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Whole-‐Group Strategies for Struggling Students Amy Murray, B. Ed., M.S. Cathryn Rowley B.Sc.O.T.
Whole Group Strategies
for “THAT” Child
Amy Murray, B.Ed. M.S
Cathryn Rowley B.Sc.O.T.
2014-‐01-‐27
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This session is social-media
friendly!
@happycampergirl #sde2014
#kinderchat
Who is THAT child?
! Everybody has one in your class
! Think about her/him
! Boy or girl?
! Age: oldest/youngest/in the middle?
! History at your school
! Academic skills
THAT child: disruptive type
! Interrupts ! Calls out without raising hand ! Can’t take turns/share materials ! Physically aggressive ! Seeks peer attention/reaction ! Class clown ! Struggles with transition/unstructured time ! Finds the loopholes in supervision/routines ! Requires A LOT of teacher energy/support
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THAT child: disengaged type
! Wandering
! « lost »
! Trouble with instructions
! « On his own agenda »
! Poor boundaries (belongings/space)
! Unaware of environment/social cues
! Struggles with task completion
! Easy to ignore – at risk of falling through the cracks
*the ability to manage one's own physical,
mental, and emotional state, and to respond in a
socially appropriate way.
Both “types” suffer from
poor self-regulation*.
Look for patterns:
! Consider one behaviour at a time:
! WHEN does it happen?
! Time of day, day of the week, specific activity
! WHERE does it happen?
! WITH WHOM does it happen?
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And the most important questions: ! What need is this behaviour
meeting?
! How can I help meet this need in a more appropriate way?
Young children WANT to do well
! Challenging behaviours are an attempt to meet a need in an inappropriate way:
! Attention
! Connection
! Peer recognition
! Safety (physical and emotional)
Why whole-group strategies?
! Individual strategies may not be working
! Reducing stigma
! Supporting all the children in your class
! Reducing the drain you feel from THAT child
! Changing from a negative cycle to a positive one
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Whether the roots of a behaviour are biological, emotional, social, we need tools to support them in a school setting.
Building your classroom toolkit…
! Tools should be available to all children:
! Fidget toys
! Headphones
! Seating options
! Quiet corner/Peace corner
! Take-a-break pass
Teach good behaviour
! Provide instruction for HOW to work with others
! Model/role-play how to take turns & use materials
! Let students participate in classroom/activity planning
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Building community
! Tower-building (if you both have a sister…)
! Filling your bucket
! Yarn web
! « Doer & checker »
Building community
! Friendship wall/web
! Collaborative projects in small groups (coaching)
! Guided individual drawings
Increase engagement
! Individual whiteboards
! Partner talk
! Earning recognition as a group
! Peer recognition
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Remember:
! Look for patterns
! Meet the needs
! Have (and use) your toolkit
! Teach good behaviour
! Build community
! Increase engagement