Episode 4

Written By Caylee Carullo
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EPISODE 4: The Behavior Management System That Will Be The Solution To Your Behavior Problems

The behavior management system ANSWER TO YOUR PROBLEMS. If you’re still using the color system for behavior management, this one is for you.

If your behavior management system is not serving you and your students...

Don’t worry, We’re giving you ours, and you’re going to love it.

Ok, first I want to make sure everyone knows, we are here to talk about this topic, because we have made EVERY MISTAKE IN THE BOOK. 

Our school was using the color clip stick method and we used it for about two days before realizing, uh-uh… that’s clearly not going to work… 

For those of you who don’t know, there are tons of variations, sometimes it’s a pocket chart with every kids name and they have a color card to show where they are with their behavior…  Red is bad, green is good…

 (and that’s exactly how the kids hear it and feel it… I am bad, I am good. Sometimes they even send cards home reporting the color the child was that day… which, is bull because the colors might reflect a choice, but you can’t just call a whole day one color, good or bad, the day is full of choices, you can’t just stick a label on the day and make the kid tell their parent they were good or bad today… oh man, it’s terrible)… 

At our school, we had a pole, with colors on it… and we even made it more colorful so it was like a full rainbow, and each kid had a clothespin with their name on it and the clips would move up and down… 

 so kids would move up to blue if they were making good choices

BUT, when you had to move a kid’s clip down… they. LOST. IT. … the biggest meltdowns ever… it was clear to us right away, nope, this isn’t the answer….and It wasn’t just the meltdowns either... There were other obvious reasons the clip system wasn’t working...

Yup, the same kids were on blue everyday… and the same kids were on red every day… so how is this helping to change behavior for the better? 

IT’S NOT. not at all...in fact, we found the opposite to be true, kids started to rebel… they felt out of control of the whole operation… and they felt like they couldn’t succeed… so they gave up… isn’t that heartbreaking? I mean if you’ve ever used a system like this, you literally see the light leave their eyes… they hate it… 

It might make some teachers feel powerful who don’t know how to keep control another way.. But it never made us feel powerful… and if you don’t have another idea, breathe easy friend, we are giving you one today.. And it’s going to be awesome. Would you believe us if we told you the system we are about to share with you TOTALLY DOES motivate kids to make BETTER choices and behave better.. How magical!! 

And I mean, when kids are 4… they just don’t understand the pole… maybe in the older grades they can try to justify it by saying there are consequences for actions…but I’m never going to be on board with the clip system, and even if you’re in the older grades, I BEG YOU.. try my system… you will be SO IMPRESSED with the change in your students..

It was ruining everything we were trying to do… but we were new teachers, so we weren’t just like, “oh, no problem, I have another really great idea, I’ll just do that instead”.... 

We were lost and DESPERATE to find SOMETHING that would work… we just knew that moving clips WAS. NOT. IT.

it’s just a feeling in your heart… like, we knew, moving clips down, doesn’t feel good for anyone (by the way, follow your heart, if you are getting a yucky feeling about something, trust your instincts… try something else…speak up, make a change, don’t just carry on, that yucky feeling is telling you something good, your heart is working… follow your heart…) 

We’ve gone down every path trying to figure out how to get the kids TO LISTEN… And I assure you, by the end of this episode, you are going to hear the answer… the real answer that WILL WORK FOR YOU, a behavior management system that will motivate your students without emptying your bank account…

Let’s take a walk down memory lane and let everyone have some good laughs as they hear the ridiculous stuff we’ve tried to get our kids to behave…

no prize boxes or pizza parties…oh you guys haven’t been that desperate? To go to the pizza party route? (Good for you.) We weren’t that lucky... yes, Layne and I actually tried to bribe our kids to behave by dangling a pizza party in front of them all week.… so we just kept reminding them to behave so they could go to the party… and then, on friday, I had to leave school and drive to pick up PIZZAS, for a pizza party..it was pathetic.. And the amount of power on our shoulders, was UNFAIR… too much power in our hands and none for the students… like, How do I decide who has behaved well enough to go? The standards were so unclear… some kids were good for like 5 minutes, which for them was an accomplishment and should have been celebrated (but there was no chance they were going to perfect the whole week in order to get to go to the party).... 

