Tool Kit Resource Guide

  1. Apology Slip/Better Choices Sheet

The Better Choices Sheet is a reflection form that serves as documentation for the teacher when a student has received a consequence. Sometimes I use this form AS the consequence – especially for a first or second time a student has reached the limit of reminders (warnings.) If it is the third time (or more) that a student has reached the limit and now needs a consequence such as parent contact, silent lunch, time out, etc….the student completes this form in addition to the consequence. This creates a paper trail for me which the student has to create. It also, almost more importantly, serves as a reflection for the student so he/she can begin to think of ways to do better in the future. If a student refuses to fill out the slip, I do not argue the point. I offer this choice – You can fill it out in your words or I can fill it out in mine; what is your choice? If they refuse to fill it out, I then share that I am going to write on the form “refused to fill it out” before filing it, so they are given one more chance to change their mind. I file these and use the following hierarchy:

1st slip – discuss with student/file only; 2nd – discuss/file only; 3rd – parent contact/consequence; 4th – parent contact/consequence requiring more time; 5th slip – office referral – all others after 5th are also result in office referrals.

The Apology Slip is used when I see or overhear a student do something mean or hurtful to someone else. This is for minor name calling, knocking someone’s stuff down, etc….non-physical/non-threatening things that don’t yet warrant an office referral, but DO warrant a reaction from me. They fill this out, I file it. I allow 2 free per school year. Once a student receives a 3rd, a parent contact and referral to a counselor is the consequence. I do the same thing for each time beyond the 3rd Apology Slip.

  1. Attitude + Effort Behavior Tracking Chart

This chart is used for class wide behavior tracking (Positive Group Contingency.) I set the daily behavior goal for students such as no more than 5 call outs in a class period. I put 5 tally marks on the board, and remove a tally when a call out occurs. Each day the class achieves the goal, they receive a check in a box on this chart. When they receive 10 checks, they earn a pre-determined privilege. The next cycle, it takes 12 days to earn, and the next is 15 days to earn. Each cycle, it will take a few more days to slowly remove the extrinsic motivator as students begin to form good habits from repeatedly doing the desired behavior.

  1. Behavior Checklist

This is used for an individual student that needs to have particular behaviors tracked during Tier 2 interventions. It is similar to a form that might be used with Check In/Check Out in PBIS schools. Here is a PowerPoint online that explains Check In/Check Out if you are interested. - (

A teacher or team discusses the goals with the student prior to introducing the checklist, 3-5 behavioral goals are identified, they are filled in under each teacher’s name, and the form is completed each day. Teachers may identify different behaviors if really necessary, but I find it is easier for the student to focus if all can agree on the same 3-5. It is helpful to have one person who will add/ keep the data each Monday for the previous week. For some students, they carried their own from class to class; others had their sheet in a folder in each individual class so they never carried it around. I typically set up a sliding scale of privileges to be earned based on percentages of yes responses for the week. 100% = 20 min of computer 95% = 15 min of preferred activity, etc. Tangible rewards may also work – the student should have input on the privilege menu.

  1. Behavior Interventions PPt

This is an abbreviated PowerPoint I pulled together for teachers who attend my seminar and are charged with redelivery. The intended length is an hour to an hour and a half faculty meeting. Please email me if you would like the full PowerPoint. Also, please share my name as the author if you present it. Thanks!

  1. Behavior Progress Form

This form is intended to be used weekly or monthly to notify parents of a student’s behavioral progress. If I am going to contact parents when things aren’t going well, I want to be sure to do the same when things are good. This form is a half sheet with check boxes to make it as simple as possible for the teacher to complete. A new website that offers a similar, and much more comprehensive, behavior data collection system with reports that is FREE is

  1. Behavior Reporting Form

This form, from Dr. Jordan Walker, is given to students who want to tattle or report the behavior of someone else. I told them I would be glad to hear them out once the form is completed. This is not to be used for serious issues such as hitting or threatening, but rather issues such as, “He isn’t doing his work,” or, “She touched my book.” It is intended to be a deterrent as most students don’t want to write this much just to tattle.

  1. Better Next Year Planning Guide

This guide was developed for teachers to use after attending one of my trainings to have an organized way to plan to choose and use the strategies shared. Sometimes so many choices can be overwhelming, so this 4 page step by step guide is intended to help a teacher reflect on what is needed, what fits her personality and class age group, as well as what she will try first with students. My recommendation is to pick TWO things you want to try first, and get good at those. Give yourself, and the students, at least THREE weeks before you decide if it is effective or not. It truly takes time and consistency for all to form new habits.

  1. Classroom Assistants List/Job Descriptions

This is a list of the classroom assistant jobs I used in all of my classes. I ask for volunteers on the first of each month, and the job lasts for that month only. The DJ is the only role that rotates weekly.

