Jacqueline Abend

Behavior Management Plan

Class-Wide Behavior Management Plan

Level of Structure
Although my personal tolerance for noise and distractions is relatively high, my tolerance
diminishes when students display off-task behaviors. As a teacher, my expectations for students
are high, and I aim not to just teach my content, but to ensure that students learn practical life
skills, such as organization and time management, that will ensure their success outside of my
classroom and later in life. As noted by Sprick (2009), when you have well-organized routines
and procedures for your classroom, you model and prompt organized behavior from your
students. With this philosophy in mind, I intend to plan for a highly structured classroom with
the goal that students will learn to develop these skills throughout the year.
My score on the Management & Discipline Planning Questionnaire in evaluating this
classroom was a 60. Although this number falls within the medium risk factor for the classroom
and recommends either medium or high structure, it is on the high end of this scale. As such, I
am resolute in designing a class-wide behavior management plan that utilizes high structure. My
plan will incorporate consistent classroom routines and organizational practices. These routines
and practices will be taught on the first day of class and be reviewed during key times throughout
the year, such as coming back from breaks. The nature of art class (getting materials, using
materials, cleaning up, and operating within the space) necessitates that I take into consideration
the cognitive and physical demands placed on students while in this space. Art instruction
already requires thorough demonstration, but I will extend the practice of direct instruction to the
rules and practices of the classroom.

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Behavior Management Plan

Considerations for Scheduling

Students enter the classroom with different levels of attentiveness and stimulation,
whether it is the different classes they are coming from, or whatever situations they are
experiencing at home or in their personal lives. Classes that meet before lunch may also find
their attention waning as the period comes to an end. These factors influence the scheduling of
the classroom time. It is important to keep a consistent scheduled routine so that students stay
focused and on-task to the highest degree possible, given the differentiating circumstances.
While the nature of the class content dictates that certain days may be structured
differently (for example, students may spend more time learning about a new subject or
technique in a previous class and spend more time working on art projects in a later one), the
class schedules will generally be as follows: the first five minutes of the class will always be
devoted to an independent warm up activity, typically taking shape in the form of a classroom
Do Now. The Do Now will be written on the board before students enter, and this daily routine
will get students familiarized with the practice of coming into the classroom and sitting down to
immediately focus on a task. The Do Now will be structured to either be a review of previous
class material, or the starting point for a new unit, for example, asking students to write down
what they know about a certain artist or art movement. The Do Nows will also act as data for me
as the teacher. They will be collected and reviewed to assess student knowledge and monitor
progress so that I may shape my teachings throughout the year to best suit their needs.
Immediately following the independent practice, students will come together in a wholeclass discussion to review the Do Now and identify the objective for that day. A period of
teacher directed instruction will follow, presenting new information related to an art process, art
history, or the demonstration of a technique. A period will follow for small group work. Students

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Behavior Management Plan

will then work independently. Long periods of work time are needed in the art room to complete
assignments; however, as Scheuermann (2012) notes, free time or any unstructured time creates
a situation that is high risk for encountering behavior management problems. It may be difficult
for some students to stay on-task for such long periods of time. As such, these work times will
include two to five minute periods of structured partner interactions (described in detail in
Classroom Routines), should the class times allow for it. For example, this would be utilized in a
high school class of 85 minutes, but likely untouched by an elementary class of 40 minutes. The
end of class will be devoted to a teacher directed cleanup (Joses table may put away their wet
materials; Keishas table may put away their dry materials). The last minutes of class will be
spent reviewing concepts either by classroom discussion, individual reflections, exit slips,
reviewing classroom rules, upcoming deadlines, or discussing homework assignments. The last
few minutes will provide students with opportunities to respond.
Classroom Physical Arrangement
My classroom space will ensure visibility and mobility for every student. Desks or tables
will be arranged to ensure that students have clear visibility of the front of the room and limited
distractions. As such, students never need to turn around in their seats and can work on projects
while having visibility of the teacher during instruction time. An unobstructed pathway to
materials and other key areas of the room will be in place to support student ability to move
about the room independently and safely. I will make space in my room for a reflective area, or
cool-down space for students who need time to think. Student tables will be directed away from
this space, thus limiting any distractions during situations when student transgressions occur and
require alone time. The teachers desk will be situated near this area, allowing for teacher
proximity during student occupation of this space. Sprick (2009) describes that proximity

