I have been noticing the same three students in my class that seem to think the rules and procedures do not apply to them. They will get up out of their seat when they should not, talk to others, make noises, eat their breakfast first thing in the morning rather than writing down their homework, go to their back pack during the day etc. These are rules and procedures that they are not following while the rest of the students have been. These particular students do not have and IEP or any other reason as to why they should be an exception to the rule. It is causing the rest of the class to become distracted and focus on whatever that student is choosing to do rather than focusing on the teacher and the current lesson.
My mentor and I have given them several warnings and began giving them checks (a school wide procedure) however, that still does not seem to keep them from realizing they cannot and will not do what they please during the day. There is an order to the classroom and they must follow it like everyone else. After school today my mentor and I discussed the students who are continually proving to be a problem and discussed a way in which we can make the rules and procedures clear to them so they stop distracting others and so that they remain caught up and on track with the rest of the class.
We devised the plan that tomorrow during recess they students will write the rules and procedures down on a small piece of paper in which we will then laminate and tape to their desk. It is our hope that by seeing these rules on their desk it will be a constant reminder to them that they need to stay in their seat, do what they are told and follow the rules like the rest of the class. We will not truly know if this has an affect on them till Friday as they will make it Wednesday and then it will be put on their desk Thursday. The first day of it being present I think they will listen and be mindful but we will see if it the paper has a long lasting affect for these students.
Hopefully this will overall minimize the number of times my mentor and I have to stop the class, the number of times the student is out of their seat, the number of times the student is talking and overall the number of times the class pays attention to the studen.t
This is a comment that I have made in response to Charlotte's and Anna's blog, but it sounds like what might help is not only to remind students of the rules, but to have a discussion of the rationale behind the rules and routines of the classroom (e.g., why is it important for students to not eat breakfast in the classroom in the morning?). If students can understand the reason why a certain routine is in place, they will be more likely to follow it. Even if they have the rules in front of them, they might not bother to follow them if they think they are arbitrary.
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