Many teachers find that the "Card System" works well to help manage classroom behavior. (Click Here To Learn about a Card System)

If you teach Interediat grades, you may be interested in another way of doing Upper Behavior.  Even if you don't use a card system, this tutorial will show you how to keep track of behavior in less that three minutes a day because you can use behavior descriptors of your choice.

In this example, we will use five card colors: Green, Orange, Yellow, Purple and Red. Green is the start point and considered good behavior.

Fire up PGGP and go to Setting: Behavior Definitions. Of course you don't have to use the card system. Even if you don't use a card system, this discussion will help you realize the power of PGGP when dealing with behavior. The first time you visit Behavior Definitions it will look something like this:

Change the Colors and Demerit points. This screen shows how you may want to use other descriptors. If you don't use colors, I suggest you use generic infractions. Frank hit Mary is not useful here. Parents will understand their child does not behave from a list of generic infractions reported to them by date..   Start your day and teach wonderful lessons. Unfortunately some of the little pills in the class will have to pull a card or two.

After you have modified the information it might look something like this:

At the end of the day, sit down with PGGP and look at the cards. Look at the clock, because you are going to be done in 3 minutes.

Go to Behavior (Or Classroom Behavior) in the Subjects Menu. (If prompted, use the calendar to put in the first date you wish to enter behavior for. PGGP will fill the dates into the Behavior screen. You will only have to do this once.)

Click on the Column Number of the day for which you wish to record behavior.

Hold down Shift and Click, marking each student that has an orange card.         Click in the column between the Student Name and the 100's.

After you have selected the last student, let up the Shift key and click again in the middle column of one student of the students you have marked.

Click the up arrow next to Orange and Click OK. At this point you are starting to see how fast this can be. We just entered behavior for 4 students. (You can get to this point in 45 seconds.) Now you can select the students that had Yellow cards and repeat the steps, above.

The great part of this, is that when you go to View Assignments in the Assignments Column you have a record of each day, by date. Below, I have included a Summary for Paul. I have added several other days of card turning, so you can begin to see the power of this kind of information. (Because I am fast, it didn't take 3 minutes.) Of course the behavior summary can be added to a letter with one click of the mouse.

 

This kind of information can be very revealing during a conference or discussing options for Paul. The Summary can be printed or included in Letters with one click of the mouse. Letters can be most powerful in this case, as you could explain the meaning of each of the cards and classroom expectations in the letter. A tear off line and place for a signature in a letter completes the circle.

 

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