While every classroom management system isn’t a “one size fits all” for every teacher or every student – here is a rainbow clip chart and how it works.
Plus, when you download the free rainbow clip chart, you also get mini personal clip charts and a behavior calendar for your class.
If you are unfamiliar with what a clip chart is, Lori from Teaching with Love and Laughter describes her clip chart system.
Here’s how a rainbow clip chart works
The clip chart is a visual behavior tracking chart that has been divided into levels. Normally student names are written on clothespins and clipped to the side of the chart. You can also use magnets.
All of the children start the day in the middle. On the included freebie rainbow clip chart – students start out the day on “READY to Choose My Actions and My Attitude.”
Then during the day, the children move their clothespins up or down the chart to other levels as their choices warrant.
If they are making good choices and are recognized by the teacher, they can move their clothespin up a level at a time. For example, on this free clip chart they can clip up to:
- RIGHT choices and attitude
- AWESOME choices and attitude
- INCREDIBLE choices and attitude
The opposite is also true – inappropriate behavior causes them to clip down a level. On the clip chart freebie that includes these levels:
- THINKING how to choose better
- TAKING TIME to choose how to do better
- FACING consequences
Children see it is their ultimate responsibility to make wise choices and have a positive attitude if they want to be recognized. The behaviors should be outlined by your classroom rules.
Making it to the top of the chart should not be easy, but it should be attainable. Children will quickly realize how they must conduct themselves in order to achieve this goal in first, second and even third grade.
I created this clip chart so that students didn’t need to feel that they had to clip all the way to the top of a clip chart to feel successful. Also I don’t think a teacher should have to be so verbally diligent in telling students to clip up all the time.
With this chart, if they clip up to “RIGHT choices and attitude” then it is completely satisfactory and they are doing what they should be doing in the classroom. That should be celebrated.
The top of the clip chart is reserved for the truly awesome and incredible acts and choices we get to see in the classroom though they may not happen all the time nor everyday.
Many parents love the concept of a clip chart, substitute teachers love it and if embraced by the teacher then the children generally love it too.
I’ve included little mini personal clip charts or you could call them desktop clip charts in case you need to just use these for individual students on a modified behavior plan.
Though it’s not for everyone – you can always try it on for size and give it a few months to see if it’ll work for you and your classroom.
Your students can track and report (and share) their behavior with their families. You can use a monthly take home behavior report calendar to help accomplish this. If you add dates in the stars with large numbers, even kindergarten students can fill this out independently (with some help at the beginning of the year).
Depending upon your classroom management plan you could have students earn rewards or special privileges for clipping to a specific level on the chart a certain number of times in a week or month.
Keep the rewards close to being immediate for younger students as they need the incentive to be closely related to the behaviors exhibited. You can easily increase the number they need to earn as the school year progresses and they become more proficient with their behaviors.
The clip chart levels are offered both in a full color background or just the text in color so you can choose what look is right for you (and right for your printing needs).
Download the Rainbow Clip Chart Freebie
There you have a rainbow clip chart and how it works along with the free printables to make it happen.
| Submit Your Tip |
More Classroom Management
- What is Responsibility: Classroom Anchor Chart
- Easy Classroom Management Project and a Freebie
- Classroom Management: “Yes Line” Behavior Trick!
Leslie {aka the original Teach Junkie} loves learning new things to make teaching easier and more effective. She enjoys featuring creative classroom fun when she's not designing teacher shirts, making kindergarten lesson plans or planning her family's next trip to Disney World.