  1. Classroom Procedure Manual

These are the 20+ procedures I developed for my classroom and placed in a binder to be referred to throughout the year as needed. I chose the particular procedures included because they were the issues that I felt caused significant losses in instructional time each day with reteaching, redirecting, and nagging in general. Each procedure has specific steps to follow. I spend the first 5 minutes of class each day for the first SIX WEEKS OF SCHOOL teaching the procedures. This includes five steps; tell, show, practice, feedback, and review. I do what I can in 5 minutes each day, and we move on to academics. I also ask for a volunteer to serve as the Procedure Manual Assistant. This assistant will review the procedures with new students or those who need a booster lesson.

  1. Codes

Code 0 – Silence – zero talking. Code 1 – may only speak to the teacher. Code 2 – may only speak to a partner. Code 3 – only speak to members of your group. I like to have 4 folders somewhere visible at the front of the room. One code poster is in each folder with a small piece of Velcro to keep the folders closed. The only code that shows is the one you are currently in so students always know where to look for the voice level expectation. Also creates the “Code Keeper” or code assistant job.

  1. Correction Cards

These are small, laminated index cards or cardstock cards that have corrective statements printed on them. These are used as a non-verbal reminder of the expected behavior. In the classroom discipline cycle, I used one of these as my Reminder One non verbal warning. Choose the card that best fits the corrective statement you would like to make. Examples: Silence, please. Thank you for your silence. Thanks for getting to work. Thanks for being on task. Please stop. I only had 3 different ones and never needed any more. Place the card on the student’s desk who needs the reminder and continue talking/walking. Do not give any verbal feedback to the student about her behavior. I also put the number 2 on the back of each card before laminating them. This is used when I need to follow up with a verbal reminder (Reminder 2) b/c they did not stop disrupting after the non verbal reminder. When I approach the student, I say the following: “If you choose to continue ______, then you choose ______.” The first blank is the behavior; the second blank is the consequence they will receive if they choose to continue.

  1. Effort and Achievement One Page

This is a data collection form I asked students to keep in their data folders which we typically worked on every other Friday – sometimes weekly if we had a lot to chart/graph. This is used to have them analyze their efforts and see the correlation/trends in how their individual effort – not luck or other people – impacts their achievement. This one page has a rubric in which they must score themselves a 4, 3, 2, or 1 in effort and a 4, 3, 2, or 1 in achievement. Achievement score is related to actual grade when a grade is given. The hope is that we can make this idea of effort more concrete for students.

  1. Introducing the System to Students

This is a more comprehensive explanation of how to set up and introduce the Tally System to your students than the slide I share in the seminar. This is my favorite strategy for teachers wanting to address one pervasive behavior with a whole group, teams of students in a whole class, or even individuals. It is usually used in conjunction with the Success Chain or some other long term visual that allows students to see their progress toward their goal.

  1. IP Point Checkbook Register

This is the form that can be used with the IP Point system if the teacher chooses not to collect real checkbook registers from a bank.

  1. IP Point Explanation

Explanation of my classroom economy I developed with my best friend/co-teacher to help us survive one year! It worked so well for motivation, we kept doing it! Another great example of a classroom economy can be found at

Rick Morris ( also has a Credit Card system that is really cool.

  1. Marzano Effort Rubric ppt

This 3 slide PowerPoint includes the question that I pose to students (first slide) to begin the discussion about how EFFORT impacts achievement. I want them to be able to see in a concrete way that Effort is the equalizer. The other 2 slides are samples of the rubric they will use to evaluate and score their effort after assignments as well as a data collection sheet to keep up with it.

  1. Multiple Intelligence People Search

This is a template for the People Search activity that is used as the first activity of three I use when teaching my students about Howard Gardner’s 8 intelligences. They do this activity to music while trading papers and signing. Then they take the MI Inventory found in the seminar booklet (4th grade +.) Next, I use the Multiple Intelligence Smart Card from to teach them about each of the intelligences. Early childhood teachers can find a primary MI Inventory by typing MI Pictorial Survey in google.

  1. Personal Electronics Release form

I require students to have this release form signed so I can use listening to MP3 players as a privilege to be earned for participation, good behavior, etc.

  1. SampleClassroom Discipline Cycle Poster

This is the form that is sent home to parents as well as made into a poster on the wall to summarize the classroom plan. It was explained in the seminar.

  1. Student Growth Chart

This data collection form is kept in students’ data folders that we worked on every other Friday. This is used when pre-tests are given so students/parents can see growth of the individual. This can be very helpful for students who struggle to pass tests/quizzes. If they knew 20% on the pre-test, but then score 60% on a post-test, that is a +40% gain. It allows for a positive conversation and confidence booster even when a student is not passing. Lack of confidence is a success killer!

