A Simple and Effective Small Group Behavior Management System

Behavior management is something every teacher needs to have down in order to have a smooth school year! Without a well-established system, the classroom can easily descend into chaos—trust me, I’ve been there. Over my years of teaching, I’ve experimented with various behavior management systems, and the ones that resonate with me are the ones that are both simple and effective. I need a system that works for my students without unnecessary complexity and excessive costs.

Do You Have All 3 Systems?

Before we get into my go-to small group behavior management system, quick check—do you have all three behavior management systems in play? Individual, small group, and whole group systems form the dream team for a smooth classroom. In my world, small groups mean table groups, but feel free to tweak it to fit your vibe. Just have a system that is different from individual and whole group.

A small group behavior management system is a way to foster collaboration and peer support. At those table groups, students bond, cheer for their group wins, and get extra kudos for setting a good example.

V.I.P’s

The system that worked for me is: V.I.P.s (Very Important People). Here’s how it works: the small group with the most V.I.P. points at the end of the week scores the coveted V.I.P. caddy for the next week. Easy peasy, right?. That’s it.

What’s in the V.I.P. Caddy?

What’s in this magical caddy? It’s like your regular caddy’s cooler cousin. Same old supplies but with a touch of gold spray paint and a sprinkle of fancy—think patterned pencils, glitter crayons, scented markers and cute erasers. It’s simple, but convincing your students that it’s the coolest thing ever? That’s the real magic!

Hype It Up!

Now, hype is a teacher’s best friend. Your attitude about things influences your students attitudes about things. I’m all about that positive attitude, and trust me, it rubs off on the kids. I hype up the V.I.P. experience so they think that are getting the coolest thing ever! Not just, “Hey, you’re the V.I.P.s, grab a cool pencil.” Nope! More like, “OMG, the V.I.P. caddy is unreal! Smell these erasers! Check out this puppy pencil! Cutest thing ever! Who wouldn’t wanna do their morning work with a GLITTER CRAYON?!” You catch my drift, right? It’s the little things that make it a hit, especially with the younger ones. You need their buy-in and your attitude plays a massive part in that.

How I Managed This Small Group System:

Keep it simple and effective, my friend. On my whiteboard, I drew a box labeled ‘V.I.P. points,’ divided it by the number of small groups, and marked each box with the small group name or number. Then I hit them with points when 100% of the small group follows expectations.

Oh, and two golden phrases to keep in mind:

100% of the small group: Yup, every single one needs to be on point. Set those high expectations, and you’ll be amazed at how they step up. Peer pressure can be a beautiful thing. Make sure they understand that 100% means everyone.
Following expectations: You can’t expect your students to follow expectations if you are not being clear about what the expectations are. All day every day, you need to tell your students the expectations and be crystal clear about them. Bonus points if you not only say this aloud, but also have a visual of it.
- What are they working on?
- What supplies do they need out?
- What is the voice level?
- What do they do if they need help?
- What do they do when they are done?

The Points:

Okay so when 100% of the small group is following expectations you walk over to the whiteboard and make some tally marks in their box. Sometimes I just give them one point, other times I do many! You know, if most of the class is being a little wild but one group is being really good role models… then I might give that group 5 whole points! And it surely will motivate the other groups because they didn’t expect me to give that table so many points.

Then, every Friday afternoon, we count the points and then take the V.I.P. caddy to the new small group to use for the following week.

One Final Pro Tip:

At the beginning of the school year, I manipulate the points a little bit to ensure that every table group gets a taste of V.I.P. status. I want them to feel what it’s like to have the special V.I.P. caddy and to use the fancy supplies. Because then they will have that buy-in and be more motivated to work towards it.

Fancy Supplies:

If you are interested in trying out this small group behavior management system, here are some fancy supplies for your V.I.P. caddy to get you started!