Shanna K.

Calfee
Lee EDUC
SPED 2016
SPED 331 and 531 Behavior Management
Managing Specific Behaviors

Five Ways to Confront Anger Outbursts

1. Calmly ask the student if it were nice of them to yell/speak loudly like they did.

2. Do a “Re-do”

Help the student understand how to handle the situation in a better way.

Then have the student act out the “better way.”

Example: Memphis, let’s try asking for those crayons instead of just taking them. Let’s say, “May I

please use those crayons?”

3. Teach the student about counting to 10 when they start to feel anxious or like an outburst is about to

happen.

Example: Memphis gets a certain look on his face when he’s about to have an outburst. Encourage him

to count to 10 quietly or in his head to cool down.

4. Identify what the trigger is and remove the student away from it.

Example: Memphis, the student with the outburst, gets upset when Chase looks at him. So therefore,

don’t have their assigned seats close to each other.

5. Assist the student in One-to-One time because his outburst could be from not understanding the

assignment. Also inform the student that you will help him, before giving the instructions to the whole

class. This may help with the anxious feeling that comes before an outburst, because the student may

start stressing while you’re giving the instructions.

Five Ways to Work with Hyperactivity - http://www.interventioncentral.org/behavioral-

interventions/challenging-students/school-wide-strategies-managing-hyperactivity
Shanna K. Calfee
Lee EDUC
SPED 2016

Encourage Acceptable Outlets for Motor Behavior (U.S. Department of Education, 2004). Give the student a

soft 'stress ball' and encourage the student to squeeze it whenever he or she feels the need for motor movement.

Or if the setting is appropriate, allow the student to chew gum as a replacement motor behavior.

Allow Discretionary Motor Breaks (U.S. Department of Education, 2004). When given brief 'movement'

breaks, highly active students often show improvements in their behaviors. Permit the student to leave his or her

seat and quietly walk around the classroom whenever the student feels particularly fidgety. Or, if you judge that

motor breaks within the classroom would be too distracting, consider giving the student a discretionary pass that

allows him or her to leave the classroom briefly to get a drink of water or walk up and down the hall.

Schedule Group 'Stretch Breaks' (Brock, 1998). You can increase the focus of your entire class and

appropriately channel the motor behaviors of fidgety students by scheduling brief 'stretch breaks.' At their

simplest, stretch breaks consist of having students stand next to their desks, stretch their arms, take a deep

breath, and exhale slowly before resuming their seats. Or you can be creative, having students take part in

different movements during each break (e.g., "OK class. It's time for a stretch break. Stand by your desk, arms

over your head. Then take 3 steps back and 3 steps forward…"). NOTE: When using stretch breaks, be sure that

you select movements that all of your students are physically able to accomplish without difficulty.

Select a 'Supportive Peer' (DuPaul & Stoner, 2002). Handpick a classmate who has a good relationship with

the student but is not easily drawn off-task and appoint that student as a 'helper peer'. Meet privately with the

student and the helper peer. Tell the peer that whenever he or she notices that the student's verbal or motor

behavior has risen to the level of distracting others, the peer should give the student a brief, quiet, non-

judgmental signal (e.g., a light tap on the shoulder) to control the behavior. Role-play several scenarios so that
Shanna K. Calfee
Lee EDUC
SPED 2016
the peer knows when he or she can ignore the student's low-level motor behaviors and when the peer should use

a signal to alert the student to more distracting behaviors.

Adopt a 'Silent Signal' (U.S. Department of Education, 2004). You can redirect overactive students in a low-

key manner by using a silent signal. Meet privately with the student and identify for the student those motor or

verbal behaviors that appear to be most distracting. With the student's help, select a silent signal that you can

use to alert the student that his or her behavior has crossed the threshold and now is distracting others. Role-play

several scenarios with the student in which you use the silent signal and the student then controls the problem

behavior. When you are able to successfully use the 'silent signal' during instruction, be sure to praise the

student privately for responding appropriately and promptly to your signal.

Five Ways to Deal with Tattling

Proactively explain your expectations about tattling. You might begin by exploring students’ prior

understanding of tattling, followed by naming your expectations.

Help students know when to report incidents to you. Brainstorm common events that students report to you

(someone writes the wrong answer on her paper, students call each other names, someone pushes a classmate

down, etc.). Put these incidents on index cards and then sort them with students using a chart with three

columns, labeled: Tell An Adult, Handle it Yourself, & Let it Go.