I will never, I am not kidding you, NEVER FORGET my little miguel… who was my little wild man, but a sweet heart… he didn’t get to go to the party, because he was a little wild on the day of the party AND I DIDN’T KNOW WHAT TO DO ABOUT HIS BEHAVIORS, so I took the pizza party away from him… I remember his dad, carrying him away that afternoon and I had to explain, he didn’t get to go to the pizza party...and tears were streaming down his face, I’m tearing up just thinking about this terrible memory… his dad was so sweet, trying to be supportive and be like, “it’s ok buddy”...  just confused, carrying him away without his piece of pizza… 

Shortly after this ordeal… we came up with our new system, and I am proud to say Miguel thrived under our new motivating, HAPPY DAYS, YOU CAN DO IT, SCHOOL IS FUN, we are doing great, we are all special and we all deserve special things….system… 

Oh ya, but we made other mistakes before we found the solution, remember the ol’ goodie box? We would end up spending our hard earned money on filling up the goodies each week. It never had a long lasting effect on behavior…. Kids would work hard to earn a goodie and then would go back to old behaviors. There was no intrinsic motivation ….. They would go home with a pencil, or a slinky, or a piece of candy… nothing learned or retained… just creating little monsters who might as well be sitting there holding a sign, “will work for treats.”

Oh, ya, and, almost as bad as the pizza party… we bribed them with a Balloon party! (We’d blow up the balloons so the kids could see them and hopefully want to be there… god how terrible is that… because the problem is, we had to decide who got to go to the celebration…and we were holding these bribes over their head for like a week at a time... some kids might be great for a morning, that should have been acknowledged! But we didn’t know what we were doing, we were lost in a tornado of inability to enforce expectations… we kept pushing them to all be perfect all week  so they could go to the party… we were so lost… like it was all so unrealistic, we tried to be positive but we didn’t know how to keep the kids under control… and when you can’t do that, you’re stuck. 


So, if you are like us, we wish we could give you a hug, but instead, we are going to give you the SECRET… to the system that we used… that changed everything for us.


We developed a system that we would use every year after that… and it was because we needed a system that would initiate positive change in behavior… and deliver constant feedback to make kids want to change for the better...but it couldn’t be too much work, some behavior systems are so elaborate they end up taking WAY too much time and can’t be maintained… 

Yes, some of those behavior charts can be so detailed it takes way too long to document and track them, let alone have them serve the actual function of managing behaviors… 

So what we came up with was a star chart system. We called it a star chart. Right off the bat, we’re sending the message that you’re all star students...and you’re going to behave like the stars you are! 

The original one I used was a big chart with different colored felt on it, so the velco stars would stick...it was basically a huge easel that I usually kept in the front of our room, where we had morning meeting because it can be seen from almost anywhere in the room… and didn’t you use a magnetic white board so yours was portable?

I printed stars that were about 3 inches, (pretty big because my display was big, Layne, yours were smaller right?) 

I printed them on colored paper, all the colors of the rainbow, so it looked pretty and there were two or 3 students with each color so they could spot their color star and narrow it down to which one was theirs pretty quickly… I wrote their names in large clear print and I put their picture on the star… so they could spot theirs easily…. 

Which also helping with name recognition skills... there are lots of literacy things you can throw in there with their stars throughout the year!

