My case study student has started to show more improvement. I think spring break was a much needed rest period for him. I feel that he is starting to understand that he is in control of his emotions. He is recognizing when he is getting angry. He is able to excuse himself to his safe space and attempt to calm himself. Sometimes, he uses his safe space to get out of work, so we are having extensive conversations about when he can leave the group.
I am now looking forward to see what the next step with the student will be. He is still defiant and it is affecting his learning, so I am hoping to work on a BIP to address this issue as along as his anger management continues to improve.

I chose to read the article about understanding and responding to defiant students because one of my students has recently begun demonstrating defiant behavior. At first I was extremely thrown off by his defiance. I was not expecting kindergarteners to realize that they could say no. In the back of my mind, I can’t help but fear that students realize that there are only so many things that a school can do to manage behavior.
This article actually really helped me make a connection about why my student is being defiant. A common strategy that my CT uses for behavior management is calling home. She does an excellent job with involving families and working together to support students. This one student in particular has had many calls home and his mother has done a great job working with us to help him. Recently, she has started coming in to the classroom to work with him. Now, on days that she does not come in, he becomes incredibly defiant.
Today, I told him that if he does not “do his job,” his mother may not be able to come in to the classroom with him. This seemed to register with him because his behavior improved immediately.
I also discovered that a daily reward of drawing a Spongebob character together works wonderfully and really encourages him to do his job.

The student I have been working with has been having increasingly explosive breakdowns. Almost everyday, some seemingly small occurrence causes him to becomes extremely angry and struggles to control himself. At one point, his anger overtook him so severely that I had to hold him down and he unintentionally cut himself with his fingernails. I have been working closely with the school counselor to talk him through his anger and we have created a safe space for him to go when he needs to calm down.
My CT recently made contact with his mom (we had been trying to contact her for a while, but were unable to reach her). She explained that he has just started spending time with his dad who exhibits similar anger management issues. His mother is now very supportive and is working with us to help her son regain control over his emotions.

For this blog post, I read about students who engage in disruptive behaviors. My class has a handful of students who seem to find every possible distraction imaginable. The current trend in the classroom is taking off shoes and pulling off shirts. According to the reading, the distractions/distracting behavior comes from boredom and disinterest. That conclusion is not surprising, but at times it is frustrating because no matter how hard I word to make a lesson engaging, there are still students who are distracted.
My new strategy is to not call out the names of students who repeatedly become distracted because I feel like I say the same people’s name over and over again. I am going to try to make more generalized statements so not to direct focus at individuals.
I also got to thinking about where the line is between just generally being distracted and purposefully being defiant/purposefully uninvolved in the lesson.
In most cases I think my students just get tired of sitting on the carpet in whole group lessons. I do think a few students use the time on the carpet to attract attention away from the lesson and on to themselves. I am working on not responding to this behavior so as not to encourage it.

Overall, I thought the reading provided useful information and as with all our readings, offered more things to reflect on in placements.

So far, I have determined that the behavior of the student that I am observing is becoming a more serious issue. I am hoping the notes help me determine a pattern of when his behavior shifts.
For most of the day he is positive and helpful. He is involved in the lessons and gets along with the other students. He often forgets to raise his hand to speak, or will not sit appropriately on the carpet, but those behaviors are corrected through simple reminders. Occasionally, these quiet reminders will frustrate him, but for the most part he handles them well.
His break downs usually occur at the very end of the day when he does not get his way. Last Friday, I had to confiscate candy from the carpet. He decided he wanted it and started crying when I did not give it to him. He threw his backpack and jacket on the ground and at one point kicked my cooperating teacher. He later ran away from the classroom and had to be carried back in by another teacher.
Later, he and I had a discussion about what causes his anger and he said he was not sure. He said suddenly it just hits him and he cannot control his feelings. I spoke with my cooperating teacher and she talked to the counselor about getting him in an anger management group after school. Hopefully, she will be able to help us come up with strategies for controlling his anger.

