Strategies to improve behavior can make all the difference in the classroom. This is true whether you are a veteran teacher with years of experience, a new educator just starting out, or someone in between. When a classroom is running smoothly, students are engaged, learning new ideas, and working cooperatively. On the other hand, challenging behaviors have the potential to truly impact learning. This might look like a child who keeps getting up out of their seat during a lesson, a student who can’t get along with partners during group work, or a teen who refuses to follow expectations like keeping their phone away.
Sometimes, kids and teens are struggling in various ways and acting out can just be how they communicate their challenges. Much of that is out of your control as an educator. The good news is that evidenced-based behavior strategies is something that is under your control, and these supports can make a lasting impact. The key is setting up proactive behavioral management strategies for success.
Before getting started, it’s important to remember that having some of these challenging behaviors in the classroom doesn’t make you a bad teacher. In fact, it’s easy to argue that seeking out new strategies and supports is what makes you a great teacher.
Why do proactive strategies matter?
Proactive classroom management techniques help set the stage for success, guiding students to make more positive choices from the start. For example, you might proactively stand at your doorway to greet your students as they enter, a small way to build relationships every single day. Similarly, if you notice that many of your students struggle to focus after lunch, you might proactively schedule a calming brain break of mindfulness session.
Simply put, being proactive puts strategies in place so the problems are less likely to happen to begin with.
What are evidence-based behavior strategies?
Evidence-based strategies are techniques that substantial research has shown to be effective. This is critically important. Instead of solely guessing what you think might work, you’re using tried and true strategies that educational experts have already found to be effective. In other words, they have done the homework for you. While it’s true that not every strategy works in every situation, using evidence-based practices is a healthy starting point.
What evidence-based strategies can teachers use to improve classroom behaviors?
Below, you’ll find 25 evidence-based strategies to improve positive behaviors in the classroom with your students. Keep in mind that behavior management strategies aren’t a one-size-fits-all approach. It’s about finding the techniques that work best for you and your learners.
1. Establish Simple Rules and Expectations
Set up clear and simple guidelines for kids in the classroom to follow. It helps to develop these with your students so that they can feel invested in the process. If you haven’t done at the beginning of the year, that’s okay! You can always start fresh or revamp your classroom expectations together. Create a list together; the key is writing a list with students, not for them. Ask kids their input about classroom expectations they’d like to see – things like listening when someone else is talking, show kindness to others, and be prepared. Once finished, regularly reviewing those expectations reinforces the positive behaviors educators want to see.
2. Use Relationship-Building Activities
All educators know that strong relationships are foundational to everything else. Instead of only focusing on relationship-building strategies in the beginning of the school year, make it a point to continue these activities throughout the whole year.
Give chat time – Hold chat time as a group to get to know each other on a deeper level. Start with a list of relationship-building questions to spark meaningful conversations.
Play games – Try some simple “getting to know you” games like two truths and a lie, 4 corners, or would you rather questions.
Show-and-tell – Allow a space once a week for kids to share something about themselves with the class. Whatever they share doesn’t have to be school-related; it might be that they went on a trip to a zoo over the weekend or started learning a new instrument.
Daily check-in – Begin your day with a quick group check-in time. For just a few minutes at the start of class, kids can share how they’re doing or what they’re looking forward to for the day ahead.
Morning meeting – Start the morning with a semi-structured morning meeting routine. Greet each other, discuss a new topic, and share ideas.
Use collaborative learning activities – Help kids get to know each other with interactive group activities. Think-pair-share and jigsaw are just a few relationship-building activities that can be integrated into the daily classroom curriculum.
3. Create Predictable Schedules and Routines
Try posting a daily schedule and sticking to it as much as possible. When the schedule is predictable, it helps kids and teens know exactly what to expect. This can reduce anxiety and helps minimize challenging behaviors before they pop up. Note that your posted schedule doesn’t have to be fancy – even just a simple list with the time and activity can help learners understand what’s coming up next. For younger learners, you can add visuals as well.
At the same time, integrate meaningful routines like simple morning work, journal writing practice, or question of the day.