Yup, so I put Velcro on the back of the stars so they could be moved easily, up and down on the star chart… now, you’re thinking, this sounds a lot like the pole… BUT WAIT! The real change up here is that all of their stars would start at the bottom of the chart so every morning they would be at the bottom and right away, during our morning meeting, I will start moving stars up … so I would be noticing “oh wow look at you sitting there with your hand up” or “thank you for keeping your hands to yourself John, your star is going up”…

And so the star chart have three levels... color doesn’t really matter, they know UP is where they’re trying to get, so on mine, the bottom was blue, the middle was like a magenta, again, color doesn’t matter and then on the top, we had a thinner strip of bright yellow... and we would say that when you get to the top “the superstar yellow” or GOLD part that’s when you’ve earned special privileges… because when your whole class is behaving like super stars… all stars are on the top super star level… 

YOU ARE IN A HAPPY PLACE, you can bring out special materials, and you can do fun games and special activities, THAT YOU CAN’T DO WHEN THEY ARE NOT BEHAVING...so in one sense, you are trying to motivate the whole class to be super stars, to get up to that top level, but if one kid isn’t jumping on the train, the whole class doesn’t suffer… that kid just doesn’t get the special stuff… and trust me, it’s not a shaming thing… you don’t have to mention anything to a kid who’s star is not up, THEY KNOW. 

And the kids who’s stars are up, are so proud of themselves, and excited to get to do whatever it is they get to do, that they don’t worry about anyone else… because the whole idea is that when you when you behave, you get to take part in the “special stuff!!!” so I would always emphasize to everyone what those special things are… I would open my cabinet and I would show them the special materials that I have and I would say I cannot wait to use these and as soon as you guys show me that you’re ready we’re going to use all these fun things… (it’s nothing fancy that you buy as a prize.. I’m talking-- the art materials you were already planning to let them use.. Don’t overthink the privilege side of this...a super star privilege can be as simple as getting to use a tape dispenser today.. Or getting to choose your center first… or getting to work with a partner...or getting to do yoga with your shoes off… or getting a smelly spot before we line up…)

 so in the beginning, the super star privileges are noticeable and prominent… but the good news is, this tapers off.. In the beginning you want to really drive home the concept that superstars get to do special stuff… and once they start to get that, you can relax a little on the privileges… 

(AND the best part, is the special privileges they are earning can be real jobs and things kids can help you with… because they earned them by being so well-behaved, that they are going to step up and rock whatever special thing you give them to do… it makes all your students so much more capable and independent~!)

So the emphasis is always just on we have so many fun things to do here at school I have so many special materials that I bought with my own money just for you guys and I can’t wait for us to use them so the kids get excited it wasn’t like a threatening thing it was like I want them to step up so that we could use all the special stuff glitter and glue and whatever fancy markers and I wanted them to be up for the challenge up for the privilege…

So right off the bat in the morning I’m moving stars up… and right away, you’ll feel the momentum shift.. You just start pointing out the super stars and the snowball of awesomeness keeps growing...oh now more are sitting criss cross..stars are going up and up… I am moving them a few inches at a time… so it takes multiple moves to get to the top.. But LIKE with any new system, they have to feel the magic and the love right away, so on your first day of trying this, you want to be making some dramatic moves, I’d be jumping them up pretty far each time, and say, “WOW”.. “Look at you!” “Ali’s star is going up because she’s looking right at me! I can tell she is listening, her body is still!” ETC, you keep describing, in detail, the behaviors you’re seeing that are making the stars go up!

And it’s sort of every man for themselves but it’s also it can be a group thing because you can say “oh my God! we’re all at the top! we’re all superstars! this is really something special! this means I can get out one of our new centers!”.... Maybe there’s a center you’ve been wanting to introduce, but you don’t think they are ready for yet… I promise you, once you use this new system, and kids get their stars up to the top, you will BE AMAZED what happens when you try to introduce that new center to them… 

they are going to STEP UP, because they are SUPER STARS… as long as you are super explicit with the directions and you set them up to rock it, they WILL… because you are going to keep reminding them about how special the center is and how much fun they will have, and AS LONG AS THEY DO IT RIGHT, they can play with it! And you know they will, because, look back at the star chart and smirk I’ve GOT A CLASS FULL OF SUPER STAR KIDS! And then if one or two kids wants to hold themselves back by misbehaving then their Star Would stay down and you don’t talk about it...they know where their star is…

The only thing you need to verbalize and mention and point out is the stars that are going up because that’s what we want the emphasis to be on... 

