PreK - Managing Littles with success!

When I see something that is transformative in classrooms, I love to share it!  Lately I have observed two strategies that are worth a shout out.  The first is the use of MAC with visuals.  If you are familiar with CHAMPS, you will understand MAC.  (If not, you can find out more info here: CHAMPS).  MAC is simply the M, A, C, from CHAMPS, so detailing the movement, activity, and conversation level for each task of the day.  With the help of our other Special Ed Instructional Coach, I saw several of our preschool teachers develop visual charts for each section of the day, such as lining up for recess, lesson at carpet, stations, etc.  Example: Stations, M= stay at your station; A= do your task;  C = 2, partner talk.  Template can be found here.  During the weeks between the holidays, I saw several teachers using the charts from the template as flip charts, reviewing their expectations with students.  The structure seemed to make the classes flow so smoothly.

The second strategy I've observed in action with Littles is implementation of restorative practices.  A teacher has made it a policy that when a Little needs correcting beyond a redirect, she asks her student to "take a moment" by selecting a spot to sit away from peers until he is ready to talk to her.  The conversation is simply what did you do? how can you make it right? How will you act now? Then she gives a hug and tells them to make it right and go back to peers.  Often making it right is cleaning something up or offering an apology.  We are 4 months into the school year and I am seeing these little folks admit readily what needs correcting, and immediately offering their "fix".

If you want more information on restorative discipline, try "Better Than Carrots or Sticks".  The first few chapters will make you rethink everything you've ever learned about behavior theory.  The last half of the book will give you hope for our students who seem to come to school in increasing numbers with traumatic experiences.  I also found this article that outlines the process with Littles. What to say to kids instead of "Say Sorry"...

The best part about spending time in the preK setting is that I get to spend time with little minds.  I hope all of you have times when you can do just that.

BUILDING BRIDGES....

LISTEN... just listen. 
A parent of some former students of mine reminded me today of
how sweet it is when "that kid" finds success in the real world.  As
I reflect on keys to that success, it reminds me of bridge building. As
teachers, we often feel rushed when dealing with students who are agitated.
We become agitated ourselves and don't think through our next steps.  When
I watch some of the "child whisperers" I know de-escalate an agitated student,
I see them listening, intently listening to what the student is saying.  We hear
about the importance of building relationships, and there are some great ideas
on how to do so, such as 2X10 - taking 2 minutes a day for 10 days to get to
know a student, or complimenting a student on something non-academic for a
month to make a connection.  But more importantly, take the time to listen
when they are upset. Every time we listen we put stones on the bridge...
cementing the relationship. Every time we must correct a child, a stone
comes off, but if we correct respectfully, it is just one stone.  If we also lose
control, it becomes a bridge bashing, and it is so hard to get the bridge
rebuilt. 

Back to those students who are now out in the real world... I remember
trusting them before they trusted me, telling them I did, and letting them know I
expected them to live up to that trust.  One example is when J told me he needed to
stand alone outside the school door to cool down.... I let him do so, just glancing
his way through a window,  and he always did. Another is when S told me he would
do work later if I gave him 20 minutes to finish reading, I said OK, and he always did. 

Ask how you can help a student, and really listen with an open heart.  They may
not be able to express their needs,  but they will know you care.  That will lead you to
a better path for them and you might even get an apology 5 years later... "Tell Mrs. Herndon
I'm sorry for all the times I gave her fits."  That brought a chuckle, but seeing
"that kid" graduate with honors.... warmed my heart.

Behavior Plan specifics

Behavior Intervention Plan specifics-

While working with a school team last week, we realized the importance
of getting very specific with behavior intervention plans,
especially for those persistent kids who want to challenge you with
“that’s not what you said”.... So following is an example of how
you can format those specifics.  
(note: I couldn't get a T-chart to work so you get just the text.)
FOR EXPECTED BEHAVIOR:
IF I am compliant with adult requests-- I will remain in the classroom
doing my work with peers.
IF I am working-- I will earn DoJo points.
IF I comply within one minute of being asked to do something-- I will earn DoJo points.
If I line up from recess and come inside with peers-- I will get my full BVX/drawing break.
If I line up and walk appropriately to specials-- I will get to participate in specials.  
FOR UNEXPECTED BEHAVIOR:
If I am disrupting others in class-- I will go to the IRC room to do my work.
If I am not working  but quiet-- Then I can set work aside and but will start work within  five minutes.
If I am not working in five minutes --Then I will go to the IRC until work is caught up to my peers.

