Behavior management visual/verbal cues with soft toys
Great idea from a middle school collaborative teaching team! The pair wanted to reduce the number of repetitive verbal redirects they provide to students who are "getting in each others' business" and to students who are reacting without "thinking before they speak."
They decided to place an octopus-shaped stress ball on the desk of any student who is "getting in each others' business" and pairing with words like "keep your words to yourself" or "keep your tentacles to yourself."
They decided to place a brain-shaped stress ball on the desk of any student who is "thinking before they speak" and pairing with words like "let your brain tell you what to do" or "think first."
First they'll model this for the students, then they'll try it out. Sounds like a great behavior-cueing activity--any comments from the field?