Yes, the positive behaviors so I would always have the star chart right by me where I would be sitting every morning during our morning meeting and it would be right behind me and sometimes, I would just sit there silently … and just glance at the chart and back at the students… and move a few stars up and glance back at the students...and the kids catch on to that so quickly... oh what’s happening over there? who stars going up? and as soon as they see their star go up, you can see them, crack a smile... and it’s like they are thinking to themselves, “yes! OK...she sees what I’m doing! she is noticing me doing great… I’m going to keep it up!”

Moving a star up, is a far more effective way to bring attention to a behavior, than just saying it out loud or pointing out the kids who aren’t doing it right … you know, just stop... and move stars without saying anything… you’re going to LOVE how much kids respond to this.

And also, we talk about what kind of behaviors are superstar behaviors... and they know that right there in that morning time if you’re sitting with your hands to yourself, if you’re raising your hand when we have something to say -- those are things that make your star go up ...and we talk about what kinds of things make your star stay where it is or make your star go down… 

But here’s the catch about that... your star can go down but there’s more to it...---So as soon as the star goes down it’s getting kind of giving me a flashback to the color stick up like “you’re going down you know big problem”... but the way we move a star down is DIFFERENT, let me explain… so, I will look at a kid, I’ll move their star down and I’ll look back at them and I’ll wait because I teach them that when your star goes down, “you gotta stop, think, and make a choice, you gotta fix it”... so when we talk about it and kids know, before their star is ever moved down, that if or when that happens, THEY CAN FIX IT… they are all of the sudden empowered again… they know how to fix it… so if they are shouting out, I will look at them, move their star down (just a smidge, it doesn’t have to be dramatic and drop it to the bottom, I just slide it down a smidddgeeee...and then I look back and I might even remind them, “fix it, you can fix it, you know what to do”… and then they raise their hand, and I move their star back to where it was and I smile and nod and I might say, “Good choice”.. and we carry on....  so it’s not telling the kid “your stars going down this is a punishment you’re bad” instead it’s just “your star is going down... I’m gonna wait about one second for you to fix it so your star goes back up” and then right away you wink at them or you give them a thumbs up and the balance is restored.

Like I knew you could do it! so it’s different than the color stick, it’s not just your on red now… you’re bad now… it’s really just “hey, you’re not making a good choice, I am noticing that you’re not making a choice.. And I am your teacher so I am going to teach YOU... AKA, I’m going to give you an opportunity right here, to fix it.

I mean it just was not a thing for me to look at a kid to move that star down and just keep moving it down... like that just that’s not the point, that’s not how it works...that’s not what you want to do...You want all of their stars to go up and when all of your stars are at the top you make it a big deal and you notice it and you talk about wow what else can we sort of bring on...what’s the next challenge that I can give them because they’re stepping up to it

And the coolest part ever is that the expectations become so clear for everyone… they all know exactly what kind of behaviors move their star up and what kind of behaviors move their star down… so much so, that eventually you can have a student sit by your star chart and move the stars for you... because it’s just a very clear system everyone knows what makes him go up and what makes him go down so I would have a time where I do a read aloud… and I would let different kids sit by the star chart and move the stars-- this doesn’t have to be a huge component of it, I didn’t do it all the time, but there are certain kids that this is VERY APPEALING to… and it’s a great way for them to help out… and feel some power… and encourage other students … but I want to be clear-- this isn’t something you have to freely let every kid do, but especially some of your tough kids, they can learn this skill or this job and they will take pride in helping you with it…

So it doesn’t necessarily become something that you always pass off to all students but there were times when we would have one or two students that would be our go to kids... who thrives off of that sense of power of moving stars and they did the job well..how did you do it layne?

