I had a particularly lively First Class a few years ago in a tiny classroom. I couldn't organise the desks in groups due to lack of space and I also knew that due to behavioural difficulties in the class the group system would be a non-runner. I began to trawl Pinterest for alternative ideas. It was there that I came across the Behaviour Ladder.
'Séard atá ann ná córas céimnitheach a thosaíonn as an nua gach lá. Chun é a chur i bhfeidhm caithfear na cártaí a phriontáil agus a ghearradh amach, ansin iad a lannadh agus a ghreamú le chéile. Ansin beidh pionnaí éadaigh uait. Oibríonn na cinn adhmaid níos fearr mar caithfidh tú ainm gach páiste a scríobh ar na pionnaí. Tá pionna ag gach páiste agus tosaíonn siad ar fad ar "Ar Bís Chun Foghlama" gach maidin. Bogann an pionna suas nó síos ag braith ar iompar an pháiste.
The Ladder is a staged system that starts from scratch each day. To implement it in you class you need to print and cut out the cards and then laminate each one and stick them together in order. Then you need some clothes pegs. The wooden ones work best as you will need to write each child's name on the pegs. Every child has their own peg and they start each morning on "Ready to Learn". Their peg then moves up or down the ladder depending on their behaviour.
Bhí sé éasca na rialacha a mhíniú leis na páistí agus thug mé rabhadh dóibh sular bhog mé aon phionna síos. De ghnáth ba leor an rabhadh agus is annamh go raibh éinne ar an gcéim deireanach. I ndáiríre d'oibrigh sé chomh maith gur shroich an-chuid daltaí an céim ar barr roimh am lóin! Lá amháin bhog mé an pionna ón gcairt chuig mo chairdeagan. Bhuel! Bhí fonn ar na páistí ar fad go mbeadh a bpionna orm (bhíodh siad ag crochadh ó mo spéaclaí go minic freisin!!!) mar bhí a fhios acu go bhfeicfeadh a dtuismitheoirí iad ag am dul abhaile agus go mbeidhí an-shásta.
The rules were very easy for the children to understand and I would generally warn the children before I moved a peg downwards. Usually, the warning sufficed and there pegs were rarely on the bottom rung. In fact, it worked so well that quite a few children reached the top of the chart by lunchtime. I needed to up my game so one day I moved a peg from the top of the chart to my cardigan. Well I couldn't believe the response! They all tried their hardest to have their peg hanging off me (many a day saw me wandering around with several pegs hanging off my glasses!!!) because they knew their parents would see the pegs at hometime.
Níl aon duaiseanna i gceist leis an gcóras seo, ba leor domsa duine ón gcárta ar barr a chur go barr an líne mar dhuais. An dá píonós atá ann ná ag seasamh amach ag am lóin ar feadh 5 nóiméad (píonós scoile) agus an ceann is measa ná nóta sa dialann do na tuismitheoirí.
There are no rewards to buy with this system, picking someone from the top rung to go to the top of the line was motivation enough. The two punishment steps on the ladder are a 5 minute Time-Out at lunchtime (a standard punishment in our school) and the most serious is a note in their homework journal.
An rud is fearr faoin gcóras seo, i mo thuairim, ná go bhfuil deis ag na páistí feabhas a chur ar an iompar i rith an lae agus is feabhas é ar mhaithe le moladh a fháil ní duais.
The best thing, in my opinion, about this system is that the children have the opportunity to improve their behaviour throughout the day and this improvement is in order to receive praise not a prize.
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