Author: TCR Staff

Behavior Management

Ideas for Motivating and Rewarding Students

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Special Mailbox
A cute idea for the classroom is to mount a real mailbox on a support stand. Use this to send special notes to students, praising their efforts and progress.

Some examples of reasons to send notes are as follows:

  • being kind to another
  • making learning progress
  • being polite and courteous
  • birthdays or other special times
  • putting away something left out
  • cleaning up unprompted
  • saying something kind
  • helping another student
  • straightening the desk
  • remembering what the teacher said

The teacher can write a special note to the student who is caught being good and put it in the mailbox for delivery. Have a mailman deliver the notes at the end of the day. Students love getting their mail and showing it off to others.

You can also have note cards ready for others to write notes. The principal, another teacher, the lunchroom people, or the custodian might want to offer praise. You can attach a small piece of magnetic tape to the back of the note before you send it home. Parents love knowing the good things their child does and posting the evidence on the refrigerator.

It’s Awesome!
After students know and understand rules and consequences, this idea will work with success. Cut out the letters for the word, awesome. Attach each letter to a visible board at the beginning of the week. Tell students that if they can keep up the word all week without losing all the letters, there will be a special surprise on Friday. When disruptive behavior occurs, remove one letter. Continue to remove letters whenever necessary. You will be surprised how much peer pressure works. 😛

Teaching Tips

Ideas to Get Students Participating in the Classroom

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Are some students not participating enough? Are the same students always participating while others just sit? Try a tally device to make the teacher and students aware of how often they are participating in whole-class activities and/or discussions.

For each activity, place three of anything on each student’s desk—right in front for easy access and visibility. Sticky notes are good, because they aren’t interesting enough for students to want to play with them, they stay in one place, and they don’t end up on the floor. Every time a child participates in the activity, take one sticky note off his or her desk. Students left with sticky notes are quickly aware of how little they are involved.

A fun way of introducing the activity is to put the notes on each desk, but do not tell students what they are for. Just say you will be removing them, and that it is a good thing to have them removed. It is up to them to figure out why they are being removed. Students will soon figure it out. Once they understand the concept, the teacher can start over with another subject area.

This is a really helpful way for a teacher to pinpoint those students who avoid participation. The teacher will also be able to see a pattern—one student may always participate in reading, but rarely during math. This can be valuable information.

Feel free to share any tips, thoughts, or questions you may have on student participation in our comment section.

Behavior Management, Teacher Resources

Tips for Parent-Teacher Conferences and Report Cards: Part V of V

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Part V: After the Conference

Follow-Up
Immediately following each conference, before the next parent comes to your desk, jot down in your daily task book the follow-up tasks that need to be done. (For example, “Check with Johnny’s math teacher about homework assignments.”) Make sure to follow up and record this the next day.

Ending the Conference
Whatever you do in your conferencing with the parents, you want to end the conference on a positive note. You need to have secured their cooperation and their support.

Record the Conference
Always make a record of the parental conference. You will need to allow time, after the conference, to immediately make notes of what transpired. Be sure to schedule plenty of time for the conference. File all notes individually in each student’s personal folder. The importance of documenting everything in your work cannot be emphasized too much. You never know when such documentation may be needed to back up your position. Do not take lightly the documentation of conversations, notes, conferences, and student behavior.

Other Tips
Be sure that whenever you are sending information or notes home to the parents, you have used correct grammar and spelling. You need to write any message clearly and concisely. Be neat in your work as it is a reflection of you as a teacher and the educational system. Always keep a copy of any communication you have with any parent, such as notes that were sent home or telephone calls.

What has been your experience with parent-teacher conferences? Share your tips in our comment roll.

For more tips on parent-teacher conferences and writing report card comments, check out the following book:

Behavior Management, Teacher Resources

Tips for Parent-Teacher Conferences and Report Cards: Part IV of V

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Part IV: During the Conference

Here are some tips to consider while the conference is in session:

  • Greet the parents at the door to welcome them into “your turf.” Remember that it is very important to make them feel welcome and comfortable.
  • Watch your body language. Research has shown that body language sometimes speaks louder than words. The non-verbal cues that you emit will often set the mood of the conference. You want the parent to realize that you are interested in their child and what they have to say about their child.
  • Be specific in what you want to say to the parent. Do not flounder.
  • Do not use educational jargon that the parent may not understand. Talk in layman’s terms. You want to ensure that they completely understand all that you say.
  • Focus on the strengths of the student first. Parents want to hear good things about their child. Later, you may feel more comfortable addressing any areas where the student is having difficulty or creating problems. Check out this list of appropriate euphemisms to use to address any negative behaviors the student is having. Remember that it is always wise to focus on a solution to any problem rather than focusing on the problem itself. Discuss the problem. Ask the parents to give suggestions as to how the problem would be best served. You want to work together with the parents in the remediation of any problem.
  • Help parents feel free to ask questions. Be prepared for possible questions the parents might ask such as “How is my child doing in school?”, “What are his or her grades?”, “How can I help him or her do better?” “Have you had any problems with his or her behavior? If so, what will you do to solve the problem and how can I help support you in this?”, or “What are your discipline procedures?”

For tips on how to assess growth and competency of your students, check out these resources on student assessment and writing report card comments from the Jumbo Book of Teacher Tips and Timesavers.