…so I will be reading a story they would look at a kid and they would think, “are they sitting right? are they keeping their hands to themselves? are they looking at the pages of the book?”...yup, then they move that child’s star up... and for the most part I would just instruct them to move stars up--  just look at the good stuff and be a positive, encouraging leader... sometimes they would get a taste of that power and they would just start moving stars down and you gotta stop and say, “hey hey hey, no, look around find the ones that are doing great... i want you to notice the kids who are being role models” which that alone can be a huge lesson for a kid that struggles with behavior and limits…  if they can handle this job, it’s a perfect opportunity for them to watch other students, pick out the desirable behaviors (while simultaneously being reminded of what they should be doing to be a super star student) everybody wins with that one… 

So you can do a huge chart that is stationary in one spot like at the morning meeting spot or you can do a smaller version, maybe on a dry erase magnetic board with smaller pictures, that you can carry around with you and you can just draw the lines on there and then you have your star chart that’s portable and you can bring it with you everywhere… but like I said earlier, this is something you go overboard with for a few days and then you taper it off… so you put in some time at the beginning of introducing this new system and then as the students start to catch on, they don’t need as much narration, and constant visual support… after a while, you don’t have to make as big of a deal about moving them and they just sort of understand what they’re supposed to be doing and they know what to do and then you use it when you need to do if you got to refocus somebody or if you’re trying to have them all work hard for something to be superstars so that you can make can earn a new center… like once my kids got it down… I would just be able to say your star is going down, show me how you fix it… and they got the message, without me walking over and holding their star in my hand… and another great motivation for superstar privileges are just certain centers, maybe the popular centers are the ones that are open to superstars… and that’s not trying to keep some kids away from that special center, the goal here is that all the kids are going to step up to be superstars so they can all go to that center and then MAGIC PART, they are all going to be responsible and make good choices while they are there, because they want to keep being able to do the special stuff...

Yes, and there’s no shaming, no bringing the kids down… the way traditional color systems do… whether it was cards or a pole… the star chart is so much better, so much more positive… 

Let’s recap:

  1. follow your heart, if you are getting a yucky feeling about something, trust your instincts… try something else…speak up, make a change, don’t just carry on, that yucky feeling is telling you something important, your heart is working… listen to it…

  2. Make sure the expectations are crystal clear for everyone… students should all know exactly what kind of behaviors move their star up and what kind of behaviors move their star down.

  3. As with any new system, students have to feel the magic and the love right away, so on your first days of trying this, make sure to be doing some dramatic moves, I’d be jumping them up pretty far each time, and say, “WOW”.. “Look at you!” “Ali’s star is going up because she’s looking right at me! 

Ok, and we will close this out with a message from our sponsor.. This podcast is sponsored by the Pre-K Teacher Family… it’s a support group for pre-k teachers and we’ve got room for you. This week we are bringing you a message from Nicole, one of the members of the family… what’s she say layne?

  • “I just want you to know that you have created an awesome thing! It’s great to have the support and a resource that helps jump start my creativity! Especially for teachers that have been doing this for years and got into a routine that works, instead of something that excites us to teach!” --Nicole

Yay, yes, thanks nicole… this is somethign we’ve heard from a lot of teachers and we are so grateful that you veteran teachers have given us a chance… remember we are here to inspire you and support you and build you up… if you’d like to learn more about the pre-k teacher family, visit my website triedandtrueteacher.com...that’s triedandtrueteacher.com all spelled out and click on the tab that says “join the pre-k teacher family.” and because we love our podcast listeners so much, we have a promo code for you to get 30% off your membership… 30 % off!!! Go check us out and use the promocode, PODCAST… yup, just the word PODCAST to get your discount… and we have a 100% satisfaction guarantee so if you try it for a month and don’t love it, no problem… we will give you a full refund.. Take a chance on us, teachers, layne and I want to be there for you when you need us! The members of the pre-k teacher family are our number one people!

We are waiting for you! 

Caylee Carullo
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