Behave yourself!

I am lucky enough to team teach with two fabulous women.  We divide and conquer about 80 primary children each day.  I teach all of the math, and the other two each teach reading and writing.  We start out with the kids in kindergarten and get to see them grow all the way through second grade, which is my "homeroom".  I absolutely love teaching this way and can't imagine keeping the same students all day long!  (Yes, even our little kindergarten friends switch classes like middle and high schoolers! And they ROCK at it.)

When teaching this way, you have to work very closely with your teammates to ensure consistency when it comes to behavior management.  Otherwise, things get CRAZY.  FAST.  We spend a day each summer going over our procedures and expectations to make sure we are as consistent as possible within our three classrooms.  All of us use CHAMPS (am I the only one reminding strangers in the movie theater to check their conversation level?!) and have the same consequences for not following the CHAMPS chart. 

Last summer, we created behavior charts for our little friends to carry in their folder from class to class.  It lists all three classes and has a space for each teacher to note the student's behavior in that class.  Students are allowed to color in their smiley face if they are a champ during that class.  But if they receive a behavior mark for not following the CHAMPS chart, we fill out their chart and write their infraction for parents to see.  This is sent home nightly and parents are required to sign it.  This had such a positive impact on our behavior management!  Students were able to see that even though they slipped up in one class, they still had a chance to get a smiley face in the next class.  It also allowed us to conference with students as we filled out their charts.  We would encourage them to make better choices and offer suggestions for how they should behave differently next time.  We saw amazing improvements in some of our friends over the course of the year!

I don't know if any of you departmentalize, but I thought I would share what works so well for my team!  Maybe you will find it useful too!  Behavior Choices (I'm sooo new to this--there has to be a better way to post than Google docs...please tell me!!)