1. Learning to Love Behavior
Amber Halliburton

2. All about me….

3. Top 5 in 20
Quickly, without a lot of thought, list
your 5 top accomplishments in about
20 seconds.

4. None of it matters without a positive
relationship with a child. They don’t
care about your job, your education or
any awards or accomplishments. They
care about you and how you make
them feel.

5. Behavior
EVERY behavior has a purpose.
Every behavior helps the student gain
or escape/avoid something.
The challenge is to find out the reason
for the behavior.

6. Far Reaching
Social
Academics
Relationships
Create a cycle ?

7. 10 Words Every Child
Should Know

8. Resources
Valuable information that can aid you
in school, work, college and in life.
Examples include: notes, textbooks,
peers, computer, internet, adults

9. Collaboration
To work together, to seek the input of
others
Peers, friends, colleagues, are valuable
resources.
Collaboration means working together,
not taking someone’s work as your own
(that is stealing)

10. Your definition….
Define Respect

11. Respect
To treat kindly, to speak to in an
appropriate tone, with appropriate
topics and maintain recognition of the
person’s authority.
Most of us would have a hard time
defining respect. It is often an ideal
that we know, but cannot describe.

12. Appropriate
Acceptable, following social rules
I couple this with socially appropriate
behaviors.
What is appropriate for many kids at
home is not appropriate for them at
school. We must teach what is
appropriate and inappropriate. We
cannot expect them to know.

13. Privilege
A reward, a special treat, something
that you are not required to have
Examples – location of desk, group
work, privilege to choose your work
space, privilege to sit with friends at
lunch
School is full of privileges that we often
overlook.
Food, personal space, and other such examples are
not privileges and should never be taken away.

14. Self-Advocacy
To speak for yourself and your needs in
an appropriate, respectful way.
I cannot see the board. Can you
please move my seat?
Can I please talk to you about my
grade. I think there is a mistake on my
progress report.

15. Consequence
The end result of an action, this can be
good or bad.
The consequence for not completing
your work is a loss of group privilege.
The consequence for getting a 100 is a
drink.
I use the word interchangeably with
most students.

16. Honesty
To tell the truth, without withholding
information, altering information or
leading someone to believe something
besides what is true.
Move from punitive to purposeful by
having students be accountable and
honest for what they have done.
It is not about consequences, but teaching students
to be honest.

17. Scenario…
Justin stole Matthew’s pencil. The
teacher asks Justin if he stole the
pencil. Justin says no. He gets in
trouble for lying and for stealing the
pencil. The teacher asks again. Justin
says yes. Justin gets in trouble for
stealing.
What are we teaching our students?

18. Necessary Consequences
This is not to say that actions cannot
have consequences.
Moving from punitive to purposeful.
Replacement behaviors
Longer lasting
Meaningful
Can PREVENT future behaviors

19. Accountability
To be accountable for one’s actions, to
own what you did, to admit to what
you did, whether it is good or bad
We each should be accountable for our
choices.
I need you to own what you did and be
open about it.

20. Self-Regulate
To control one’s self, without another
person’s directions, orders or
supervision.
Self-regulate, 2 at a time to the
bathroom.
Are we using good self-regulation?

21. Real World Applications
How to make it work in a classroom full
of kids? With few resources? Little
support from home?
Centralize it – always bring it back to
the rules/expectations
Post it
Repeat it (and then repeat….)

22. Cake in the Classroom
C – Crazy
A – Aggravating
K – Kids
E – Exhaust you!

23. Icing on the cake
I – Identify your most needy kids.
C – Commit to calling home everyday with
a positive comment or update.
I - Initiate a plan of when to call.
N - Note the change – positive and
negative
G - Gauge the success of your plan, the
student, and the parent.
Then repeat – either with new kids or with a second layer of
Then repeat – either with new kids or with a second layer of
icing on a specific student
icing on a specific student

24. Academics not Behavior
Separate academics and behavior.
The two are very different.
Some children are successful in one area
and not another.
We have to start at the area of success.
In class, a student creates a great
project but has a really bad
attitude….what do you do? What
would you like to do? What should you
do?

25. Motivation
Work for free?
What motivates adults?
What motivates students?
Do we expect them to work for free?
Upper and middle class often can see
effects of education.
Some middle and lower class are living day
to day.

26. Praise and Acknowledgement
A plane crashes on the border of the
U.S. and Canada. Where do they bury
the survivors?

27. Logic Puzzle
A Ping-Pong Ball in a Hole
Your last good ping-pong ball fell down
into a narrow metal pipe imbedded in
concrete one foot deep.
How can you get it out undamaged, if
all the tools you have are your tennis
paddle, your shoe-laces, and your
plastic water bottle, which does not fit
into the pipe?

28. All the tools are random things that are
not going to help you. All you have to
do is pour some water into the pipe so
that the ball swims up on the surface.
And if you say that you don't have any
water, then think about what you drank
today and if you can use that somehow
:-)
http://brainden.com/logic-puzzles.htm

29. Why Some students work (and
some don’t)
Need for approval/fear
Personal satisfaction/failure
Challenge/too hard
Praise/Ridicule
Rewards/Never get it

30. Ways to Praise
Praise and Rewards can be easy.
Economical
Pencils and school supplies serve 2 purposes.
Individualized
Given with expectation
Given randomly
Passes – silent lunch pass, free time on
the computer, etc.

