Sunday, April 14th, 2013
Holt Public Schools
To the Parents of Nick (Pseudonym):
Nick
often shows that he understands the material we are going over in class by
completing his work. When he does not
finish morning work, he almost always finishes it later in the day so he does
not miss recess time. My concern is that
he does not finish his morning work because he becomes off task by talking and distracts
other students while working. Then, later
in the day, he feels rushed to finish it so he can go to recess. This will result in him only giving partial
of his best work and preventing others from finishing as well.
I
have noticed that he often wants to talk about what he writes in his daily
journal. The students have time every
morning to write a journal entry and they choose what to write about (usually
it is what they did the night before or over the weekend that was fun). I have talked to him about keeping the ideas
in his head while writing and have given them time afterward to talk about what
they wrote with the student sitting next to them. Next, I tried having them share ideas before
writing instead, so he would not feel as tempted to talk during the writing
time.
I am glad he is able to
continue to add more detail and share his experiences, because this is
important to have him think through what he wants to write, but needs to take
the time to record all his great thoughts.
These journals also work as practice for students to use correct
capitalization, punctuation, grammar, and sentence structure. Reading his journal, I see that he often misses punctuation, mostly periods at the end of sentences on the days he is very talkative.
Since these journals
are good writing practice, I have made a system to help keep him on task. At his desk he has a sheet of paper with six
blank boxes on it. If he can get a
smiley face stamp in every box by Wednesday, then he is rewarded. We agreed that the reward would be to have lunch with me (the intern) in our
class on Friday. In order to receive a
stamp he is to be following the expectations all the time, so in the morning he
finishes the journal with quality writing without talking to others. Also, he knows that he will not get a stamp
every time he is doing what he is supposed to because it is expected of him,
and all the students to follow expectations.
This system seems to be
working well for Nick, because when he stays focused on his journal, he tends to use punctuation and different types (like periods or exclamation points at the end of sentences). To reinforce this good behavior a similar system could
be set up at home. If you would like, I
can send you a copy of a chart to put on the refrigerator or on Nick’s bedroom
wall that you can draw stars on for following expectations at home. A reward that Nick has agreed to for reaching
a certain amount of stars would help encourage him. This is an option that would help Nick stay
on task and have a goal to achieve. Please
feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
Thank you for your cooperation,
Holly Baileyallemanh@msu.edu
(517) 581-8978
Dear Holly,
ReplyDeleteThank you for writing me, regarding your concerns about Nick. After reading your letter, I understand Nick has an active verbal development. Also, he enjoys talking to his peers about his thoughts. You are meeting these needs by allowing the students to share their ideas with their peers before writing about it in their journals.
However, Nick has problems paying full attention to his writing during journal time. This causes him to forget the use of punctuation in his writing. Also, his lack of attention causes him to not finish his writing during journal time. When he gets a chance to finish his writing, his goes through it very fast so he can go outside to play at recess. Currently, you are meeting his attention needs by setting-up a reward system with him.
While your reward system seems to be working for Nick, I am wondering how you know when to give him a stamp. You said you do not give him a stamp every time he is following your expectations. So, how do you know when to give him a stamp, and when not to give him a stamp? Moreover, what do the other children in the classroom think if they are always following directions, but they do not get rewarded for it? I am worried that Nick's peers will grow to dislike him because they are jealous of his rewards. Even though this system seems to be working, is there any other method you could use so Nick's peers do not grow resentful towards him? If you could get back to me about my concerns, I would really appreciate it!
Thank you, again, for informing me about Nick's writing!
Sincerely,
Allison Shaler
Dear Holly Bailey,
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking the time to write to me about the strengths and weaknesses you are seeing in Nick throughout the year. I know you have a very busy schedule but still understand the importance of communicating between teachers and parents to meet the needs of the student.
Nick is a very talkative young man and loves to share his active imagination with his friends. I appreciate you trying to uses these strengths to his advantage by allowing him to share his ideas before or after writing time. He loves to share his stories from his journals with me at home and has talked about your author’s chair for when students have completed a book. I wonder if you could occasionally use your author’s chair to allow a few students to share their journal entries from that day. This may encourage Nick, along with other students, to keep their stories to themselves in case they are chosen to share that day.
I am glad to see that your system is currently working for Nick. I am curious about what you define as on task so that I can work with Nick to understand what he is expected to do during this period. How do you know when Nick is on task? How do you know when to give the stamps? How do you decide which on task behaviors to reward with a stamp and which ones to skip? I also wonder how the reward of eating with the intern on Fridays is impacting his relationship with his peers. Is he missing out on lunch and lunch recess? I have found that when Nick is having trouble focusing at home giving him time to run around outside and get his energy out is helpful. I would hate for Nick to miss out on this opportunity at school which could then hinder his ability to sit in his seat and focus for the afternoon.
I can see how using the same kind of reinforcement system at home and in the classroom could be beneficial but I am confused about how I could reinforce the behavior you are looking for in school. At home we do not have many activities that require Nick to sit at a table and work on one quiet activity. Perhaps I could use this reinforcer while he is working on his homework after school.
Thank you very much for your time and energy to write to me. Please let me know if there is anything else I could be doing at home to improve Nick’s writing and punctuation.
Sincerely,
Hannah Decker
Dear parents,
ReplyDeleteI understand your concerns. We have set up a comfortable classroom, in which the students understand that treating all students fairly does not necessarily mean they are treated the same exact way. Since day one of school, we have worked together, other teachers, students, and staff, to make sure that every student has a "fair" opportunity to learn. This may mean that we may have to make certain accommodations for students to make sure they have the same chances to learn as others.
The students try to remind Nick to stay on task because they want him to succeed. There is also another boy in our class that we use the stamp system with. The class tends to be supportive and also can earn lunch with me by having good behavior throughout the week.
The stamps are used when Nick has participated and followed classroom expectations that include: no talking when working, listening to the teacher, following instructions, and staying on focused on the task at hand. When he does all of these things for multiple tasks, he receives a stamp for good behavior.
At home, Nick could receive a stamp or sticker for good behavior. It does not just have to be for school work. Maybe if he makes his bed every morning he could receive a star sticker for following expectations at home of making his bed. This will help him get used to the system and have an incentive to stay on task.
Thank you,
Holly Bailey