Middle school teacher, Savannah Kepley of It's Always Sunny in Room 3, highly recommends having what she calls a #PlanB for those classes that need a little extra motivation to follow behavior guidelines. Not only is it effective, it's also a great strategy for those who have a hard time keeping up with paperwork.
Here's how it works...
- Create a '#PlanB' heading on the whiteboard.
- Add a strike when the class gets particularly rowdy.
- If the class reaches three strikes, revert to 'plan B' – an uninteresting activity/presentation of the material that will be graded/students will be held accountable for.
The concept to get across to your students – by their own actions, the class as a whole clearly indicated that they would prefer plan B and, as far as the day's lesson is concerned, plan A is no longer an option.
You'll have to be the judge of your own class; whether a group behavior management system will work or whether an individual system is preferable. The whole 'punishing the masses for the sake of the few' comes to mind. However, if you decide that a group strategy is the way to go, we think this is a great option! [NOTE: She also added a positive component that allows students to earn free time at the end of class for spotless performance!]
