Class behaviour management plan

Our school motto - Teamwork and Tolerance.

In our classroom we foster the following environment:

- the teacher's right to teach and the student's right to learn
- personal accountability and responsible behaviour
- individual responsibility for behaviour choices and the consequences of irresponsible behaviours
- the development of self-worth and self-confidence
- strong student involvement in the processes of their own learning and decision- making
- a commitment to cooperative relationships
- the non-violent resolution of conflict with confidence
- confidence to ask for help if required

In our classroom we incorporate the nine values for Australian schools:

1. Care and compassion
2. Doing your best
3. Fair go
4. Freedom
5. Honesty and trustworthiness
6. Integrity
7. Respect
8. Responsibility
9. Understanding, tolerance and inclusion

Student Management in the classroom:

We use the following to ensure positive behaviour outcomes:

Step 1 - Time out in class.

Student is removed from group but kept within the class space to reflect on positive behaviours and is returned to class after a short period of time.

Step 2 - Time out in another classroom.

Students are sent to another teacher and will reflect on their behaviours and complete a written plan of future positive behaviours.

Step 3 - Time out with executive.

In this step students are required to spend reflection time with a member of the executive team and may be given a recess or lunch time out. Parents may be informed if this stage of undesirable behaviours are exhibited by students.

Circle Time for class meetings

In our class we use circle time after SRC meetings, during discussions of the Fish Philosophy and when we have problems at school we need to address. We also use it for fun drama games such as the Key Game, when we are having a reward for working together cooperatively.

Working with Ground rules
(Adapted from Just Schools, Chapter 7, B. Hopkins)

The ground rules need constant review.
A simple sentence completion activity can be used repeatedly over several weeks to reinforce what each member of the group needs from each other. Examples of sentences to pass around:

I don’t feel respected when …
I do feel respected when …

I don’t feel safe when …
I do feel safe when …

I don’t feel valued when …
I do feel valued when …

The leader starts this activity, so they are taking the first risk, not asking anyone to do something they are not willing to do themselves, and modelling the nature of the contribution.

Working with Ground rules
(Adapted from Just Schools, Chapter 7, B. Hopkins)

Another circle time convention is that no one has to contribute, and so the right to pass is introduced early on. If a talking stick is being used it can simply be held for a short time and then handed on, or the word ‘pass’ can be said.
It is always a good idea to go round a second time because people who passed on the first round have had time to think and may now like to contribute.

Respecting the Guidelines
(Adapted from Just Schools, Chapter 7, B. Hopkins)
What happens if the guidelines are forgotten or ignored by someone? A restorative approach is for those affected to meet and hear from each other how the situation has impacted on them and for all sides to agree on an acceptable way forward.
Here are a few quick suggestions for dealing with problems as they occur:
1. Respond at once by expressing how the situation has affected you and what you need in order to move on and then by asking the other people involved what happened from their perspective and what they want to happen. This can often lead to a quick resolution with no bad feelings.
2. In the middle of a circle time lesson this approach can be widened out to the whole class to great effect because it demonstrates how thoughtless behaviour in a room is likely to have an effect on most people in the room. Try using a ‘go-round’ starting with yourself:
‘When someone talks loudly during the lesson I feel angry because …’
Then invite the entire circle to complete the same sentence. Be prepared for some to feel differently.
Now go around again and maybe start with what you would like to happen in general terms without making practical suggestions. See what comes from them, and in particular those whose behaviour has been causing you distress, this is a ‘no blame’ approach.
‘What I would like to happen is …’
This approach can help the whole class take responsibility for their behaviour and the smooth running of the lesson.

