Ditch the Chart?

Do you use a behavior chart? I admit that when I taught, I used one. It was the typical chart where my students used green, yellow, and red cards in little pockets. And the system generally worked pretty well. But more and more, I’ve seen random articles and teacher blogs condemning behavior charts. (Although if you search for behavior charts on Pinterest, you’ll get tons of options.) The more I read, the more I see their point. Although I did have children who needed that obvious visual cue, I had other students who became obsessed with what color they were on by the end of the day. And a behavior chart doesn’t help a child develop the ability to make better choices. Here is a good blog post describing what one teacher does in her classroom instead of using a behavior chart.

                                                                                                                                                             And for students who need the visual cue, perhaps give them their own personal behavior stick, such as the one shown to the right. Terrific!

 

How do you feel about behavior charts?


3 thoughts on “Ditch the Chart?

  1. I have used the pocket chart with the individual color code system. Since most of my kinderkids stayed on green all day, I stopped using it for the whole class and started to utilize an individual system for the few who needed it. I can attend to the few in a more private manner so as not to announce their indiscretions to the WHOLE world! I can look at the child having problems and use only a few words to remind them, like, “Green or yellow?” or “be careful, you’re on yellow–your’e still safe!” One little boy takes a daily notebook home for three areas of behavior in the AM and PM—-safety, respect, and responsibility. Each area gets a face that is either smiley, straight, or sad. It is fast and easy. Most of all, I love it when he asks me how he’s doing to self-check his progress. I often counter with, “how do you think you’re doing?” Most of the time he’s right on the mark!

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