Behavior Expectation Mini Lesson

MARY S. SHOEMAKER S.T.A.R.S.

BEHAVIOR EXPECTATION MINI LESSON

S--Safe T--Team Players A--Act Responsibly R--Respectful S--Solve Problems Peacefully

AREA OF FOCUS: Classroom (for OLDER elementary students)

SCHOOL-WIDE EXPECTATION: Respectful

EXPECTATION(S) WITH SPECIFIC EXAMPLES: What will students be expected to do?
• Respect in the classroom means (from expectation matrix):
 Raise your hand to be recognized
 Listen when others are speaking
 Use polite, quiet voices and appropriate language
 Accept consequences calmly
TEACHING IDEAS: How will you teach the expectation(s) and specific examples for this area?

Begin with an initial discussion about Respect. Possible discussion questions:

 What do you like most about the way people treat each other here at school? Does it have anything to do with respect?
 Is there anything you dislike about the way people treat each other here at school?
 What is a bully? Is bullying an act of disrespect? In what way? Are there bullies here at school? Can someone be a bully without meaning to be? How?
 How can treating people with respect prevent fights?
 How does treating people with respect affect your friendships?

Have students take a “Respect Quiz” including questions about what respect looks like in different areas and examples/non-examples of respectful behaviors.
Have students brainstorm a list of do's and don'ts for treating people with respect, including specific examples of each behavior they identify. Hang the list up on the wall as a reminder.

STUDENT ACTIVITIES/ROLE-PLAYS: How will students practice the expectations/examples?

Have students model examples of being respectful (example: Ben knows the answer but has already been called on several times. He wants to shout out the answer to the question, but instead he shows respect by allowing others to participate in the discussion).
Have adults only model non-examples of being respectful (example: Tim calls out all the answers even though someone else was called on to share the answer).

FOLLOW UP/REINFORCEMENT ACTIVITIES:

Have students bring in articles from newspapers and magazines describing situations in which respect or disrespect are issues. Talk about who is acting respectfully and who is acting disrespectfully in the situations.
Have students write poems, songs, or raps to describe respectful behavior.
Have students complete a “Dinner Dilemma” worksheet at home with parent/sibling/guardian (to give families a way to will talk about the character quality of respect); example Dinner Dilemma--Sam’s aunt is always mean and rude to him. He wants to talk back, but his parents say he needs to show respect. On one hand Sam does not believe he should show respect to someone who is not nice to him. On the other hand Sam is told to show respect to family members. What advice do you have for Sam?
Have students write a journal entry about an experience they had with bullying. Have them identify if they were the bully, the victim, or just watching and write about how the experience made them feel.

MARY S. SHOEMAKER S.T.A.R.S.

BEHAVIOR EXPECTATION MINI LESSON

S--Safe T--Team Players A--Act Responsibly R--Respectful S--Solve Problems Peacefully

AREA OF FOCUS: Classroom (for OLDER elementary students)

SCHOOL-WIDE EXPECTATION: Act Responsibly

EXPECTATION(S) WITH SPECIFIC EXAMPLES: What will students be expected to do?
• Responsible in the classroom means (from expectation matrix):
 Clean up after yourself
 Follow directions the first time given
 Be alert, prepared and ready to learn
 Use time effectively
 Complete and hand in assignments
TEACHING IDEAS: How will you teach the expectation(s) and specific examples for this area?

Have students brainstorm a list of ways to show responsibility in the classroom.

STUDENT ACTIVITIES/ROLE-PLAYS: How will students practice the expectations/examples?

Have students model examples of being responsible and have adults only model non-examples of being responsible.

Have students discuss the following situation and identify the examples that show the students were not being responsible and describe what the classroom would have looked like if students were being responsible:

 The students were surprised to see that their regular teacher was not in the classroom. In fact, no teacher was in the classroom at all. Immediately the kids began to goof around. Instead of doing their drills, four girls headed to the bathroom to redo their hairstyles. Two boys began to copy homework from their friend in the class. Another two boys were looking through the teacher’s desk, which is strictly off-limits. No one was doing the drill. The few students who where sitting in their seats were talking loudly, giggling, or doodling in their notebooks. A minute after the bell rang, the teacher who was covering the class walked in. Even though this was one of the class’s favorite teachers, no one stopped what he or she was doing. Clearly, no one was taking responsibility for his or her actions.
FOLLOW UP/REINFORCEMENT ACTIVITIES:

Assign topics for journal entries related to responsibility.
Have students observe their own class and tally examples and non-examples of responsibility, then graph and share the results.
Have students write about how they would handle the following situation in a responsible way: Your best friend asks you to help him cheat on a test. He's never done it before and he promises he'll never do it again. What do you do?
Have students write about times they were responsible and how it made them and others feel.
Discuss with students the importance of demonstrating responsible behavior now so that they will be able to demonstrate responsible behavior when they seek employment, then have them answer related questions such as (1.) Imagine that you run your own business, what types of behavior would an employer expect from an employee? Why? (2.) Now, transfer this information to your life now. As a student your job while in school is to be a student. What types of behavior are expected of you? What types of behavior do you expect from your teachers? Why?