31. What to Praise
If you can observe, you can praise it!
It’s not always about academics!
Materials brought to class
Raised hands
Not talking
Looks nice
Name on paper
ANYTHING YOU CAN OBSERVE

32. The harder it is to praise, the more
likely the child needs it.
What are the circumstances that have
created that child?
How would we as adults respond in that
situation?

33. Understanding the Parent
While the parent may not have the same
parenting style as you, most still care
about their child.
Most parents love their children.
We are not here to assess how they express
their love to their child, but to help their child
as much as we, the teacher can.
We cannot change the home, but we can
change the school-home interaction.

34. Food for thought…
Families with children are by most accounts
among the fastest growing segments of the
homeless population. In the United States an
estimated 1.35 million from 600 thousand
families will experience homelessness today,
while 3.8 million more will live in “precarious
housing situations.” Put another way, of
every 200 children in America, 3 will be
homeless today and more than double that
number will be at risk for homelessness.

35. In your class….
According to recent federal data, during the
2007-2008 school year 794,617 homeless
children and youth were enrolled in public
schools. This number, however, is an
underestimate, as not all school districts
report data to the U.S. Department of
Education, and because the data collected
represents only those children identified and
enrolled in school. Furthermore, the number
does not include all preschool-age children,
or any infants and toddlers

36. Always on the move…
Too often, homeless children have to
change schools because shelters or
other temporary accommodations are
not located within their school district.
Homeless children and youth frequently
transfer schools multiple times in a
single year because of these
conditions.

37. Negative Effects
Every time a child has to change
schools, his or her education is
disrupted. According to the Institute for
Children and Poverty, homeless
children are nine times more likely to
repeat a grade, four times more likely
to drop out of school, and three times
more likely to be placed in special
education programs than their housed
peers.

38. National Coalition for the
Homeless
http://www.nationalhomeless.org/facts
heets/education.html

39. Ideal living
Sleeping in a room with 6 people, you on the
couch – 3 of the people in the room are
under 5
The only heat is the blankets you have on
your bed. You have to move close to your
brother just to keep warm.
No running water
No breakfast
Walked to school/caught a ride (if you were
lucky)
POP QUIZ!!!!!
Response?

40. Not really fun after all
New sports equipment in PE
New games
Really fun teacher
Easy A
I have to change clothes in front of
people…no shower in 3 days, no other
clothes to put on…I feel sick….

41. Game Time
Class challenge
2 groups (one is always “smarter”)
2 at a time to the board
Up front at the board, everybody’s looking
I know they see my dirty hair, same
clothes I wore yesterday that my baby
brother spit up on. I know that they think
I am trash
WRONG ANSWER – everyone laughs…I
want to leave…

42. Let’s Get Creative
Choose one of the following:
Create a computer game to display this
concept
Video tape you and your friends
completing a task
Create a tri-fold displaying the
information – all information typed
WITH WHAT? WHEN? HOW?

43. Options
Providing options to students can meet
all of your objectives, but give some
control back to kids.
Provide 3-4 options that are acceptable
to you that the student may enjoy.
Poster, paper, photo story, PowerPoint
Provide options on the order of work
they complete.
This or that first (Does it really matter?)

44. Accessible to all
Provide options for students who do
not have materials, support or ability to
complete outside the school
environment.

45. A B C’s
A Basic Continuum
Nothing is permanent. Everything can be
earned or lost. It is always at the
discretion of the teacher, but can be
contingent on what YOU say and want.
Silent lunch for a week. Motivation?

46. Lose a privilege, after appropriate
behaviors are displayed, it is returned
To teach replacement behaviors, we
must show kids what we want
Provide guidelines
Reward positive choices

47. Typical Routine Alternatives
Games – worksheet makeover
Group work – specific roles (recorder,
reporter, supporter)
Teams - competition
Rubrics – teach them to assess
themselves and others
Materials – give options
Testing – oral, group, team, etc.
Calls home – immediate

48. Examples of everyday
“choices”
Even or odd
Choose 10 out of 20 to complete.
3 assignments- complete in any order
Write in a different color pen/marker/crayon
(something out of the norm)
Type on the computer
Different mediums to complete work
Allow group, partner or individual work
Allow whisper time while they work
TECHNOLOGY!!!!!!!

49. Group Consequences
Token System
Never a loss, only recognizing gains
Points – earned and lost
Collaboration
Individual and Group
All students must complete all work or the
entire class has a specific consequence.
From outside source – compliments from
other teachers/staff/administrators

50. Classroom Jobs
Most missed out on these
opportunities when they were
younger.

51. Shhhhh……
Intentional Pause
Intentional Ignoring
Silence
Rote answers/Repetition
Check your tone in all that you say.
It’s not in what you say, but the way
you say it.

