punishment writing assignments

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Need Behaviour Assignments for Consequences

Discussion in ' Behavior Management Archives ' started by dannyteach , Dec 6, 2010 .

dannyteach New Member

Dec 6, 2010

I'm looking for some help! I am in my 7th year of teaching and have a little guy in my grade 7 class this year. I taught him last year and was blessed with his sweet return to my class list this year. He is the most disruptive, disrespectful, high energy child I have yet to come across. am usually the teacher who invites challenges like this into my class...however this littleguy has got me, my principal, the admin beat! I am looking for support and help in ways to deal with him when he gets into his distructive states. I would like to come up with assignments for him to do that address his poor behaviour choices in class / on the playground. For example, if he swears at a teacher or pretends to shoot his classmates consistantly, having him write a journal entry from his teacher's perspective or classmates on what they may be feeling. Having him do a behavioural report when sent out of the classroom to reflect on his behaviours. I would like to come up with 10 or so behavior related assignments for him to do in the office when he is not ready to be in class. These can be kept with the principal and he must complete one before being permitted to return to class. Any ideas for assignments? reports? projects? readings? etc. It would be very much appreciated! I need to somehow survive this child this year and it is only December!!! Thanks! Danielle  

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StellatheSub Rookie

Dec 8, 2010

Age 7 or grade 7?  

Aliceacc Multitudinous

Hi Danielle, and welcome! I'm guessing 7th grade. And I've got to be honest and admit that I'm in a bit over my head; my typical "not bad enough for detention" assignment is to multiply your phone number by your zip code. The next time you stay after, you have to check it by long division. I tend not to have too many repeat offenders. How about an essay on the meaning of "respect", starting with a dictionary definition? Likewise "Civility" and "Cooperation"???  

Cerek Aficionado

The writing assignments sound like a good idea, because it will force him to actually THINK about what he is doing and how it affects other people. Having him describe his actions from the other person's POV might make him think about the impact his actions are having. I also like Alice's idea of writing a short paper on respect, civility, cooperation, etc by beginning with the dictionary definition. Other ideas for writing assignments could be: 1) Describe a typical school day from the time you wake up till you go to bed that night. Write about the things that happen on a normal day for you. (This might provide some insight from HIS POV about why he is so out of control. What is triggering all of that anger and disruption?) 2) List the name of 10 classmates and write one good quality or positive comment about each one. How does the person display this quality? What is unique about him/her? What affect (if any) does this quality or attribute have on other classmates? (Perhaps if he lists positive qualities of others and how it affects the classroom environment, he will begin to think about how some of those qualities or behaviors would work for him. You could also do this assignment several times, making him list 10 different classmates each time until he has eventually written one positive comment about each of them). 3) What do you want to do when you are grown and out of school? What kind of job do you think you would like to have? (hopefully, this will make him think about future goals and help him start focusing on what he needs to do to reach them). 4) If you had 1 day to do whatever you wanted, what would you do? (if he writes something like "play video games all day" or "sit around the house", then future assignments can focus more on describing a favorite hobby or activity OTHER than video games. Try to make him think of something that requires some energy and thought and describe what he enjoys most about that activity) 5) Imagine YOU are a middle school teacher. Describe what you think a normal day of school would be like for you then. What subject would you teach? What kind of lessons would you do? How would you make the lessons interesting for all the students? How much time do you think it would take to grade all the papers from every class you have? Those are some ideas off the top of my head. I'm not sure how much success you will actually have getting him to do any of these, but once he is removed from the situation that is upsetting him and has some time to calm down, maybe he will begin to reflect on these ideas and how he can use them to change his behavior. If he DOES complete the assignments, he will have been forced to think about his actions (and their impact) a little more deeply and will also provide insight to you about what is triggering these reactions and things he wishes were different about his environment.  

teacher12345 Cohort

Some other assignment ideas: 1. Writing a letter of apology to the teacher stating what he did, why it was not acceptable, how his actions impacted others, others point of view and what others think of him when he acts this way, how it makes his teacher feel when he acts this way, and what he could do next time instead. 2. Comparing and Contrasting his behavior with that of other students in his grade or class: IE: Other 7th graders treat their teachers with respect and use respectful words when talking with them, and I sweared at my teacher and then stating what other people may think of him if he keeps doing this behavior, ie: dissruptive, obnoxious, rude, don't want to be around him, direspectful, disobedient, defient, weird, goofs off alot, can't listen and follow directions, annoying to be around etc. 3. Write the following words and their defenitions from the dictionary 3 times each and use them in a sentence; cooperative/cooperate/cooperating, respectful, responsible, polite, curtious, rude, defient, and obnoxious. 4. Make a list of why his behavior was not appropriate: EX: it was disruptive, rude, not respecting teacher or peers trying to learn/teach, spoke out of turn, bad language, others were mad, etc. 5. Cause and Effect note cards: given a situation or behavior he will write down the effect 6. he will write a poem about how his behavior effected others/other people's point of view, teacher's point of view 7. He will write a diary entry as if he was the teacher and had a disrespectful, rude, uncooperative student in his classroom, stating why it was annoying, what the student did, why it made it hard for him to teach etc. 8. Write a diary entry as if he was a classmate of a student who acted like he did, disrespectful, rude, etc.  

paperheart Groupie

Dec 11, 2010

Name 50 careers that require a college education. Name 50 reasons that explain why you are bright, beautiful and just plain awesome. Imagine you are a superhero. Name 50 super powers you would like to have. Now describe 10 qualities you do have that can lead to good.  

