It's back-to-school time again (can you believe it?!) and part of your planning will inevitably include finalizing your classroom behavior management system. Definitely want to have that ingrained in your kiddos minds within the first week for a smooth start to the year!

If you're looking to revamp your current system or to perhaps try something new for the year, you'll want to check out the clip chart system Lori over at Teaching With Love & Laughter put together.

Clip Chart Behavior System

Begin each day with your students clipped to the "Ready to Learn" section. Then, throughout the day they can earn the opportunity to move up the chart, or they may make decisions that drop them down the ladder. You can tailor the qualifications for moving up or down to fit your students and classroom. Lori provides the following examples she uses in her class:

To move up a square:

• Helping a fellow classmate with something
• Doing great work
• Being first or second to do what they're told

Moving down a square:

• Interrupting
• Being disrespectful to a classmate or teacher
• Not being a good listener

At the end of each day, students document where they ended up on the chart on a printable calendar they take home each night to show their parents. Students who earn a certain number of "Outstandings" in a month are eligible for a prize certificate, entitling them to a variety of rewards (lunch in the classroom, candy treat, extra time on the computer, etc). As Lori mentioned, you may need to increase the number of "outstandings" you require for a reward as you progress through the year and students catch on to the system!