Home | How It Works | Stats Login | Register         Case: Needs Attention I have a third grade student who seems to need extra attention. The problem is, when I give him this attention he opines for more. He will disturb the students around him even when I separate him from the rest of the class. When I put him in the hall, he will disturb any student that can see him. He picks fights with anyone he can. If you ignore him, he fights for your attention. When you give him attention, he pushes for more. When you praise him for good work, he is good for five minutes. Then, he wants more praise. He is my nemeses. What do I do? Solution: (Rates are posted for this solution!) There are a few solutions. You can start by teaching him what is okay and what is not okay to say or do in a classroom. Put it on a classroom poster in the room. You can then start assigning collaborative groups so that he can work with other students. You could give specific praise saying that you like seeing him work with other students and asking questions, and that you know he has some great collaboration skills. He is still receiving praise, but it is for working with others, which will encourage him to collaborate. I would continue giving specific praise, such as "I like the detail you added in your paragraph" so it encourages positive behavior in the classroom. If the student continues to come up to you for attention, create a plan. I learned one in one of my education courses that could be of use to you: each day he gets five to ten paper clips (depending on what you think is best). Every time he comes up to you to talk or receive attention, he gives you one of those paper clips. When he runs out, he is not allowed to come up to you that day and has to wait until the next day (unless of course there is an emergency or he has to ask permission to use the restroom). Over time you can scaffold so that over weeks the amount of paper clips decreases when his behavior improves. I would also recommend a behavior management plan. Best of luck!