4. Teach Social-Emotional Skills Explicitly
Sometimes kids and teens genuinely lack the skills necessary for the job we give them. Teaching social-emotional skills explicitly can help kids learn how to work well on a team, manage frustration (or other emotions) in healthy ways, and make positive choices (Durlak et al., 2011). Because time is so limited in the classroom, sometimes you have to be creative in different strategies to teach SEL skills. Here are just a few ideas to try:
SEL journaling – SEL journaling is a practice that integrates writing and social-emotional skills. To get started, assign a prompt focused on a particular SEL skill and allow kids to respond. For example, if you want your students to work on teamwork skills, you might ask them to write about a time they worked well on a team with others. If you want to target empathy, you could encourage learners to write about a character from a book or movie they enjoyed. Consider the SEL skills you want your learners to build, or save yourself some time and grab a full yearlong social-emotional journal.
Use literature – While reading books or short stories, make it a point to integrate social-emotional skills like empathy, perspective-taking, friendships, decision-making, and more. Come up with your own books or get started with a list of social-emotional learning read alouds.
SEL question of the day – Use focused questions to turn your down-time into meaningful social-emotional practice. Some simple questions to start off with include: What does it mean to show empathy? How can you show kindness today? What skills and strategies help you be a good team player? What strategies help you feel calm and focused? Feel free to add in your own questions based on what your individual students need.
Teach SEL lessons – Carve time out of your week or day to dedicate to social-emotional lessons. You don’t have to re-create the wheel though! Choose from free social-emotional learning activities or begin with a research-based SEL curriculum.
5. Use Brain Breaks
When you notice that your students need a break, take one together. Brain breaks provide a healthy opportunity to rejuvenate and refocus the mind. Note that there are different types of brain breaks you can use. By varying the type of brain break, you can help give students what they need – whether kids need to move their bodies, calm down, or get a little extra social time.
Movement brain breaks:
- Stretching
- Dancing to music
- Jumping jacks and other exercises
- Movement games like Simon Says
Creativity and learning brain breaks:
- Short drawing prompts
- Storytelling
- Quote of the day
- Act activities
- Word or phrase of the day
Relationship-building brain breaks:
- Relationship-building discussion questions
- Getting to know you games like 4 corners
Calming brain breaks:
- Mindful breathing
- Listening to calming music
- Mindfulness exercises and activities
6. Plan Your Classroom Layout
Strategically design your classroom to allow for smoother transitions, reduced distractions, and more opportunities for focused learning. Consider how traffic flows in the classroom and how easily students can access important materials. Seat arrangement can also play an important role. Take a moment to assess your current classroom layout and make any chances you need.
7. Greet Students at the Door
A positive greeting at the door can set the tone for the entire day. It reminds students that you are happy to see them and creates a welcoming atmosphere from the start. Research has shown that these simple greetings are one of the most impactful ways to increase engagement and reduce challenging behaviors.
To get started, stand at the door and say good morning to every student who walks in. Greet each student by name, and try to mention something specific about that student if you can. For example, “Good morning, Keisha. How did your soccer game go yesterday?” or “Happy to see you, Tyler. We have a fun video today that I know you’ll love- it’s about the solar system.”
Another technique is to post different types of greetings, such as fist bumps and high-fives. Then, let each student decide the greeting they want for the day. Grab a free greeting poster to give this technique a try with your learners.
8. Use Transition Strategies
Transitions between activities can be a big problem area in the classroom. Use transition strategies to keep learners on track and reduce downtime. Below you will find some transition strategies you can try, but it’s important that you practice them with your students before you expect them to use them between tasks effectively.
Visual timers – Use a visual timer (physical or digital) to show students how much time they have left before a transition. This can help kids pace themselves as they finish an activity or task.
Transition songs – Sing short songs to help get the transition going. Music can be fun and predictable, making transitions a little easier for some students.
Clear verbal cues – Use simple, concrete, and consistent phrases to let your students know when it’s time to switch to a new activity. For example, you might say, “It’s time to clean up and start lining up for art.”
Time reminders – Let students know when they have 5 or 10 minutes left on a task, helping them prepare for what’s coming next.
