor Support Strategies Create Happy, Well Behaved Classrooms

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
PBS stands for Positive Behavior Support, which seeks to support and reinforce appropriate behavior in school and eliminate negative, problem behaviors. Focusing on reinforcing and teaching the behaviors that lead to learning and school success, PBS has proven to be significantly better than the old methods of punish and suspend.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The last step is to get your document approved by the IEP team, including the general education teacher, the special education supervisor, the principal, the psychologist, the parents and anyone else who will be involved in implementing the BIP.

A wise special educator has been working to involve each of the stakeholders at the beginning of the process. That means phone calls to parents, so the Behavior Improvement Plan is not a big surprise, and so the parent doesn't feel like they and the child are being punished. Heaven help you if you end up at a Manifestation Determination Review (MDR) without a good BIP and rapport with the parent. Also be sure that you keep the general ed teacher in the loop.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The last step is to get your document approved by the IEP team, including the general education teacher, the special education supervisor, the principal, the psychologist, the parents and anyone else who will be involved in implementing the BIP. A wise special educator has been working to involve each of the stakeholders at the beginning of the process.

# data[].attributes.headline
Behavior Goals for Individual Education Plans

# data[].attributes.subject
Behavior Goals for Individual Education Plans