If I don’t do my work all day-- Incomplete work goes home.

If I put my hands on my peers or adults inappropriately--Then I will be in ISS or

OSS according to the district discipline handbook.

If I choose to leave the classroom or building without permission-- Then I will go directly

to the IRC or a red box within one minute or Mom will be called.

Major Meltdowns... This is getting us down.

Concern: 2 students having major meltdowns in the IRC, 3 adults involved, other responsibilities
in the building….. We all know that working with kids who struggle with behaviors is stressful.
 As I looked for some information on mindfulness for another staff last week,
I created this powerpoint: Mindfulness.
I hope the links work for you because the Ted Talks are really thought provoking.  
Short version: we need to take the time to become mindful within ourselves.  
When we as teachers become mindful, our stress will be reduced, we will be able
to respond to students from a green zone, and we will model mindfulness for them.  
An example would be to quietly tell a student in crisis that you need to take a minute,
and start doing some deep breathing.  1) It may shock them and disrupt the cycle.
2) They may start mimicking your breathing.  3) YOU will feel less stress.  

ZONES of Regulation- This is a link to the Zones presentation I did this month for a
Challenging Behavior team training.  We have so much interest in Zones
across our county and I think this can lead us in a good direction.

MY CLASS is driving me CRAZY!-

I am hearing this from several teachers this month…. 3rd -5th grade teachers.  
As I reflect on my days as a classroom teacher (I have taught 2nd- 5th grades),
I can remember those times when I had a class that talked constantly,
hummed and whistled, and it seemed like I was re-evaluating
my management plan weekly.  One foundational piece of managing those students
(and I had up to 32 in the days before SATs were a part of the edu- scape)
was the use of student team learning or cooperative learning groups.  
When kids have their smarts in the area of social skills, you can take advantage of that
by structuring the talk.  The type of cooperative learning I am referring to is beyond
think-pair-share.  It is a way of structuring your class into teams and having them
work together to ensure success for all.  
I have a link for a PDF on Cooperative Learning that might help explain this.  
https://www.keansburg.k12.nj.us/cms/lib/NJ01001933/Centricity/Domain/163/Intro_to_Coop_Learning.pdf

Here is a Webinar on using Cooperative Teams;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eImJhZcy0WM

Some of the structures listed, such as Quiz, Quiz, Trade, can be found on
Youtube by doing a search on that site.

Prairie Fire: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-lqXdi43gs

Jigsaw: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocflomXm06I

Numbered Heads Together: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLHDHlVhcug

Student Team Achievement Division: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnTfR5QJETA

Group Investigation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G95mUelzv0o

Kagan Cooperative Learning Structures: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0s_qxJDuas

I would put my students into heterogeneous groups of 3-4.  They selected team names,
and I worked to foster a team spirit.  Teams were allowed to earn points
during the day for work completion, for helping each other,
for transitioning efficiently, etc. I had very explicit expectations
or each task the group was assigned, and we cheered when anyone had success.  
I would be happy to help anyone get started on this path.  Just let me know if you have
specific questions.
.

What do you do with students who are non-compliant?

NON-compliance-

This is a question Deb hears often so the ideas are separated into
SPED response and GenED response:

Gen Ed response: I have worked with more than one teacher who uses
precision request with great success.  The teacher gives a general direction
and waits about 15 seconds for compliance, praising those who comply.  
Teacher or teacher's aide moves toward students who haven’t complied
and repeats request, waits about 15 seconds for compliance,
praising those who comply.  Teacher or SAT moves to the student
who is still non-compliant and specifically calls the name and
firmly states the expectation.  If 15 seconds more pass without compliance,
the student is told not to worry, you will talk with him/ her later.  
Proceed on the lesson without this student if they are not being disruptive.  
(that’s for another item).    When the teacher is available, the student
is pulled aside for a teacher talk. (a good time is on their way to someplace
they want to go to, such as recess) The conversation involves the teacher
indicating why this behavior is a problem for her, for the class, for the student.  
Then the student is asked how they plan to fix this problem so that it doesn’t
happen in the future.  Once a plan is made, the student is allowed to go on.  
If the student does not come up with a plan by end of recess, etc. let them go
and tell them not to worry, you can discuss it later.  The next opportunity
involves a repeat of the conversation.