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Behavior Management Plan

involves simply moving toward the students who are engaged in misbehaviorStudents
misbehavior is likely to cease as you approach them because yours proximity at that moment
prompts them to stop exhibiting the misbehavior and start exhibiting the desired behavior.
Having this cool-down space next to the teachers desk employs this concept of proximity and
allows students to restructure their thinking and behaviors.
Classroom Rules
An advantage of student-developed rules is that the process itself may give students a
greater sense of ownership in the classroom (Gathercoal, 1997; Martella et. Al., 2003; Oaine et
al., 1983; Salend & Sylvestre, 2005, as cited by Sprick 2009). At the same time, disadvantages
arise in that rules are not in place the first day of class, it may be difficult to keep track of
different sets of rules for multiple class periods, and student-designed rules tend to be restrictive
(Sprick 2009). As a democratic educator, I believe it is important to include students in the
development of class-wide rules, and this can be done in a way to limit disadvantages. To do
this, I will begin the discussion of rules on the first day of class by introducing three rules of my
own. These three rules will be consistent among all periods. I will present these rules on a large
sheet of paper in a list format. My rules will be numbers 2, 4, and 6. Numbers 1, 3, and 5 will be
left open for student-designed rules. I will employ explicit instruction to explain class rules and
modelling to show examples of what good behavior looks like. I will then use guided practice to
work as a class in developing a clear, positive rule, using one of my rules as an example.
Students will then work in groups to create one rule per table (6 tables = 6 rules), and will vote as
a class to keep three of the six rules. I will then have students come up and write in students
rules on the list, a move that also establishes a sense of student ownership. By ordering teacher

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Behavior Management Plan

and student rules by every other number, these two sets of rules become enmeshed and prompt
students to feel that both my and their participation in following the rules is a team effort.
1.
2. Keep hands, feet, and objects to yourself.
3.
4. Stay on task during all work times.
5.
6. Listen respectfully when others are talking.
As aforementioned, I will use explicit instruction, modelling, and guided practice during the
process of creating and explaining classroom rules for all students (Tier I). All students will also
receive positive reinforcement in the form of verbal praise for creating positive rules and
following classroom rules. I will collect data to support secondary (Tier II) interventions for
students who have trouble following the classroom rules. These will include verbal prompts
indicating goal behavior and a sheet including written and visual examples of appropriate
behaviors aligned with each rule. Secondary interventions will be utilized for students who fail to
maintain an 85% rate of cooperation with classroom rules.
I will use momentary time sampling, an interval recording technique, to document
cooperative behavior. I will keep my phone in my pocket, and set it to silently buzz every 10
minutes during a 30 minute period each day. When the buzzer goes off, I will make note of
students whose behaviors indicate they are not following the classroom rules (in a class of 24
students, it is easier to mark the few students who not complying than the dozen or more who
are). At the end of the day, I will give one point to the students who were following classroom
rules at each interval. At the end of two weeks, a reinforcer of a project extension pass will be
provided for students who achieve an 85% success rate. Students will be aware of this data
collection process, but the 30 minute period will vary each day and be inconspicuous to motivate
students to be on their best behavior at all times. See Appendix 2 for data collection example.

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Behavior Management Plan

Encouragement Procedures
As mentioned, verbal praise will be used when students follow the rules, as well as the
reinforcer of project extension passes (these are coveted items, as students frequently ask for
more time to complete an assignment). Students can choose to cash in unused extension passes
to earn two points to their grade for their current art project. These reinforcements are designed
to encourage students to participate in following the rules. These reinforcers can be especially
salient for students who are concerned about progress reports, and can see their behavior as
earning them points to boost their grade. Aside from motivation strategies, students will be given
verbal reminders by the teacher throughout the period, particularly in the beginning of the year.
Possible Corrective Consequences
Corrective consequences will be used in response to behavior that is in opposition to the
classroom rules. Efforts will be taken to employ precorrection procedures. Precorrection
essentially means that you prompt the desired behavior (following the rules) during the first
week or so of school to minimize problem behaviors, (Colvin et al., 1993; Darch & Kameenui,
2004, as cited by Sprick 2009). It is important to practice precorrection as the initial step, as it
provides students with a clear model of what is expected. Several corrective procedures will also
be used. Gentle verbal reprimands, short sentences that clearly state expected behavior, will also
be given when in close proximity to misbehaving students (Sprick, 2009). Proximity is an
excellent way to correct student behavior and draws little attention to the student. Students will
also be made aware that class time is also their time, and their time is valuable. Out of respect to
themselves, the other students, and me as the teacher, the following will be communicated early
in the school year: time spent engaging in misbehaviors will result in time owed, and
misbehaviors will be addressed at a time outside of class. While time-outs may not be

