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DESCRIPTION

There are many students in your class who frequently engage in a variety of misbehaviors.

GOAL

The students will behave responsibly and follow the rules when in the classroom.

OVERVIEW OF PLANS

• PRE-INTERVENTION STEPS: For a situation in which improvements in the overall classroom management may prompt more responsible student behavior.
• PLAN A: For a problem that may stem from students not knowing how to behave responsibly and meet classroom expectations or not taking the rules seriously.
• PLAN B: For a problem that may stem from students not realizing how often they engage in irresponsible behavior.
• PLAN C: For a situation in which the students seem to lack the motivation to behave responsibly and follow the rules.
• Suggested Steps for Developing and Implementing a Plan

NOTE: Depending upon the severity of your particular problem, suggestions for dealing with this type of chaotic situation may be beyond the scope of this reference guide. If the following plans do not seem sufficient or if they have been ineffective in your classroom, ask for assistance from a colleague whom you respect. This may seem somewhat threatening, but any teacher who is skilled at managing behavior will not think less of you for seeking help. It may also be worthwhile for you and your colleague to jointly study one or more of the following books on behavior management. Emmer, E.T., Evertson, C.M., Sanford, J.P., Clements, B.S., & Worsham, M.E. (1984).Classroom management for secondary teachers. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Evertson, C.M., Emmer, ET, Clements, BS, Sanford, JP, & Worsham, ME (1984).Classroom management for elementary teachers. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall Jones, V.F. & Jones, L.S. (1986). Comprehensive classroom management. Boston: Allyn andBacon. Morgan, D.P. & Jenson, W.R. (1988). Teaching behaviorally disordered students. Columbus, OH:Merrill. Paine, S.C., Radicchi, J., Deutchman, L., Rosellini, L.C., & Darch, C.B. (1983). Structuring your classroom for academic success. Champaign, IL: Research Press. Sprick, R.S. (1981). The solution book: A guide to classroom discipline. Chicago: Science Research Associates. Sprick, RS (1985). Discipline in the secondary classroom: A problem by problem survival guide.Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Sprick, RS, Sprick, M.S., & Garrison, M. (1993). Interventions: Collaborative planning for students at risk. Longmont, CO: Sopris West.

General Considerations

• If there is a specific misbehavior that stands out as being more severe than others or occurring more often (e.g., Disruptive Behavior--Severe or Name Calling/Put-Downs), consider intervening with a plan to address that specific problem. A narrow focus on a specific problem may be more successful than the broad-based approaches suggested following.
• If the number of students lack the basic social skills to interact appropriately, it may be necessary to begin by teaching them those skills. Or, if most of the students in the class lack social skills, conduct lessons with the entire class. Social Skills, Lack of contains information on a variety of published social skills curricula.

  If the inappropriate behavior is resulting in the students avoiding or not completing their schoolwork, consider starting with a plan to increase the students' work completion (see Work Completion--Daily Work). Once the students are turning in completed work on a regular basis, you can consider an intervention for the chaotic behavior, if the problem still exists.

Dr. Randall Sprick graciously has given his permission to post two problem behaviors and all plans listed within these two chapters. We sincerely thank him for providing this resource to the teachers of Kentucky so that they may effectively serve students with challenging behaviors. Please visit the The Teacher's Encyclopedia of Behavior Management Web page.