Chimes – Ring a bell or chime to signal that it’s time to transition to something new. A musical chime makes for an effective cue since it can be calming and attention-grabbing at the same time.
9. Practice Mindfulness
Practicing mindfulness improves attention and boosts emotional regulation. While it’s true that practicing mindfulness can absolutely be used as a brain break, it’s also much more. To get the biggest benefits, it’s most helpful when you specifically schedule a short mindfulness session into your day on an ongoing basis. Here are some simple mindful practices you can try right away:
Mindful breathing – Guide students through mindful breathing exercises to help calm their bodies and minds. Start by taking 5 minutes to focus on your inhales and exhales as you slowly breathe. Once students grasp the idea, you can also introduce more fun breathing exercises like “cool off the pizza” and “marching drum breathing.”
Mindful journaling – Start your day with writing in a mindfulness journal. It’s a great way to combine mindful reflection with writing practice. Students can try writing about a guided visualization, respond to a mindfulness prompt, write about their feelings, or mindfully color and respond.
Mindful coloring – Play some calming music and color quietly together. Encourage kids to slowly breathe in and out as they color. Pick out any coloring pages or use these free printable mindfulness coloring pages for kids.
10. Morning Meeting
There are many reasons to start your day with a dedicated morning meeting time. Morning meeting gives students a predictable start, strengthens relationships, and helps set a positive tone for the rest of the day. Another bonus is that you can strategically integrate important social-emotional skills into your morning meeting time – this can help kids learn how to work well with others, manage their emotions, stay organized, and more.
You can use a simple 5-step process for leading your morning meeting:
- Greetings – Take a few minutes to have students say “good morning” to each other. Change up the greetings each day to keep it interesting.
- Introduce a Topic – Choose a skill, topic, or idea to highlight each morning. For example, you might choose to talk about what it means to be organized.
- Start a Discussion – Ask some guided questions to engage students on the topic of the day.
- Do Activities – Give students practice with the skill of the day. You might have kids act out scenarios, play a quick game, or draw a picture.
- Reflect – Give time for kids to share what they’ve learned.
11. Change Up Classroom Activities
Doing classroom activities even just a little bit differently can substantially increase student engagement – and when students are engaged, they are more likely to maintain positive behaviors. Keep in mind that changing up your classroom activities doesn’t need to be complex. Sometimes, the simplest changes are the best.
Here are some engagement activities you can try:
- Switch up seating arrangements – Let students work with different partners or in different areas of the room.
- Add choice boards – Allow students to pick from a menu of options.
- Integrate art – Have students color, draw, paint, or design material related to your curriculum.
- Get outside – Whether you are reading under a tree or writing on clipboards, take your classroom outside to learn when you can.
- Incorporate games – Use trivia games, board games, and other activities to make learning fun.
- Integrate technology – Try interactive quizzes, slideshows, or digital whiteboards.
If you’ve got a student who needs a little bit more motivation and support, consider strategies to engage reluctant learners too.
12. Daily Reflection Time
Daily reflection time can be a critical key in helping kids understand their behaviors and make positive choices. Take just a few minutes at the end of the day to think about how the day went. Students can share their answers aloud with the group or write them in a journal. Use a daily reflection questions printable list to give this strategy a try:
- What are you proud of yourself for today?
- What strengths did you use today?
- What challenges did you overcome?
- What positive choices did you make today?
- What lessons did you learn today?
- How did you make your future self proud?
- How could you do even better tomorrow?
13. Positive Feedback and Praise
Research shows that specific positive feedback can increase motivation and improve behaviors. When a student is demonstrating a positive behavior that you want to see, clearly let them know. For instance, you might say, “Andy, thank you for writing your thought down in your thought journal. Now that we have some free time, do you want to share?”
14. Build Executive Functioning Skills
Executive functioning skills are the brain-based abilities that help us plan, stay organized, start tasks, and work through challenges. When students struggle with executive functioning skills, it can often lead to behavioral challenges. This makes sense; if if a student has trouble persevering through work they feel is tough, they might be more likely to give up or wander around the room. Similarly, if a student struggles with self-control, they might be more likely to call out or interrupt others.