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Behavior Management Plan

appropriate depending on the age group, having students spend reflective or cool-down time
is a fitting replacement strategy. Students can do this in a pre-designated space, as described in
Classroom Physical Arrangement. Other corrective consequences, such as time owed, restitution,
positive practice, filling out a Behavior Improvement Form, negative reinforcement (for
example, confiscation of cell phones if off-task after three verbal warnings) will be used. See the
below chart for the consequences assigned to each level of misbehavior:
Low Level Behaviors

Reflective/CoolDown
Time Owed

Behavior
Improvement Form
Negative
Reinforcement

High Leve Behaviors

(high frequency of low

level behaviors)

Restitution
Positive Practice

Medium Level
Behaviors

(off-task behaviors, out

of seat during
instruction)

(bullying, physical
violence, threats)

X
X

Procedures for Managing Student Work

Assigning work falls into two categories: description of in-class assignments and
homework. New assignments, such as art projects or a writing piece, will be both verbally
explained to students in class and written on a permanent place on the board. During assignment
descriptions, students will be instructed to take out their daily notebooks, planner, or sketchbook,
and write down what the assignment is, when it is due, and a brief description of what it
involves. Assignment explanations will be accompanied by detailed rubrics outlining to students
what is expected of them. A support for students with disabilities or ELLs is the implementation
of task analyses. If an assignment is not clearly understood during an oral or written description,

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Behavior Management Plan

a task analysis of an assignment accompanied by visuals will be provided. After these

procedures, students will be instructed to use their time wisely during independent work. Verbal
reminders will be provided at intervals during independent work to indicate to students what they
should be working on, when they should be transitioning, etc. Homework will be reviewed
during the last 5 minutes of class and written on the board in a consistent place.
Routines involving collecting student assignments will be implemented. Student
homework and small assignments (such as worksheets and Do Nows) will be collected
personally by the teacher. The collection procedure for homework will be for students to place it
next to them on the edge of their table or desk for easy collection. I will collect these while
students are participating in the Do Now. Students will place completed in-class worksheets or
Do Nows from that day in the same location during the last five minutes of class review. This
way, I can walk around the room to collect these as I engage students in review questions.
Students who do not have their work will fill out either a zero slip or no assignment form,
depending on the situation, which I keep as a form of record keeping. As Sprick (2009) notes,
this eliminates the problem of a student saying I did that assignment could you have lost it
when you were grading papers? If students hand in the assignment later on, they get the slip
back.
There will also be a firm late assignment policy in place. Assignments turned in late are
deducted by 10%, and no assignments will be accepted after a week has passed from the original
due date. Students who are absent will receive the number of days absent to make up their
assignments. Students will also be assigned to table partners, who are responsible for taking
notes when their partner is absent. Students who return from an absence will know to go to the
cabinet at the back of the room to collect their Assignments Missed folder, which includes any

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Behavior Management Plan

worksheets and rubrics from the previous class. Students can then deposit completed work in the
Assignments In bin. This routine places the responsibility on the student to stay organized and
reduces the time I would spend explaining to the student what he or she missed.
Students will receive both written and verbal feedback. My instruction includes
circulating the art room during independent student work. Within this time, I spend five minutes
at each table to oversee student progress and provide constructive and descriptive feedback.
Comments such as That looks nice! are not helpful, but comments such as You did an
excellent job using cross-hatching to shade in the darker values of the face! are. When students
receive rubrics back on assignments, they will also be able to read corresponding written
descriptions next to my marks. Students will be encouraged to make appointments with me
during after school if they want to talk further.
Classroom Routines
One important classroom transition routine will take place during initial student arrival.
In large part, [classroom] climate is determined by the style and nature of teacher interactions
with students, (Scheuermann 2012). To promote a positive and inviting classroom environment,
I will be stationed at the door to greet students by name when they enter at the beginning of
class, and take care to ask them how they are. This allows me to engage with the students
socially and directly, and after a brief greeting I can direct them to their seats and draw their
attention to the Do Now.
With a large classroom size, it is vital to have an appropriate and effective attention
signal. Sprick (2009) mentions the use of one such signal that combines both a verbal command
and physical action. As the teacher, I say Class, your attention please and simultaneously draw
my right arm up in a swinging motion. This attention signal is an age-appropriate gesture to use

