I have a tier two group of three boys for math and two of the three boys for reading comprehension. I have already had to move another student from this group. Removing the other student was sucessful for about a week. Now I have another student asking to be moved out of the group due to a disruptive student. The disruptive student makes faces and laughs constantly during the reading comprehension section but does very well in math and is not a disruption during math. Currently, I am prompting him multiple times and I have employed the at behavior game, and once the student goes into time out, his behavior typically improves. This improvement is typically short lived and he usually begins to distract the other student to the point to where now he also wants to change groups. Should I continue to use the behavior game or send him out of the room or to the office? These seem to severe of a punishment for making faces to me, but what do you think?
f you've only just begun using the Great Behavior Game, I would suggest sticking with it for a month or two, otherwise the disruptive student may feel they have "won" the battle. It's better to really give it some time. If you do change it, perhaps you don't need to stop using the GBG, but rather intensify it so the cost to the student is greater and more impacting. For example, use the GBG to track every time the student makes a face, or does whatever other disruptive behaviors they are doing. For each incident, they are "charged" one minute of their free time, which is added up and subtracted from their next free time.
I'm not sure how flexible the GBG is with regard to using it to track the incidents of behaviors, but perhaps you could sit down with this student and list with them 3-5 behaviors they need to work on, which will all count as an infraction in the GBG. So after the first part of the day, when the students' next free time comes, you take a look at the number of total incidents in the GBG and deduct that number of minutes from their free time. This creates a more impacting cause and effect dynamic between the student's actions and the direct consequence for them. The student will feel this consequence more poignantly than a time out.
Or perhaps using the GBG, instead of a time out, the student gets "charged" 5 minutes of their free time. When the next free time comes up, you tally up how many and deduct them. This would fit right in with the GBG, replacing time outs with 5 losing 5 minutes free time.
As a reward, if the student is able to make it to lunch without being charged any free time minutes, then they get a small incentive, like a treat, 5 minute computer time, 5 minutes to help in the office or in class, getting to do a classroom job, etc. And then at the end of the day, if they make it without being charged any minutes, they get the last 5-10 minutes of school to receive a reward/incentive.
You might also consider having the student self monitor their behaviors, such that when you are working with them, they have a little chart on the desk where they have to mark an "X" or put a checkmark when they commit one of the disruptive behaviors. For every mark, they lose a minute of free time or some other privilege that is important to them. Since they are having to keep track of this, it will be much more real to them and they will quickly realize how much they are doing the behaviors as well as the impact on their personal time.
And again, a reward could be tied to this as well, such that if they get through the lessons without any checkmarks, they get a reward/incentive like above.
These are a few thoughts, Maybe there will be something useful in here or something to at least spur a new thought for you.