Be ready with respectful responses to tattlers. Presume that a child’s motivation for tattling is positive.

Respond with a simple affirmation. If a child has reported a serious problem, be clear that you appreciate and

will follow up on the information.

Shanna K. Calfee
Lee EDUC
SPED 2016
Give students positive ways to get your attention. For students who seem to be seeking your attention

through tattling, consider giving them a unique responsibility in the classroom, showcasing their talents at

Morning Meetings, or writing them the occasional note letting them know you’ve seen their positive efforts or

accomplishments.

Teach conflict resolution. If you expect students to address problems independently, you must teach them

how.

For more information: https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/what-to-do-about-tattling/

Five Suggestions for a Student with a Lack of Motivation

1. Environmental Issue: the easiest way to look at this issue is to determine if there is something in the

environment affecting the student. Potentially, moving the student’s seat to the front of the classroom,

near the teacher, or away from a window/door could improve their engagement in the class. A teacher

could also find a yoga ball for the student to sit on or a space for the student to stand in the back of the

class if falling asleep in class is an issue. If the student is becoming less motivated as the class goes on,

the teacher can incorporate brain breaks or stations to get the students moving around the room.

2. Avoidance due to Inability: Some students lack motivation to complete work or engage in the lesson

because they feel unable to do so. The teacher could meet one on one with the student to make sure

he/she understands classroom procedures and units. This would give the teacher time to discuss the issue

with the student in a non-confrontational setting. The teacher should affirm the student’s ability and the

importance of effort in the classroom. On a daily basis, however, the student may benefit from
Shanna K. Calfee
Lee EDUC
SPED 2016
consistent prompting and checking for understanding. Most importantly, the teacher should establish a

good relationship with the student.

3. Lack of Power: Students may lack motivation because they feel like they lack power in the classroom

or unconnected to the class. Teachers can engage students in the classroom by assigning responsibilities

to different students or having a classroom helper. This may help the student connect or relate to the

class as a whole. The issue may also stem from being bored with the class (gifted students) so they could

also be assigned as a tutor for other students.

4. Reinforcement: Teachers can encourage motivation in students by positive reinforcements in order to

reward good behaviors. This can include extra computer time, listening to music, or playing an

educational game. The teacher could also give out small pieces of candy for relevant comments made in

class or a student answering a question correct. This may help if a lack of motivation is prevalent in a

whole class or in several students. This technique however, should not be continuously reinforced and

should be faded eventually.

5. Engagement: Some students lack motivation stemming from not seeing the importance in the

classroom. Teachers can go over with the class as a whole to discuss WHY they need to learn this or

HOW it applies to their life, (i.e. we need to learn Spanish because of job opportunities open to those

who are bi-lingual. Or we need to learn history because it affects today’s society). Additionally,

teachers can incorporate real world application into group projects or discussion allowing students to

learn
Shanna K. Calfee
Lee EDUC
SPED 2016

Five Tips for Management of Talkative/Interrupting students

(this is primarily referring to the child who always answers every single question or talks with neighbors during
inappropriate times…)

1. Include in Classroom Contract/Rules - “The most effective way to handle talking is to enforce a

consequence. If hand-raising isn’t a classroom rule, I recommend including it. If it’s already part of your

classroom management plan, then it should be enforced like any other rule.”

(from http://www.smartclassroommanagement.com/2009/11/25/how-to-handle-talkative-students/)

2. Create consistent signals of communication - “I have two signals that work best for me. The first is the

quiet signal. Raising my hand in the air is a sign to students that they need to stop what they are doing

(including talking) and focus on me. I also keep a small dinner bell in my pocket. When it gets too loud in the

classroom, I ring my bell as a way of saying "quiet down."

(http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/columnists/mcdonald/mcdonald021.shtml#sthash.6EyLyzlN.dpuf)

3. Create a Behavioral Objective (Chapter 1 Foxx book) to increase the desirable behavior – perhaps raising

hand to be acknowledged for permission to speak – meet the goal by using and ultimately fading reinforcers

over a certain period of time.

Shanna K. Calfee
Lee EDUC
SPED 2016
4. “More Right” - Take Lavoie’s approach of taking time to train the outspoken student to wait to be

acknowledged before he/she may speak.

5. Affirm Strengths - Find other ways to affirm the interrupting student perhaps feeding their need for the

attention they are demanding by their excessive talkative behaviors. Perhaps they will feel more secure and less

inclined to disruption.

6. Model the behavior – one to one if necessary, or with the entire class. Be prepared to issue gentle

reminders, recognizing even small improvements.