Help give kids and young adults a foundation for success with executive functioning strategies:
Introduce executive functioning skills – Let students know what executive functioning skills are and why they matter. This is an important first step to helping them buy into new strategies and techniques. Use this free simple guide to introduce executive functioning skills to your students in a way that makes sense to them.
Discuss executive functioning skills – Use executive functioning questions to hold meaningful conversations about what it means to plan, stay organized, get focused, and persevere through challenges. Try asking a question or two between transitions, at the beginning of the day, or anytime you have a few moments. The best part with a classroom conversation is that kids will learn from other kids.
Use brainteasers – Build executive functioning skills through brain games like brainteasers, deciphering a code, word ladders, and more. All of these games feel fun for kids to solve, but they’re actually strengthening their executive functioning skills at the same time. One of the simplest strategies is to post a question of the day, allowing students to think as they solve.
Teach executive functioning skills explicitly – Empower kids and teens with guided lessons focused on executive functioning skills. Lessons and activities can focus on topics like organization, time management, self-regulation, goal-setting, and more. With strategies, support, and practice, kids and teens can build upon these skills, leading to improved confidence, independence, and success in all areas of their lives.
15. Peer Tutoring
Kids often learn best from other kids. Research has shown that peer tutoring not only has the ability to improve academic performance, but also reduces behavioral problems. That’s a win-win. By having students work together through peer tutoring, it opens the door to develop essential social skills like communication, active listening, perspective-taking, empathy, self-control, leadership, and more.
16. Social Skills Instruction
Positive behavior is inherently linked with strong social skills. In order to manage emotions, communicate effectively, and work well with others, kids have to first know how. That’s why it’s worth carving out time for social skills instruction in any classroom.
Teach guided social skills lessons – Whether you teach elementary students or middle and high school teens, social skills matter. It’s important to break these social skills down for kids in a way that makes sense to them. Then, allow them to practice those skills in real-life situations, such as free time, recess, or group projects.
Use visual reminders – Visuals like posters and charts in the classroom can remind kids about important social skills they are working on. The biggest benefit is that this makes it easy to point to the visuals and remind students. For instance, you might remind students about teamwork skills before starting a group activity.
Play games – Games can be a great way to integrate your social skills instruction. This is true whether you’re playing a game focused on social skills, or just playing any board game in the closet. As kids play games, they are building social skills like turn-taking, teamwork, empathy, sportsmanship, and conflict resolution.
17. Use Pre-Correction
Before a transition or challenging task, give clear reminders about what is expected. This is true even if it’s a task or activity you’ve done many times! That’s because kids and young adults need frequent refreshers on expectations and strategies (we all do). For instance, you might review expectations about lining up for a transition or how to behave in a school-wide assembly. Pre-correction has the potential to help kids feel more confident and prepared for the task at hand, increasing the likelihood of success along the way.
18. Teach Conflict Resolution Skills
Strong conflict resolution skills help kids learn how to work through disagreements and problems with others. This makes it an essential classroom (and life) skill for all kids and young adults.
Explain why conflict resolution matters – Empower kids and teens by explaining how strong conflict resolution skills can positive impact their lives. We all experience conflicts with others – this is just part of life. Strong conflict resolution skills help kids and young adults successfully work through those problems. This helps us to make progress, achieve our goals, and feel our best.
Practice calming strategies – Conflicts and disagreements can often bring out strong emotions. If we want kids and teens to be able to navigate through conflicts, they need a healthy foundation of coping skills. Make it an on-going practice to practice calming strategies together like mindful breathing, positive self-talk, journal writing, and more.
List conflict resolution strategies – Different strategies work for different situations, so it’s important to help kids see that they often have multiple possible options. Take one strategy at a time and come up with examples for when you might use it. Some ideas to list include:
- Talk it out
- Listen
- Find a win-win
- Rock-paper-scissors
- Offer a new idea
- Walk away
- Compromise
- Say, “No”
- Ask for help
Discuss conflict scenarios together – Conflict resolution scenarios are real-life problems that kids and teens might encounter. Discussing conflict scenarios provides meaningful practice in a low-stress environment. For instance, you might discuss what to do when you and a partner disagree about how to solve a problem or complete a project.