52. The Way You Say It
Get in line. When you’re ready, we will
go.
You aren’t working. Are you working?
Stop talking. When it’s quiet, we can…
You haven’t done anything Do you need help?
at all.
Sit in your seat. Are you in your seat?
Command/Demand/ Question/Statement to
Accusation refocus, redirect, and ready
students for learning

53. Many students in poverty are louder
than children in middle class homes.
Role-play, model, listen to examples of
appropriate tone.
The vocabulary of a child in poverty by
age 8 is less than ½ of a child in
middle class.
Teach them to access resources.

54. “Hit it and Quit It”
Say what you have to say and then be
quiet.
Students do not need or respond well
to long speeches about their behavior.
Over-talk on our part often increases or
even causes behaviors.
We have to be different than their
norm if we expect them to act different
than in their norm.

55. A break in environment
Allow a student that is struggling to
“help” even for just a moment.
Allows the student to regain
composure.
A break from current setting.
A time to “save face”
This is not necessarily a reward, but a
chance to change the current
circumstances.

56. “Trash it Out”
Trash it out – a time for student to
speak without interruption
Set ground rules first – no inappropriate
language, tone or accusations
His or her side of the story
Can be oral or written
Students need to be HEARD!

57. Expectations should be HIGH
Set your goal and work moment by
moment to attain that goal.
Yes or no – not yeah, naw, sound
effects or eye tricks
Body language –
Be ware of cultural implications and your
own limitations
Set goal for engagement in the
conversation – not control

58. The Way THEY say it
Yes or No – expect the best
Model what you want
Role play
This is what I heard….
An opportunity for student’s to say it
correctly in the correct way

59. Considering our own purpose
and role
Punitive or Purposeful ?

60. Question and Answer

61. Contact Information
Amber Halliburton
Walter Johnson Middle
Email – ahalliburton@burke.k12.nc.us
Powerpoint is located on wikispaces at
http://learningtolovebehavior.wikispaces.c
om/

62. Baggage Activity
Acquire a suitcase, preferably old, beat up suitcase.
Give students several copies of a shirt (or black
sheets of paper)
Discuss that we all carry “baggage” everywhere we
go. A lot of times we don’t know what’s in each
other’s suitcase of baggage.
Encourage students to write possible “baggage” that
either they or their peers bring to school with them
everyday. Remind them this is anonymous.
Have students place shirts in suitcase when finished.
Discuss answers with students.

63. Baggage Activity Reality

64. My dad has 3 kids. 2 of them get to
live with him. I don’t. I haven’t since
my mom left when I was 5. I have
lived in over 60 group homes. I once
had to live in a cage in a group home.
I get to call my dad. Sometimes I call
him more than once. He just doesn’t
have the minutes to call me back, but I
get to hear his voice on the machine.

65. I am number 5 out of 5 kids. My
grandma and grandpa have raised all
of us. My mom and dad are both in
and out of jail. My brother and 2
sisters already have kids. Most of the
time, I have to watch their babies. I
have been beaten in and out of a gang.
I have been sexually active since 12.

66. My teacher is so nosey. It's just a knot on my head.
She asked me about so I told her. My mom hit me
with a pool ball. She was drunk and I was mad and
she hit me. I deserved it. My teacher called DSS
about it and they came to my house. Did my
teacher not know that I would get into so much
trouble for telling that? I deserved it and I told her
not to tell. She just had to go tell. My mom found
out who called DSS and then she called my teacher
and told her a lot of mean things. Then I got hit,
but I deserved it. I have to be more careful.

67. I changed schools in 6th grade. I hated my new
school. My old school let me sit in the custodian's
closet where the shower thing is and all the cleaners
are and play my video game all day. I didn't bother
them and they didn't bother me. My new school was
awful. They made me stay in class all day and
wouldn't let me leave except for bathroom and
lunch. I spent the first 3 weeks under the table,
barking, growling and trying to bite my teacher. I
hated her. I would also bite myself. It made me
feel better. I would bite my skin off and make
myself bleed. Sometimes the angels would tell me
to do. Sometimes I would talk to dead people. The
angles were nice, but when they all started talking at
the same time it was so loud. I just wanted it to
stop. I used to try to kill myself a lot.

68. I am a child who watched my daddy die when I was
five. He went to get money from a drug dealer and
was shot and killed. I sat there until the police
came. I was a victim of hurricane Katrina. I lived in
a stadium for 6 months. I spent time in a juvenile
detention center. I was 16 in 8th grade and could
not read. I changed my life around, learned to read
and returned to regular classes. My life was on the
right track. I wanted to join the Marines. I was later
shot at 17 by a police officer. I was in the wrong
place at the wrong time.

69. My mom used to tell me I was
retarded. I believed her. She would
tell me I was fat and that I was too
dumb for school. She said because I
was dumb, we got a check every
month. She didn’t want me in regular
school. I did good in my classes and
finally got to go back. Now she thinks
I am smart. I think I am a lot smarter
than I was then. I’m not retarded.

70. No Idea….

71. Relationships Matter
The good news…
Everything begins with a positive
relationship. Everyday we have the
choice to positively impact a child.
Will you?