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Lindsey Wilson's social and emotional behavior intervention  classroom at Laurelhurst Elementary School, has clearly defined areas and attractive charts around the room.  

Lindsay Wilson teaching students about the "mood meter"

On December 3, as part of a social and emotional learning program called "RULER", the students were asked to decide where a mood word (there are about 30 of them) would show up on the "Mood Meter". One student, Andy, said that "nervous" would be "red [angry], yellow [happy], and a little bit of blue [sad]".  The class agreed that some words can represent mixed feelings. The RULER program helps students learn to identify and regulate feelings and build emotional intelligence.

The students were very engaged

In her second year of teaching, Lindsey is participating in professional development trainings which are done by the District with university partners. The training program focuses on achieving a high level of rigor in academic instruction, as well as developing effective behavior management techniques. To further the professional development training, teachers form professional learning communities to share effective procedures for behavior intervention methods for classrooms.

Lindsey teaches up to 10 students with two instructional aides in the classroom. She pointed out some of the visuals she uses in her classroom that she learned about in the training: 

• A chart of 5 Basic Class Rules
• Charts of routines, including morning, work time, transitions, group discussions, afternoon, and end of day routines. Some of the children have the same lists taped to their desks to provide
  

  Individual choice sheet

  individual support.
• A Voice Chart which cues children to use an outside voice, classroom voice, or voice off.
• Clearly defined areas: a place for group work, books/reading area, and a calming down room.
• Level system: children get points and receive certain privileges when they show cooperation, good decision making, and complete tasks accurately and on time.

Research shows that structures, procedures, and routines are very important for students who need social and behavior supports in order to learn in a classroom setting. Lindsey says that as a result of learning how to set up the room and design schedules and structures, she can see that "the children know exactly what is expected of them and they feel safe and comfortable... It also prevents arguments and unfocused conversation during group discussions. We can say, 'What is the rule?' which reminds children how to behave in the classroom and to be respectful of others." 

Stephanie King, PhD, NCSP, is a Behavior Program Specialist and coaches programs throughout the District. She sees working with families as critical to this approach. Stephanie says that our special education teachers and staff appreciate  partnerships with families and are always looking for new ways to work together for the benefit of the students.