Chapter Seven provided a very positive and informative look at behavior management. I feel that developing a strong relationship with students is the best way to manage behavior, which was emphasized in this chapter. In order to effectively understand and modify behavior, you need to understand the source. In the classroom, you only see a portion of a child’s life. I’m always concerned about misinterpreting a behavior or missing something important that is being communicated through a behavior.

I felt a lot of the information in this chapter was more useful for the upper grades. It was beneficial to read because I have not had much experience with managing the behavior in the upper grades, and the strategies presented in the book were definitely worth knowing. I love that the chapter focused on self-management. I think students need to be included in decision making and should feel responsible for managing themselves.

Overall, behavior management in my classroom is going remarkably well. My CT last year had a class known throughout the school for having students with significant behavior challenges, so she has a lot of insight and experience with handling behavior issues.
My class has a few students who have exhibited challenging behavior. The student I am choosing to do my project on has break downs throughout the day where he gets frustrated and refuses to complete his work. He has made a few threats to himself that have caused my CT and I to have to call in the school counselor.
Recently, he has been calling another boy in the class “his brother.” This other student is disruptive in class and often refuses to complete his work. The two boys have become close friends and have so far had a positive relationship. I wanted to make sure that their friendship fostered positive behavior, instead of creating a situation where they play off of each other’s disruptive behaviors.
One day, both boys were asked to sit in a chair to think about the choices they were making during centers. One boy corrected his behavior, while the other did not. So, the first student asked me if he could go talk to his brother about his behavior. The students repeated the dialogue I usually have with students when they are thinking about their choices.
Boy 1: “Brother, why are you sitting in a chair?”
Boy 2: “Because I wasn’t doing my job.”
Boy 1: “What is your job?”
Boy 2: “To stay in my center and write my word wall words.”
Boy 1: “If you get to go back to your center, will you show me how you do your job?”
Boy 2: “Ok, brother.”

It amazed me to see this interaction. This showed me that the students really respond to each other and can help promote positive behavior. I need to continue to monitor their friendship and make sure that the boys stay supportive of each other.

Reading: Classroom Management in an Inclusive Setting

As a teacher, I want to create an open and positive classroom community. The article describes the practices that should be in place to help create a strong relationship between teachers, students, and parents.  Communication and trust are key components to creating an inclusive and positive community. The classroom needs to be set up in a way that promotes cooperation, not competition. Students need to see that everyone has talents and experiences to contribute. Parents need to be included in the classroom and feel comfortable with the classroom policies. Trust is one of the most important things to establish in a classroom.

The article also discusses positive behavior support as a system for behavior management. My placement school uses PBS as its’ behavior management policy and based on what I have experienced there, the system seems to be effective. The third grade placement I was in followed many suggestions made in this article. The class had daily meetings that focused on helping one another and promoting open discussions about feelings. In my classroom, I plan to use positive behavior support because I feel it better suits the needs of all students and focuses on when students are doing the right thing instead of singling out problem behavior.

Here is a video of a college math professor’s Halloween lesson. He taught through a mix of pre-recorded video and live action to create an incredibly inventive and engaging lesson.

http://www.stumbleupon.com/s/#2ML1Oy/www.buzzfeed.com/peggy/the-coolest-math-teacher/

Everyone presented some fantastic resources for ELL students today. I never realized how many useful sites were out there! I particularly enjoyed learning about and interacting with the ipod touch. I have a very outdated ipod and am behind the times in keeping up with the world of apps. I had no idea that they could be used in an educational setting.  Using an ipod in the classroom would be so engaging! Even at this age, I was completely engrossed in discovering every app on the machine.  The best function of the ipod is the privacy that students have while engaging in activities. With computers, students are very aware of what their neighbors are doing. Even in kindergarten, students recognize when others are ahead or behind them on a game. With the ipods, students are less likely to compare themselves with their neighbors. I probably won’t be in a situation where I could acquire expensive equipment, but it is still fascinating to learn about the possibilities that are availble for students.