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Behavior Management Plan

within my classroom of high school students. The only adaptation I will make in its application
within my classroom is to hold my arm up and remain silent until all students have quieted
down and eyes are on me.
As described in Considerations for Scheduling, students will generally have 40 minutes
to work independently. In order to keep students stimulated and on-task, Critique Breaks will
be a regular classroom activity. When working on an assignment, such as sketching or painting,
students will be instructed to break away from what they are doing and turn to the person
sitting next to them. Each student will have two minutes to offer their partner one positive
comment on their work so far, and one piece of constructive criticism suggesting how they can
improve their artwork. This practice supports respectful communication between students and
the development of social skills, as well as supporting their skills of critique in the art room.
Multicultural Considerations
The traditional Western art curriculum is typically representative of white, Euro-centric
males. To be a culturally considerate educator, I will be sure to introduce my students to artwork
and artists from diverse cultures, ethnicities, races, and genders. I will be cognizant of my
classroom and school-wide demographics, and use this information to inform my awareness of
students socio-cultural needs. I will encourage students to express their individual culture within
the classroom in positive ways. ELL students will be allowed to speak their native language in
class, and black students will never be criticized for using African American vernacular. I will
show my students respect by learning to pronounce their names correctly; to do this, I will have
them say their names first. I will apply this practice to routines in the art room. With the
introduction of a new artist, I will spend a minute having students both listen to the correct
pronunciation of an artists name in the artists native language, and then have students practice

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Behavior Management Plan

pronouncing that name out loud. By implementing these practices, my classroom will be an
environment where students feel comfortable expressing their own cultural identities and learn to
positively explore the cultures of others.

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Behavior Management Plan

References

NJ Department of Education. (2014). NJ school performance report. Trenton, NJ.

Scheuermann, B. K., and Hall, J.A. (2012) Positive behavioral supports for the classroom. New
York, NY: Pearson.
Sprick, R. (2009) CHAMPS a proactive & positive approach to classroom management, 2nd
edition. Pacific Northwest Publishing.

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Behavior Management Plan

Appendix 1
Model Classroom

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Behavior Management Plan

Appendix 2
Bi-Weekly Behavior Chart
Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Friday

Total

Student 1

x x x x x -

Student 2

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

Student 3

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

Student 4

Student 5

x x x x x -

Student 6

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

Student 7

x x x x x x x x x x x x x -

Student 8

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

Student 9

x x -

Student 10

x x x x x x x -

Student 11

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

Student 12

x x -

Student 13

x x x x x x -

Student 14

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

Student 15

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

Student 16

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x -

Student 17

x -

Student 18

Student 19

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

Student 20

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

Student 21

x x x x x x x x x x x -

Student 22

x -

Student 23

Student 24

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

x x -

x x x x x x x -

Thursday

x x x x x x x -

x x x x -

x x -

x -

x -

x -

x x x

x x x x x x x -

x x x x x x x x x x x

x x x x x -

x -

x x -

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x -

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x -

x x x -

x x x x -

x x x

x x x

x x x x x x x x x x x x

x x x -

x x x x x x x x

x x x x x x x x x x x x x

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x -

x x x x -

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

x x x x x x -

x x x x -

x x x -

x x x x x x x x x -

x x x -

x -

x -

x x x x x x x x x x x

x x x x -

x x x x x x x x x x -

x x
x x

23/25
92%
25/25
100%
25/25
100%
18/25
72%
22/25
88%
25/25
100%
24/25
96%
25/25
100%
18/25
72%
24/25
96%
25/25
100%
21/25
84%
23/25
92%
25/25
100%
25/25
100%
23/25
92%
22/25
88%
19/25
76%
25/25
100%
25/25
100%
24/25
96%
23/25
92%
20/25
80%
25/25
100%