Sticky Note Behavior Chart

It's Teacher Tip Tuesday, and I get to link up with Tried it Tuesday too because this is an idea I got from... one of you. I just wish I could remember who... please let me know if it's you so I can give you credit where credit is due!

"John" is a student on another team who is in one of my Strategic Reading classes. He has some serious behavior issues from blurting out, refusing to sit in his seat, talking back to adults, and becoming verbally aggressive with his peers. Obviously, it didn't take us long to realize our little guy needed some interventions.

And then I remembered the suggestion of a sticky note behavior chart. The class is 40 minutes long, so I simply divided the sticky into four sections with the correlating times. John gets one verbal or nonverbal warning from me per square, and if I have to talk to him again during those 10 minutes, he does not earn a signature in that square. I always try to record the reasons he does or does not earn the signature for tracking purposes, but this is a little more than most classroom teachers are probably able to handle (it's easy for me because I sit at his table).

John earns a small reward for all four boxes, and if he has a "perfect" day, he can choose between leaving 1 minute early for lunch (a big deal for him) or 3 minutes to draw in the back of the room.

I have to say, his behavior is still far from perfect, but this sticky note has been a great reminder for him to check himself. If I forget to make his chart right away, he always asks for it and is very diligent about letting me know when it's time for another signature.

I love that this gives him a tangible way to check his behavior. The sticky itself is a constant reminder that he's being watched, and he beams with pride whenever he gets a signature.

I don't have to do this consistently with my other students, but I have used it for a few days here and there to reinforce behaviors we're trying to modify and help students create new, better habits. They really love it because they get extra attention from a teacher and a small reward (raffle tickets). I've even had multiple students ask me if they could please get their own sticky notes so they can have a reminder to do better. I love it!

This intervention seriously takes me about 2 minutes per day. Totally worth it!