19. Give Structured Choices
Providing choices is a powerful strategy in any classroom. Choices give students options, flexibility, autonomy, and decision-making power. Research has shown that when learners feel they have more control over the situation and environment around them, they are more likely to make positive choices and meet expectations. The key here is providing structured choices. You might ask, “Do you want to complete the math activity at the table or on the rug with a clipboard?” This structured choice helps kids feel more motivated and engaged while working on the goal.
20. Use Self-Regulation Tools
Kids need extra support with self-regulation to do and feel their best. The truth is that we all need self-regulation tools and supports, but kids and young adults still have growing brains, making it even more critical. While there are many self-regulation tools to choose from, here are a few simple ones to start off with:
Breathing visuals – Visual breathing exercises are a tool to help calm the nervous system and manage stress.
Coping strategies list – Empower students by reminding them of their calming strategies with a simple list.
Positive affirmation list – Writing down or reciting positive affirmations can promote self-acceptance, confidence, and relaxation.
Emotions check-in – Use a simple visual or chart to help students identify how they’re feeling in that moment. Research shows that simply identifying and naming how we’re feeling can actually reduce the intensity of those feelings.
21. Teach Self-Monitoring
Help students track their own behavior with self-monitoring strategies. The idea for self-monitoring is simple: when we become aware of our behavior, we can actively pursue positive choices. Teach student how to write out their goal before starting a task, follow a checklist, and check in with themselves along the way.
22. Calm Down Corner
A calm down corner is a quiet space kids and young adults can go to help regulate their emotions. The goal is to visit the calm down area, use calming strategies, and then head back when ready. Regular access to a calm space can help students:
- Manage stress and challenging emotions on the spot
- Develop healthy coping skills when dealing with frustration, anger, or other tough feelings
- Improve focus and attention when returning back to the task
- Build self-awareness and self-management skills by knowing when to take a break
- Improve self-control and reduce impulsive behaviors
23. Partner with Families
The partnership of school and families at home can play an incredibly helpful role in managing classroom behavior. Here are a few strategies to create a supportive environment together:
- Start with positive communication – Reach out to each family through email or phone with a positive message. The key here is not waiting until a problem pops up. Instead, make it a point to mention something positive each child did to start the home-school relationship off strong.
- Include families – When possible, invite families into the school and classroom. This might be through events like family literacy nights, open houses, or hosting special parent volunteer days.
- Use home-school communication strategies and apps – Utilize technology like apps and online portals to stay in touch with families. For individual students in need, another option is a home-school journal to let families know how the student’s day went.
24. Differentiate Instruction
Lots of research has shown that differentiated instruction can have a positive impact on behavior. This just make sense – When students feel engaged and challenged, they are more likely to stay on task. The idea behind differentiation isn’t necessarily that every student is getting something different; instead, it’s about finding that “just right” learning target for each child.
With that said, differentiating can be a daunting task for educators with a busy classroom. Try starting small. Consider offering choices, using technology, using leveled texts, or adapting the curriculum in simple ways.
25. Use Behavior Contracts
Some students may need extra support and guidance when it comes to classroom expectations. In this case, try written agreements with those behavioral expectations clearly listed out. Keep a copy of the behavior contract so that you can review and discuss with the student, as needed. Writing out a complete behavior intervention plan can also be helpful, especially because it can be used to give supports to that student throughout their day.
26. Celebrate Small Wins Together
Celebrating small wins can be an effective proactive behavioral strategy in the classroom. That’s because when teachers acknowledge student successes, it can boost motivation and reinforce positive behavioral choices – a cycle of success.
Research:
Parsonson, B. S. (2012). Evidence-based classroom behaviour management strategies. Kairaranga, 13(1), 16โ23.
Mooney, P., Ryan, J.B., Uhing, B.M. et al. A Review of Self-Management Interventions Targeting Academic Outcomes for Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders. J Behav Educ 14, 203โ221 (2005).
Simonsen, B., Fairbanks, S., Briesch, A., Myers, D., & Sugai, G. (2008). Evidence-based practices in classroom management: Considerations for research to practice. Education and Treatment of Children, 31(3), 351โ380.
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