Bear in Mind

To keep our class happy and safe we need to follow our classroom rules. We need to be good listeners, keep our hands to ourselves, raise our hands to speak, treat others the way we would like to be treated and always be a good friend to everyone. To help us learn to keep these rules we use a behavior management system called "Turn-A-Card".

HOW IT WORKS:

We have a pocket chart displayed in our room and each child has a pocket with four color coded cards; PINK, YELLOW, BLUE and PURPLE. Each day the PINK card will be on top, which means behavior is appropriate and we're "tickled pink." When a rule is broken the child will be asked to "turn a card". The next card in the pocket is YELLOW, which means the child has been given a verbal warning. If the student demonstrates inappropriate behavior in class the same day, he/she must "turn a card" again, revealing BLUE. The blue card means the child will be given a brief time-out, during which he/she should reflect on the behavior and find ways to change it. If the child's behavior is inappropriate for a third time during the day, the last card that is turned is PURPLE. A purple card means a second time-out is given and the child's parents will be notified either by a note or telephone call.

Establishing good classroom discipline is essential to each child's success, confidence and well being. Every child should feel that the classroom environment is safe and secure. I believe in treating my students with warmth and respect and guiding them toward treating each other in the same manner. My classroom rules are created with the children during the first week of school. The children are taught and experience that they have a choice in our classroom community. The children accept responsibility for their choices, good ones as well as poor ones.
Each day, the cards are returned to their original order, with the PINK card on the top, so that each day can be a fresh start and another chance at demonstrating appropriate behavior.

By having the child physically turn his/her own card, I am asking the child to acknowledge inappropriate behavior and to take responsibility for it. If a child consistently gets a PURPLE card, I may ask the principal to become involved in the discipline process.