Prevention Plan According to Slavin

¶ … Prevention Plan According to Slavin (2009), the first days of school are critical for establishing order in the classroom. Teachers who spend extra time reviewing class rules and establishing procedures during the first week of school have fewer discipline problems throughout the year. In a second grade classroom, the rules should follow three guidelines. They should be few in number, they should seem fair to students, and they should be clearly explained and established (Slavin, 2009).

Implementation Wong and Wong (2004) note that students can be involved in forming rules, but that their role will be limited because most schools and districts have previously established rules that must be followed. They suggest instead that the teacher should already have the rules posted when the students arrive in class on the first day. Slavin (2009) recommends using moral guidelines rather than individual rules. For example, instead of saying that students will not talk in class, a moral guideline would be to respect the learning of others.

A sample list of moral guidelines for a second grade classroom could include statements such as: 1. Be respectful of the learning time of yourself and others. (This would cover infractions such as talking, yelling and interrupting the teacher during lessons). 2. Be safe and help others to be safe. (This blanket statement covers the correct use of playground equipment, walking instead of running, and hitting). 3. Respect other people's property. (This rule encapsulates stealing and vandalism). 4. Show kindness and respect to others.

(This final rule establishes the student role towards other children and covers issues such as bullying, badmouthing and fighting). These rules are appropriate for second graders because there are only a few easily remembered rules that cover a multitude of misdemeanors. They establish a respectful and safe atmosphere that is centered upon learning. During the first week of school, the rules will be reviewed daily. Role play between students and teacher modeling will be implemented to show the difference between appropriate and inappropriate behaviors.

Logical Consequences Charney (2005) suggests using a system of logical consequences to enforce classroom rules. The first consequence expects children to take responsibility by cleaning any mess or fixing any situation they make. The second is loss of privilege, and it is directly related to the infraction. For example, a child who cannot keep his four chair legs on the floor loses his chair for the remainder of the lesson. Last, students may need to spend some time reflecting on their behavior in a time-out zone.

These procedures help children to connect the consequence to the behavior using real-world applications. Conclusion Classroom rules are established to create a safe learning.