Behavior Contingency Plan

In my behavior contingency plan, I planned for a 3

rd
grade inclusion classroom,
specifically targeting behaviors that have to do with emotional outbursts and
communication methods in the classroom, both verbal and non-verbal. These
behaviors would be especially challenging for students struggling with emotional
disturbance (or other disabilities that tend to produce anti-social behaviors),
specifically those student who primarily externalize their negative reactions to certain
situations.
The first target behavior (going along with my airplane theme) is aptly called
using your landing gear, which describes the process a student should go through
when dealing with a difficult situation. First, the student should stop their action if the
current one is inappropriate. Second, they should use their specific calming tool to
refocus. For some kids, it may be a repetitive action with a specific goal, such as
squeezing a stress ball 10 times or taking 8 deep breaths. For others it may be a more
cognitive task such as a Rubiks cube or writing a few sentences. Finally, if the
student is still worked up about the situation, they should leave the current area of
conflict and retreat to a designated cool-down space in the classroom. The way I
would teach this process would be in a class meeting format, taking examples from
the students of inappropriate reactions to situations and how they could use their
landing gear to help them calm down. I would also take time, specifically with the
tough kids in the class, to find what their ideal calming tool is.
The next target behavior centers on the importance of using your words. The key
here is to explain to the teacher or peer why you are upset instead of blowing up.
The explanation has two partsfirst, what emotion the student is feeling, and
secondly why they are feeling that way. After they have communicated this, I as a
teacher will encourage them to think about the appropriate next step. I will have them
practice this in class meetings with positive and negative emotions. We will also
stress the importance of not raising our voices in the classroom as well.
The third and final target behavior is signaling when you need something. These
behaviors in use are easy to spotraising a hand or a finger or a bathroom signal.
We can practice these in a group in the class meetings as well.
Students can be awarded miles after handling a tough situation appropriately, or
for succeeding with a behavior such as raising your hand when others are struggling,
or if they have struggled with it in the past. Additionally smaller amounts of miles can
be given when a student helps another student calm down from an outburst by
reminding them of the techniques. While the greater incentive is a class party, the
smaller souvenirs they get to collect after every 1000 miles can vary and will keep
kids interested. If however these incentives lose their appeal, I may add class-oriented
rewards to the souvenir box, such as sit next to your friend for a day or bring a
special object with you for show and tell. The miles will be kept in little paper
suitcases on the wall, and then I will take a weekly count to establish who gets
rewards. The parents will be able to see the display on the wall when they visit the
classroom, but I would also give parents the option of knowing their childs miles
when I do the weekly count.
In the case of a difficult child, I would provide them with more opportunities to
earn miles, as well as a passporta way for them to keep track of their own miles at
their desk, serving as a constant reminder of what they have achieved and what their
future goals are.