 Anything that a person does that can be observed is a behavior. People engage in behavior 100% of the day. To manage challenging behaviors in the classroom, it is important to plan in advance. Intentionally thinking about possible problem behaviors before engaging in planning your instructional day will reduce the possibility of disruptive, off-task, or unwanted behavior. Taking a proactive approach to managing your classroom will help prevent non-compliance. People with specialized training in the area of positive behavior supports call this anti-seedent strategies. This video will highlight three essential strategies to prevent unwanted behavior and will result in more effective classroom managements. Clear instructions, consistent routines, and transitions. We're painting with this kind of paint. These are called watercolors. Can you say that? Watercolors! Communicating a behavior expectation concretely to ensure students understand the expectation. This includes stating what the student is expected to do versus what the student shouldn't do. Using concrete, simple language phrased as an instruction, not a question. Using visual supports or modeling to enhance comprehension. And limiting the number of steps given for a task at one time. Giving them clear instructions for me prevents problems for me later. You know, five minutes from now when the kids are doing what I want them to be doing, what kind of problems do I think I might encounter? And so I try to be proactive and give them clear instructions. It's sort of preventative, right? So I'm not dealing with those kinds of problems later. The fundamentals are basically providing instructions so that there's no wiggle room for a child to interpret it differently. If you want them to walk, then you don't say no running. Because then they could skip, they could hop. So rather than saying no running, you could say, oh, nice walking, or walking feet, please. And so just providing exactly what you want the child to do and how you want them to do it rather than leaving it negative or very broad. Implementing a consistent routine that is discussed with a visual schedule helps students anticipate and prepare for upcoming expectations in a day. Changes in a routine should be discussed and highlighted with the students at school arrival. When students understand routine expectations, it alleviates their anxiety and increases compliance. A daily routine should include frequent movement breaks and opportunities for self-care. I keep my day very structured. Every day is the same. The kids are very well aware of the routines. I give a lot of time limits. So you have two minutes to do this. If you're not done by that, then there's a consequence for that. Kids are very well aware of morning routine, come in after recess, come in. So I keep my day very structured. The time of day where students frequently engage in challenging behavior is during transitions. There are a number of strategies that can support successful transitions and decrease off-task challenging behaviors during this time. Teaching and practicing behavior expectations for transitions. Communicating the length of time students have for an activity. For younger students, this could be done with a visual schedule. For older students, they can reference the classroom clock. Transition warnings that communicate the amount of time left in an activity. Transition warnings support students in organizing their time to prepare for upcoming transitions.