Behavior Point Sheets

Behavior Point Sheets are easy ways to target challenging behavior. Students earn points throughout the day that can be redeemed for preferred reinforcers. Point sheets are intended for students to receive frequent feedback on specific behaviors and serve as a visual reminder of expectations.

Although there are so many great examples of point sheets that you can download, behavior point sheets should be specific to the student’s needs and the behavior you want to shape.

To start, you want to work with the student on the specific behaviors that will be measured. It is important to describe the behavior that students are expected to perform, not the behavior that they are expected to avoid. Remember, the point sheet is a visual reminder of expected behaviors the student should demonstrate. If you have, “I did not blurt out” as a behavior, it’s not a visual of what to do. Instead, rephrase to, “I raised my hand when I wanted to share my idea.” Often, I see point sheets for “Be Respectful and Be Responsible” as target behaviors. These are great if this aligns with your school’s PBIS and the student understands the behaviors of being respectful and responsible. However, make sure that these behaviors are operationally defined on the behavior point sheet as well.

The second essential component of point sheets is identifying specific times/periods/subjects that the student can earn points. In middle school, class periods work well. In elementary school, subjects or specific times work well. Specific time frames allow the student to know when to expect feedback. Also, if a student struggled during one of the time intervals, they also know that the next interval is a fresh start.

The third component is making the point sheet desirable. Reinforcement is most often where I receive the most pushback from implementers. I often hear that “Why should I reward behavior that they should already be doing. None of my other students get rewarded.” Remember, Behavior Point Sheets are intended for students who have been unsuccessful in meeting behavioral expectations. They need additional feedback and reinforcement to learn appropriate behavioral expectations.

Welcome to Behavior 101. If you want to increase the likelihood that a behavior will occur again, you add something (stimulus or event) after the behavior is demonstrated. This is known as positive reinforcement. Why not punish, you ask? Because “punishment” does not teach what to do, instead it teaches what not to do.

The last component is collecting the data to monitor progress. The data collection component is most often where teams struggle the most. How do you know that an intervention is working? When do you know that the reinforcer is not effective? How do you know what trends occur? By looking at the data! Easier said than done, right?

That’s why I created this template. You can measure up to 5 behaviors at a time, all of which will automatically graph the data over time and by subject/class period/time. Head over to my Teachers Pay Teachers store for this new product!