7. Role-play – allow the student(s) to be the teacher, whilst you routinely interrupt their “instruction” time.

This may take some comic exaggeration, but it can be a good way to recall how it feels to be interrupted. (You

know the joke: Knock Knock. Who’s There? Interrupting Cow. Interrupting Cow whMOOOOO!)

“How Rude!” Five Ways to Deal with Rude and Disrespectful Students

1. Allow the student an opportunity to “save face.” Make sure the student has an out, a way to back

down without necessarily looking weak. Perhaps take the student into the hall so that you can deal with

the situation in a more private manner. Whenever possible, do not engage with the student in front of his

or her peers.

2. Model what a respectful attitude looks like. You may not think those kids are ever listening to you,

but they pick up on things such as you disrespecting your colleagues or superiors. Make sure you always

are a proper role model. Use your pleases and thank yous, and phrases that you feel demonstrate respect.
Shanna K. Calfee
Lee EDUC
SPED 2016
3. Maintain an aura of calm. As hard as it may be, do not take the student’s rudeness or disrespect

personal. If you do, you are likely to lash out and escalate the situation. If a student makes a rude

remark, correct it immediately but without scolding and lecturing. Perhaps use Richard Lavoie’s Broken

Record method, and repeat the correct way to act.

4. Provide positive reinforcement to those demonstrate a respectful attitude. Students can act as

models, and those who act out will notice the rewards that the models are receiving and in turn adapt

their own behavior.

5. Turn a negative leader into a positive leader. Often times those students who are making the rude

comments and behaving in an improper manner are striving for control of the classroom. Well give them

a little control. Give them jobs to do that gives them a sense of control. It will help to build a more

positive relationship between the two of you, and in the future he or she may act as an ally when you

need to convince the class of something.

Five Ways to Work with Withdrawn Students

1. Create team work exercises that require students to work together and collaborate on task. This is a

valuable resource when it comes to peer pressure. Students are more likely to answer questions in

environment that they feel is safe and free from judgment.

2. Differentiate instruction- giving kids options to answer questions allows for different thought

processes and gives students freedom to participate in ways that they know instead of just asking for

straight answers.
Shanna K. Calfee
Lee EDUC
SPED 2016
3. No Hands- No hands is a computer program that randomly selects student name. By using this tool, you

are requiring student to stay engaged and participate because, they are not able to withdrawal themselves

and hope you don’t call on them. It also takes away from the student’s ability to blame the teacher for

“picking on the student”.

4. Physical activity- it is proven that physical activity increases blood flow and concentration. By

incorporating physical activity in your class you can decrease the likely hood that a student falls asleep

or disengages.

5. Using Warm ups- this is a great way to start you class out on a positive note. By using warm up’s, you

can give students easy questions that you may have already covered in class to ensure that they start the

day out on a positive note and gives the student a sense of pride.

Five Suggestions for Dealing with Arguing in the Classroom

1) The Broken Record Technique by: Richard Lavoie

 The teacher simply repeats the command continuously without arguing until the student ceases with the

behavior.

 “When the Chips Are Down” by: Richard Lavoie

2) State the consequence and move on

 In this instance, the teacher does not give the student time to argue back. If a misbehavior is taking

place, call on the student, wait until they make eye contact, deliver the consequence in a serious and

calm tone, then continue back to your task at hand.

 http://www.smartclassroommanagement.com/2014/05/03/how-to-avoid-arguing-with-students/

3) Stick to Your Classroom Management Plan

Shanna K. Calfee
Lee EDUC
SPED 2016
 Following your classroom management plan is very important. A clear and concise structure needs to be

set up from the beginning, so students know and understand the expectations set by the teacher. Students

are guided by the direction that is presented to them.

 http://www.smartclassroommanagement.com/2010/01/23/why-you-should-never-argue-with-students-

and-how-to-avoid-it/

4) Give a Brief Lesson in Communication Skills

 The student may be unaware of their argumentative responses. Therefore, it is important to help them

realize that they do not did to argue, but have the opportunity to discuss any misunderstandings in a

respectful manner. The teacher needs to model the technique in their own manner, as well.

 http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/shore/shore015.shtml

5) Encourage the student to put their argument in writing

 Allow the student to write out what their argument is, which will provide a time for them to think

through what they are saying. The student can place the paper on the teacher’s desk once they have

completed the task. The teacher can explain to the student they will follow up with them within the next

day or so.

 http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/shore/shore015.shtml