A Positive (Specific) Way to Begin 2019!
Hi! Happy New Year! 2019 is going to be full of wonderful opportunities and challenges. As we begin back to school, it is important to keep in mind that teachers are not the only ones feeling the change and having to adjust! Ways to help your students back into their school routine might be easier than you think. By providing specific praise, you can help to eliminate behavior issues while still having a positive attitude.
What is Specific Praise?
Before we venture into HOW to give specific praise, let's talk about WHAT it is! Specific Praise is a positive praise statement that includes specific reference to a behavior that a student is displaying. It includes recognizing a behavior, providing positive feedback towards that behavior and praises effort, not ability. It is NOT designed to address ability or be used to evaluate a student. It must be sincere and reflective towards the student or class. Specific Praise can be especially helpful for students with disabilities because it increases that positive behavior support and reiterates what the student is doing. It might also clue them into what a peer is doing and give them a hint as to what a desired behavior is currently.
How do I 'Do' Specific Praise?
It is easy! Basically, look at what your student is doing positively and simply comment on that rather than just saying a general comment such as 'good job' or 'nice going'. It can be a little more involved at times, but to begin it really is that simple!
I've included some charts with prompts to help you get going! Once you've got the hang of it, you will notice how easy it becomes.
What's Next?
Moving forward with specific praise can be built into your lesson plans! It can be used at home as well (see the chart at the bottom of the article!) When working with students, you will notice them to begin to use specific praise towards each other. Above all, pick a goal and stick to it. If you want to start with giving each student one SP comment per day, go for it! You will be surprised at how easy it flows into your natural teaching language!
Happy Teaching and Happy 2019!
What is Specific Praise?
Before we venture into HOW to give specific praise, let's talk about WHAT it is! Specific Praise is a positive praise statement that includes specific reference to a behavior that a student is displaying. It includes recognizing a behavior, providing positive feedback towards that behavior and praises effort, not ability. It is NOT designed to address ability or be used to evaluate a student. It must be sincere and reflective towards the student or class. Specific Praise can be especially helpful for students with disabilities because it increases that positive behavior support and reiterates what the student is doing. It might also clue them into what a peer is doing and give them a hint as to what a desired behavior is currently.
How do I 'Do' Specific Praise?
It is easy! Basically, look at what your student is doing positively and simply comment on that rather than just saying a general comment such as 'good job' or 'nice going'. It can be a little more involved at times, but to begin it really is that simple!
I've included some charts with prompts to help you get going! Once you've got the hang of it, you will notice how easy it becomes.
What's Next?
Moving forward with specific praise can be built into your lesson plans! It can be used at home as well (see the chart at the bottom of the article!) When working with students, you will notice them to begin to use specific praise towards each other. Above all, pick a goal and stick to it. If you want to start with giving each student one SP comment per day, go for it! You will be surprised at how easy it flows into your natural teaching language!
Happy Teaching and Happy 2019!
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