SPED- If the students in question are already identified and need a more
intense response, precision request can still be used.  The consequence
after strike 3 can be to go to the IRC for a calm down followed by the
teacher talk in the IRC.  The purpose of this intervention will be to get
the student back in a learning frame of mind and may involve a
mindfulness activity, a physical task, time to calm, de-escalation strategies, etc.
Student will return to class once a plan is made for fixing the problem,
and the IRC teacher will monitor the time frame.

Computer Lab time- talk, talk, talk....

What about a talkative group of 5th graders in computer lab?  
They will work but have talking going most of the time.  
Ms.C, computer aide has rethought her seating, and
discussed consequences with the classroom teacher.  
She has also tried to appeal to them in terms of helping her out.  
She has a good relationship with the kids and really enjoys them
but can’t get them quiet for any amount of time.  
Ideas: let them chew gum, to keep their mouths busy;
Let them do partner work on some days, allowing conversations on topic;
Have them earn free choice time by earning skills individually;
earn class points or marbles or tokens for free choice day for the class.

Anytime I have had a talkative group, I have tried to work to honor
their strength, socializing, but make it work for me.
Having some team goals can help with this, as does partnering on their tasks.
You need to keep your goal in mind, and just keeping kids quiet is not the goal,
Learning is the goal.

Question: What do you do with students who resist doing written work?

Student in question is a 5th grader who seems to have the
necessary skills for assignments. He has a history of  
resisting work but in past years was more compliant
with redirection. He especially resists written tasks.

IDEAS:

**Understand that students may be learning much from

just listening to what is going on.  Sometimes we stress over

completion of work as teachers.  

**Consider the purpose of the task.  If it is to demonstrate learning,

how can the student demonstrate through a different modality?

**If parents are cooperative, make an agreement that the student

can skip two assignments at school and take those home to complete.  

During those times, the student can opt out quietly

but can only do this twice in a day.  Have a folder for the opt out assignments.  

**Make an agreement with a student that completing a certain part of

an assignment correctly and thoroughly buys his way out of the rest.  

This can be done by circling 3-5 key problems and telling him that

doing those are the most important.  He should be proving to you

that he knows how to do the work.  They must be done thoroughly

or he will need to do another.

**Funny story about one way this was handled-- Mrs. S had a student

years ago in her 3rd grade class.  She made an agreement with a boy

(who was allergic to work) and his mom that he would be a “watcher”.  

The conversation that morning went something like this:

Mrs. S: “I’ve been noticing that you don’t like to do school work,

and I’ve done some research.  I learned that some kids learn by doing

and some learn by watching.  I’m thinking you are a watcher.  

Would you like to be a watcher?”  He agreed so she showed him that

he no longer had a desk or books.  He had a chair only.  He was thrilled

as the morning progressed, but when they went out for recess and was

told to stand by her to “WATCH”, he was not as happy.  PE- yes, he watched.  

Then about an hour before lunch, she called him over and told him

she hadn’t really thought this through.  How was he going to get

nourishment by just watching others have lunch? Hmmmm.

Perhaps this watching wasn’t such a good idea. She assured him that

she would think about it more.  He came to her a few minutes later

and asked if he could be a doer instead of a watcher.  She gave him

some work from the morning to complete to show he was a doer,

and he went to lunch.  The struggle did not vanish but got much better

from that way forward…. AND as a successful adult, he remembers this day

and laughs about it now.

**If a student does not have automatic skills in math, they may be feeling

unsure about their independent work.  Having a way to be checked frequently,

such as after every problem, can move them forward. I knew one teacher

who had students do their independent math work one problem at a time,

to include tests.  Students would work one problem, explanations and all,

and hold up their hand.  An adult would then put a star for independent attempt,

and check for accuracy.  If the problem was correct, she put a star, if not she put a

circle around the item number.  Then she gave an extra prompt as to what needed

fixing (she had already indicated they missed it for scoring purposes) and they

could fix it or not and move on.  Working  in math was not an issue in her class

because everyone felt confident that they could please her.