Using “I’m Working for” Behavior Boards
What do you do for the student in school who is tantruming daily, unable to work, and struggling to part of a group? That’s a pretty loaded question that I get a lot as a special education teacher, and the answer is often complicated. As I reach into my bag of visuals and behavior motivators, oftentimes I come up with my set of I’m Working for boards.
A Versatile Teaching Tool
Some kids are born understanding the rules of school. Unfortunately many of our students with special needs don’t recognize the rules, understand them, or get the point of the rules. So that’s where teaching tools come in to show students how working and rewards go hand-in-hand. Grab your computer, printer, laminator, scissors, and Velcro, and let’s make this happen!
Let’s Get Started!
First off, I pick how many tasks I want a student to complete before getting a reward and a brain break from school work. Typically, I start with 3 tasks and have the student show success with this for 10 consecutive school days. Then, I’ll move on to a 4 task card with the same procedure followed by a 5 task card. So, I get started by printing the I’m Working For boards, reward choice boards, the student’s behavior goal, and the counters. Then, I cut out the boards and glue them to a larger piece of construction paper. Next, I roll them through the laminator so they will last through the years with me. After trimming the lamination, I apply my Velcro dots. I always put hard Velcro on the stationary parts and soft Velcro on the moveable parts like the dots on this board. I remember this by the saying, “Soft travels.”
Student Reward Inventory
Now that my boards are ready, I need to do an inventory of wants from the student. I tell them that they are going to be working for a reward that they get to pick. I often give them a sheet of rewards and have them circle the ones they like. Then I print, laminate, and cut out these to place on the student’s choice board show in red above.
Practice Makes Perfect
Next, my student and I practice using the board with “pretend” work. This is my way of hooking the student into this system. I want them to want to do this and by into the system. So, I provide some really easy work and give them a counter for each task completed. Once they’ve filled their board, they get their reward immediately. Even though the work was light and easy, the reward is the full time usually 10 minutes. Again, I’m trying to convince the student that this work method is a good deal.
Flexibility for Everyone
Then, I put this in action within the classroom. All adults are allowed to add dots and the reward earned is given as soon as the last dot is earned. I love how flexible this behavior tool is for kids and teachers. This works for students who need a motivation counter for each problem on a page that they are working on. But, I can also use this same tool to give a different student a token for each page or subject completed. Check out the list below for common tasks I award a dot token to!
- A whole assignment completed
- One problem completed
- Using manners
- Asking for help
- Sharing
- Beginning an activity when asked
- Ending an activity when asked
- Cleaning up
- Raising your hand
- Keeping your body to yourself
- Following directions
- Staying in your area
Have you used this in your classroom? What strategies do you find work the best for you and your students?
