Fix It Tickets: A Tool to Help Students Make Positive Behavior Choices
“Fix It Tickets” are a useful and powerful tool to add to your classroom management plan. Before I explain how they work, let me preface by saying that the most effective classroom management strategy is forming positive relationships with students. Kids naturally behave better when they feel a personal connection to their teacher. And quite simply, when they feel that their teacher likes them.
That being said, truly effective management can’t consist of just warm and fuzzy connections alone. If it did, the job title would be “friend” instead of “teacher.” Just like kids need it from their parents, they also need structure and clearly set guidelines within the classroom.
Even when teachers do the best job of setting clear expectations at the beginning of the school year, there will still always be (at least) one student who needs extra guidance in the right direction when it comes to how to behave appropriately at school.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve taught for many years and have never been given a unicorn of a class where every single kid has absolutely perfect behavior 100% of the time. When a child doesn’t make a good behavior choice, it is not a reflection of who you are as a teacher. What matters is how you choose to react and respond to it. It is the care that you have for the child, and the actions you take to help prevent that behavior from continuing to reoccur.
Making Fix It Tickets a Part of Your Classroom Management Plan
Fix-It Tickets are a useful tool for those students who need a little TLC in the behavior department. Maybe it’s the kid who won’t stop talking, or the one who can’t keep their hands to themselves. It could be that student who won’t stay on task. No matter what classroom management system you already have set in place, this is an easy addition to implement during any point in the school year.
Many positive incentives can be used for encouraging positive behavior. Over the years, some of my own have included a Classroom Economy, school-wide Honors slips, and Fill a Bucket.
But it’s important for students to know that the choices they make can lead to consequences as well. If a student is exhibiting negative behavior, you could first give a verbal warning. The second offense could be an appropriate consequence given the situation, or you may have one you use consistently.
If a warning and a consequence has already been given and the behavior has not improved, the student can then be given a Fix-It Ticket.
Student Accountability
This ticket is a constructive next step for some self-reflection on the part of the student. Rather than just tell a child what they are doing wrong, it can be more effective to have them be the one to evaluate their own behavior and think about WHY they should work to fix it.
Teacher Support and Guidance
After the student fills it out, it can be used as a jumping off point for discussion when you pull them aside to talk privately about how they can make it right.
I have to stress the importance of actually having a talk. Making them fill out the slip and then just leaving it at that will not likely have the same impact as having them tell you about what they wrote and listen to your response and guidance. I know that it can be tough to set aside that one-on-one time with how busy the school day gets. But finding those couple of minutes is crucial. Think of how much instructional time it will save you if that little heart-to-heart leads the student to correct the behavior.
Parent Communication in your Classroom Management Plan
As you probably noticed, the form also has a line for a student and parent signature. You could choose to send these Fix-It Ticket home to parents/families. In many cases, it can be very powerful for parents to have a talk with their child about their behavior as well.
The student then knows that it’s a united front at home and at school. They see that the expectations from their parents and teacher are the same. If you are having a conference or an SST/IEP for behavior, the Fix-It Ticket can also be useful to show at a meeting.
Where Can I Get the Fix It Tickets?
You can find these Fix-It Tickets in my shop here on my website or on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Another option is that you can get them directly emailed to you for FREE when joining my email list.
If you would like to adapt these for your class, the resource is editable. You can customize the behavior criteria to meet the needs of your students.
More Classroom Management Ideas
Looking to add more classroom management ideas to your bag of tricks? You might also want to check out my Favorite Teacher Tricks for Classroom Management at the End of the School Year.
A common behavior issue is excessive chattiness and talking at inappropriate times. This Catch a Bubble resource is a helpful one to have at your disposal.
It is a trick you can always save in case you need it. You might pull it out of your sleeve toward the end of the school year when kids tend to get spring fever.
Just like a well-running car that’s had maintenance, I hope these ideas and Fix-It Tickets help keep your classroom management plan running even more smoothly!