Respecting the Guidelines (cont.)
(Adapted from Just Schools, Chapter 7, B. Hopkins)

3. Failing this, arrange for a longer conversation with those involved after the lesson when tempers have cooled and people have had time to reflect. Be prepared to hear the reasons behind the behaviours and what the students needed that they were not getting.
The emphasis is on:
• What is the meaning behind the behaviour?
• Who has been affected by the behaviour?
• What was everyone feeling and thinking then and now?
• How can the harm caused be repaired?
• How can the matter be put right as far as possible to everyone’s satisfaction and so that people’s needs can be met?
• What can be done to avoid the same situation happening again?


A Circle Time Structure
(Adapted from Just Schools, Chapter 7, B. Hopkins)

A circle time session may include:
• A gathering – a go round in the circle when everyone makes a very small contribution, maybe completing a sentence suggested by the leader.
• A mixer – a game that ensures everyone mixes up and sits with people they do not usually work with
• Focus activity – a slightly longer theme based activity (listening skills? Negotiation skills? Planning? Private reflection and drawing? Citizenship issues?)
• A review of what has been learnt using a circle go-round or in pairs
• Another game – if time, preferably a cooperative one
• A closing – ‘One thing I have enjoyed this time …’

SOSE - Sandlot

The Plot

It's 1962, and Scotty Smalls is the new kid in town. He's shy, slightly awkward and doesn't find it easy to fit in with the neighbourhood kids. His mother constantly urges him to go outside and make friends, but it's not as easy as she thinks it is. More than anything else, Scotty wants to play baseball with the other kids. But that's not really an easy task when you don't know how to catch a ball. Scotty even tries to get his stepfather to teach him, but he's too occupied with his work. All that changes when Benjamin Rodriguez, the best ball player in town, invites him to be the ninth player on their team. Benjamin shows Smalls (as he comes to be called) the ropes and teaches him how to catch. Pretty soon Scotty's days of sitting at home by himself are over. And so starts the best summer of his life.


Subplots

Scotty belts a ball over a fence that is guarded by a fierce beast, where no ball is ever recovered. The problem is that Scotty took the ball from his dad, and the ball was signed by Babe Ruth. This leads to numerous confrontations with the beast to try and recover the ball.

In The Sandlot everything is exaggerated and becomes something larger than life. That's the way many adults recall seeing things as a boy or girl. There's a dog that rules over the land of lost baseballs and he's a huge monster of cartoon proportions - the sort of creature that only exists in tales told in sleepovers and backyard camp-outs.


Setting

A quiet town in the USA in 1962.


Drug Education

Tobacco contains nicotine. It can cause lung cancer, heart disease, heart attacks and many other health problems.


Themes

Making new friends after moving to a new area.
Cooperation.
Team building.
Accepting others.
Helping others.
Using technology to achieve a goal.
The world is not as scary as it seems.


Characters

Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez
Scotty Smalls
The Beast
Hamilton 'Ham' Porter
Michael 'Squints' Palledorous
Alan 'Yeah-Yeah' McClennan
Kenny DeNunez (as Brandon Adams)
Bertram Grover Weeks
Tommy 'Repeat' Timmons
Timmy Timmons


Activities

- learn softball skills.
- make the dessert called smores.
- write a campfire legend like the story of The Beast.
- analyse the film The Sandlot.
- for technology, design a ball retriever for when your ball goes over the fence.
- write a word bank and incorporate the words into class writing activities.


Resources

- cooking ingredients
- softball equipment
- DVD The Sandlot
- Smartboard for group technology designs.

The Fish Philosophy

The Fish Philosophy is a set of simple, interconnected principles that everyone can tailor to their own life and work – old wisdom for a new day. When you choose to incorporate these principles:

– Play, Be There, Choose Your Attitude and Make Someone’s Day – you’ll see a positive change in the relationships you create at work and at home. The underlying view of the Fish Philosophy is that meaningful learning occurs, when the learner is directly linked to and involved with, the content being presented.

