Ms. Johnson’s Fourth grade class Literature Circles

Nicole Very sociable child Doesn’t finish her work because she has “a habit of talking so much.” Has to stay in at recess to finish her work Tends to draw in students around her with her “excessive chattiness” Ms. Johnson has repeatedly moved her desk to new locations, attempting to squander the distractions

What’s your first impression of Nicole?

Nicole and Raul Moves Nicole by Raul, who is introverted and shy Nicole’s social “gift” influences Raul, who is now off-task with Nicole Negative: Now both students are in at recess to finish work. Positive: Raul was shy, but is more social now

Nicole and Peter Ms. Johnson moves Nicole by Peter, a friendless bully Raul is, once again completing his work, but is more sociable than before. Peter has now discovered a friend in Nicole, but his work is now suffering. Negative: Both Peter and Nicole are in at recess finishing their work. Positive: Peter was a bully, but is now learning how to connect with peers.

Nicole and Ashley Ms. Johnson moves Nicole by Ashley, a girl who is visually-impaired, hoping that Nicole’s “gift” can be used to help Ashley “see” the things she describes. The girls are talking and giggling about everything but school work and Ashley is off-task now. It becomes clear that Ms. Johnson cannot harness Nicole’s chattiness, which is affecting other students.

What do you think Ms. Johnson should do about Nicole?

What was happening in each of the interactions that Nicole had with Raul, Peter, and Ashley? The students were modeling Nicole’s behavior whether it was good or bad. Raul modeled Nicole by being more social after developing a relationship with her. Peter learned how to connect with other students after getting to know Nicole. Ashley was more social sitting by Nicole. All three of the students started getting off-task while sitting by Nicole.

How did Ms. Johnson achieve this success with Nicole? Ms. Johnson told her students that she had been noticing that some of them seem to be getting off-task. She gave them each an index card and told them to put down a mark each time they found themselves off-task. While most of the students ended with 2 or 3 marks, Nicole had many. This helped Nicole realize how often she was off-task.

How did Ms. Johnson help Nicole to recognize and improve her behavior? Ms. Johnson used a method of self-regulation. Nicole had thought she was unable to finish her work because she “wasn’t smart”. Ms. Johnson devised a strategy to help make Nicole aware of her off-task behaviors. “You can’t correct a behavior you are not aware of.” Once Nicole was able to recognize when she was off-task, she was able to re-focus her attentions.