Life Skills and Positive Behavior Support

At our school, we use a system called the "Discovery Program" to teach life, social and behavior skills. This program has proven to be especially useful in our alternative high school setting where all teachers are on the same page and teach Discovery classes to students.

"Discovery Bucks"

This year, we have combined this with a positive behavior support system that we call "Discovery Bucks". The basic premise: catch kids doing something right. We put the six Ps from Discovery (prompt, prepared, polite, positive mental attitude, participate, produce) onto a "Discovery Buck" tickets. Whenever we see a student meeting the requirements of one of the six Ps, we check a box, initial the ticket, and give it to the student. The student then writes their name on the ticket and places it in a small bucket (one is located in every class).  

Student-decorated little buckets for each class

 Every Friday morning, the whole school meets for a drawing in which we pour all tickets into a large bucket and draw five winners. Our staff decided that giving the winners an hour lunch (rather than a half hour) would be the best approach for our population. 

Large bucket for drawings

The combination of Discovery and the positive behavior support system helps not only the students, who now try more often to achieve AND for teachers who have a system in place for frequent positive reinforcement. 

Teaching About Relationships

Having an open dialogue about relationships is one way in which teachers (and counselors, admin, and of course, parents) can have the biggest impact on a student's life. This lesson (SmartBoard version found here) can help you start discussion about the different types of relationships, traits of good and bad relationships, warning signs of abusive relationships, and jealousy. 
The bulk of this lesson is meant to guide classroom discussion. While sometimes this can be a challenge, students typically find this topic one they are very interested in (so much so, that it can be difficult to get them to STOP talking). Enjoy!

Bullying in Schools

One of our nation's worse epidemics in schools is bullying. It's something that often goes ignored until someone gets seriously hurt. Teachers, administration, and even students, need to become more proactive if we are to stamp out bullying. The following lesson is a good way to open up discussion between teachers and students. Get the SmartBoard Lesson here and the case study (Eve's Story) here.

Classroom Tips

Some amazing classroom tips (not just for elementary school!). I love these.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/peggy/clever-classroom-tips-for-elementary-school-teachers?s=mobile

Practicing Social Skills Digitally

New software may soon be available to help practice social skills for those who deal with anxiety. This has great potential for people who struggle with social interactions, such as those with autism.

Full article found here.

"Interpersonal skills are the key to being successful at work and at home," Hoque says. "How we appear and how we convey our feelings to others define us. But there isn't much help out there to improve on that segment of interaction."