  1. Student Reflection Form

Another example of a student reflection form.

  1. Student Satisfaction Survey

This has been a great tool to get honest feedback from students. (Get your “thick skin” ready!) I give this to students is December and May. I ask them not to put names on it and be honest. GREAT feedback and info that I used to change practices when I could.

  1. Team or Table Points

This is a quick, easy strategy for motivating students who are sitting at tables to work together to achieve desired academic or behavioral goals. It is using friendly competition in a positive way. My students thought it was fun! Great for the art teacher, science labs, and others who have students sitting at tables.

  1. Top 5 Activity

This is a form to guide a teacher to analyze behavior of particular students as well as look at how he/she could do or have done something differently. Hindsight is always 20/20.

  1. Triage

Activity used to introduce students (and parents) to differentiation – both academic and behavior.

  1. YES Card

This is an example of a personal goal setting sheet or behavior interval training. I suggest you write down the behaviors you would like to see the student decrease – target behavior. Pick a time where you can count each incident of the target behavior – tallies work just fine. Then get a baseline of how often the student exhibits the behavior by dividing the number of minutes by the number of times you recorded the target behavior. This will give you an idea of how often the student is doing it. This helps you to decide how much time each box represents. I like to use 5, 10, 15, or 20 minute increments. When a student refrains from the target behavior for one time interval, he/she puts a “yes” – or anything else you deem fitting – in the box. When the student fills all the boxes in, he/she gets to choose a privilege not only for himself, but for the whole class. This has been a very successful strategy overall. The idea came from a training I completed with Dr. Terry Alderman in 2000, and I’ve used it every year since.

8 Things to do in the First 5!

CODE “0”

Please:

Do your warm up

Write in your agenda

Write in your table of contents

Take out your homework

Sharpen pencil/throw away trash

Review your notes

Review the current chapter

Make study flash cards

Apology Slip

Name:______Date:______Name of person harmed:______

This is what I did:

______.

What I should have done was:

______.

When I harmed______, I think he/she felt______.

I would like say:______.

Signed:______Signed:______

(student completing the form) (teacher and/or parent)

Better Choices Sheet

Name:______Date:______Time:______

My actions were as follows: (What I did)

______.

A better choice, which I will do next time is:

______.

Why I made the bad choice:

______.

To help myself, the next time something like this happens, I will ______

______.

Student Signature:______Teacher/Adult______

ATTITUDE + EFFORT = REWARDS

Cycle 1

What is our reward?______

Cycle 2

What is our reward?______

Cycle 3

NAME:______DOING GOOD THINGS! WEEK OF:______

MY GOAL:______PARENT SIGNATURE:______

Goal: 85% yes = ______reward. 80% yes= ______

BEHAVIOR PROGRESS FORM

STUDENT NAME: ______DATE: ______PARENT SIGNATURE: ______

Dear Parent: At ______, we are teaching and expecting students to meet our core expectations which are Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Safe, and Be Positive. In order to keep you informed of your student’s progress, I will be sending home this checklist on a regular basis. I am keeping track of areas of excellence as well as areas for improvement. Please see below, and discuss with your student. Please SIGN AND RETURN. Thank you,

Areas of Excellence: Please discuss with your student how continuing to make these good choices will have a positive impact on him/her.

Completes work
Is respectful of adults
Is respectful of peers / Shows leadership
Participates appropriately
Follows classroom rules / Uses time wisely
Comes to class prepared
Works hard in class / Honest

Arguing with teacher
Disruptive – Blurting out / Inappropriate Comments
Out of Seat / Talking back to teacher
Excessive Talking / Not completing warm up
Playing vs. working

Area(s) for Improvement: Please discuss with your student how he or she can do better in the areas marked.

BEHAVIOR PROGRESS FORM

STUDENT NAME: ______DATE: ______PARENT SIGNATURE: ______

Dear Parent: At _____, we are teaching and expecting students to meet our core expectations which are Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Safe, and Be Positive. In order to keep you informed of your student’s progress, I will be sending home this checklist on a regular basis. I am keeping track of areas of excellence as well as areas for improvement. Please see below, and discuss with your student. Please SIGN AND RETURN. Thank you,

Areas of Excellence: Please discuss with your student how continuing to make these good choices will have a positive impact on him/her.

Completes work
Is respectful of adults
Is respectful of peers / Shows leadership
Participates appropriately
Follows classroom rules / Uses time wisely
Comes to class prepared
Works hard in class / Honest

Arguing with teacher
Disruptive – Blurting out / Inappropriate Comments
Out of Seat / Talking back to teacher
Excessive Talking / Not completing warm up
Playing vs. working

Area(s) for Improvement: Please discuss with your student how he or she can do better in the areas marked.

Form to Report the Behaviors of Others

Name______Date______Teacher’s Name ______Name of Other Person______