PLAY Everyone can benefit from a little lightening up during the day. People who find ways to incorporate play into their daily lives approach their work, responsibilities and challenges with energy and enthusiasm. Some of the best innovations come from playing with ideas. Playfulness allows us to tap into our inner being - the child inside all of us. It is that person who won’t hesitate to ask “why” or “how come”. It is the person who looks at the world creatively and openly and who never hesitates to see the humour in it all.

BE THERE To “Be There” for another person has a powerful effect as it is about giving others our undivided attention. Listening is a big part of being there but it’s more than that. Too often we listen like we are in a debate, our minds focused on gathering information for our own brilliant comeback, rather than being emotionally as well as physically present. It is difficult to hear what another person is saying if our minds are stuck on what we want to hear. Being truly present means suspending judgement while you’re listening and realising that this takes awareness, commitment and practise.

CHOOSE YOUR ATTITUDE Many of us believe our attitudes are caused directly by outside influences like unpleasant experiences or negative people. While these things may act as triggers for our feelings, we can choose to either be subservient to these events, few of which we can control, or we can take charge of our own responses. Choosing your attitude is about being aware of what your attitude is and that it may affect others. Once we choose to accept that we are the only ones deciding our attitude at a particular time and place, we decide whether to keep it or shape it into something more satisfying.

MAKE SOMEONE’S DAY To make someone’s day means taking a genuine interest in the unique gifts of others. Spontaneous or planned, when we brighten someone’s day we receive an internal gift that makes our life more meaningful. Making someone’s day may mean taking someone out to dinner or telling a friend, from your heart, how much you appreciate them. It moves past being civil or pleasant to take an extra step we didn’t have to take and that makes all the difference.

· development of the “whole student” as an engaged learner
· rewarding relationships
· positive classroom management
· personal responsibility and internal motivation for staff and students
· a safe and playful learning community
· respect for diversity
· conflict-resolution skills



1. "Play: We put more energy into what we enjoy, and finding ways to "play" can lead to greater productivity and creativity. Play is NOT about acting irresponsibly. In the livable workplace, it is about finding ways to have more fun accomplishing serious goals.
We can easily see that a light-hearted sense of "play" can be a major component of achieving consistent "efficient action."

2. "Be There: The glue in our humanity is in being fully present for one another. Being there also is a great way to practice wholeheartedness and fight burnout, for it is those halfhearted tasks you perform while juggling other things that wear you out."
"Put your whole mind into present action," Mr. Wattles says. And when one of the fish market guys stops goofing and turns to help a customer, that customer becomes the only other person in the place. Don't you wish EVERYONE you deal with in the course of a normal day had that kind of focus? (Don't they wish YOU did, too?)

3. "Choose Your Attitude: When you look for the worst you will find it everywhere. When you look for the best you will find opportunities you never imagined possible. You have the power to choose your attitude. If you find yourself with an attitude you don't want, you can choose another."
Mr. Wattles says, "You must learn to see the underlying truth in all things," and we know that our prevailing attitudes make this either possible or impossible. If your attitude is negative, you're expressing faith that what you do NOT want is on its way to you. But as Mr. Christensen notes, if the attitude you have at the moment isn't serving you — or anyone else — you can always choose again!

4. "Make Their Day: When you 'make someone’s day' (or even moment) through a small kindness or unforgettable engagement, you can turn even routine encounters into special memories. Few things are as rewarding and infectious as lifting another person's spirits, and the act of serving others quickly returns a feeling of satisfaction."

Challenge: The Egg and I

The Egg and I!

• Blew out the egg
• Made a bed from plastic container
• Took egg for a walk
• Took egg to maths
• Took egg out to recess
• Brought egg to the classroom
• Bathed egg and dried it
• Gave the egg exercise
• Drove the egg around the classroom.
• Took egg to lunch
• Brought the egg back in
• Gave the egg swimming lessons
• Took it to sport
• Took it to ballet lessons
• Wrote haiku and descriptive writing
• Wrote science procedures with diagrams
• Discussed the Fish Philosophy
• Worked cooperatively in groups
• Blogged about it