Mind the Gap - Student Work

The Mind the Gap intervention has been going well.  The students understand how to map it out.  As I had mentioned previously we began with very basic choices: Do I want to eat Carrots or Ice Cream for snack.  Mapping it out: Stop-It is snack time.  Think-If I eat carrots-They are healthy, they digest well, they are crunchy; if I eat ice cream-It is unhealthy, I could get a cavity, It is tasty.  Act-I will eat carrots.  As we expanded we introduced the concept during our social skills group when they were not in a state of acting out or crisis.  Here is a video of a student explaining what to do when he is frustrated:

We then began to implement it during/after moments of crisis.  Here is a student's work before they decided to break a rule.  

We use this almost every day and not always for negative behavior.  We use it quite a bit to teach that everything we do in life is a choice, we have even tied it in to character studies (for our higher level reading students) to map out a characters thinking.

When we use this with a student before, during or after a crisis, we send a copy home to the parents.  Our parents have all been briefed in this intervention and have copies at home to use as well.  

If you are interested in this intervention technique and would like clarification please contact me through the blog.  If you are interested in using this within your classroom, please check out the product available on my TpT store.

Peer Buddy System

This week we implemented a peer buddy system in our second grade inclusion classroom.   We randomly (and I use that term loosely) selected students to become buddies.  We explained that we were assigning buddies for a few reasons: 1) we have students that are new to our school, and 2) we enter as strangers and leave as friends.  We truly implemented if for several of our own reasons: 1) Support and develop social skills for students with special needs, 2) Decrease bullying (Did you know bullying is at its highest in second grade?), and 3) Increase positive social-emotional health.

For the first lesson we explained our reasons for implementing the buddy system.  We then talked about how to be a good friend to someone (sharing, using a friendly voice, sharing, etc).  We then paired everyone up and gave them a questionnaire to complete with their partner.  We explained that every 2 weeks we would switch buddies, and every 2 weeks we would interview our buddies.  We then compiled a list of "How to be a buddy."

I am eager to see how the buddy system progresses throughout the school year and I anticipate positive changes in peer relationships and respect within the class.

The peer buddy interview sheet can be found on my TpT site.