Dec 12, 2010

Some of these sound downright fun! Detention in my school involves copying, word for word, a page of typed print. The last time I had detention duty, it concerned Brown vs the Board of Education. It used to be copying a page from the dictionay. Saturday detention is copying the Constitution. As you decide on the assignments, keep in mind: the point is that it's NOT fun. It's something to be avoided.  

Pisces_Fish Fanatic

Aliceacc said: ↑ Some of these sound downright fun! Detention in my school involves copying, word for word, a page of typed print. The last time I had detention duty, it concerned Brown vs the Board of Education. It used to be copying a page from the dictionay. Saturday detention is copying the Constitution. As you decide on the assignments, keep in mind: the point is that it's NOT fun. It's something to be avoided. Click to expand...

swansong1 Virtuoso

Here's my opinion as an ESE teacher: The children that Alice gives detention to are normal children with normal behaviors that have transgressed a little. Therefore, her punishment is absolutely acceptable. This 7th grader exhibits unusual and abnormal behavior ( as in a child with behavioral disabilities). He needs to have behavioral modification strategies to help him learn more acceptable behaviors in school. So, the writing assignments you all have suggested would act as behavioral modification strategies and would be be a good start for him to begin learning ways to change his behavior. I'm guessing he will not find these writing assignments easy. As a matter of fact, the fact that he will have to sit quietly and give some thought to his actions and then compose a response will give him difficulty because he has shown that those types of activities are not something he can handle easily..  

Excellent point swan!  

Teacherella Habitué

Jan 10, 2011

Whatever consequence you decide on, I would make sure that it won't make him hate writing. It would be a shame for him to associate writing as a punishment. I like the idea of him listing 50 positive traits about himself and maybe have him choose one to write about. I'm a firm believer in giving students logical consequences so I think it should directly relate to whatever reason he was send down to the office.  

MamaFisch New Member

Mar 7, 2011

I have several specially selected sections from our student code of conduct. Students have to copy it. If it is a short selection, I have them copy it several times and then I send home the page, with a note from me, to be signed by their parent. On our campus, three minor offenses that are documented and addressed result in a referral, so this also provides documentation and proof of parent notification. I also have students who make messes stay to clean up. Writing on desks and walls means erasing marks in the hallway. Students who run in the hall have to do 20 walking laps from one end of the hallway to the other, etc.  

sidhewing Rookie

Mar 11, 2011

Personal Responsibility Grade I believe in the "personal responsibility grade." I would suggest to give this to the whole class. It's a form that grades students on their behavior and is generally 15-20% of their overall grade. Each week you grades students on tardiness, absences, participation and respectful behavior. Allow yourself 2-3 sentences if they did something really disrespectful like curse, hurt a student etc. AND then allow them a space to "agree" or "disagree" with your grade and a space that allows them to answer: What could I do in the future to improve my grade? I've found that it is surprisingly effective and students sometimes are chillingly honest. If you don't want to do that have you considered a Behavior plan? Where you sit down with the students and together your brain storm was is disruptive/ productive and what the consequences/ rewards are? Or what about a progress chart where it's just between you and the student? So, that the students won't be embarrassed in front of his friends? Good luck!!  

m1trLG2 Companion

Apr 17, 2011

How are mom and dad? Here are some things we did in treatment as well as somethings I have used in the classroom. 1) Have him write a letter home to his parent that gets signed about his behavior. Do this in a guided writing style. "Dear Mom and Dad I was very disrespectful today. I made the choice to _______." Get it signed and returned (more effective if mom and dad are involved though). 2) Do "SODAS" with him as part of his journaling. S- Situation O- Options D- Disadvantages A- Advantages S- Solution Here is what it would look like: S- I want to color instead of do the work I'm supposed to do. O- Do my work or chose to color. D- If I chose to color my teacher will get upset, send a letter home, mom and dad will get upset, I will spend the rest of my day arguing. If I chose to do my work I don't get to do what I want and that upsets me. A- If I chose to do my work, perhaps I will finish early and be allowed to color and have some free time. My parents won't be upset, and my teacher won't get upset. If I chose to color, I get to do what I want. S- I think I will do my work and then color later and that way I don't have to deal with the upset people. This can be something he is allowed to do if he can recognize himself "losing control" it's a "stop and think" method. However it can also be used afterwards and then the solution would be the one he picked but why it didn't work out would be made clear in disadvantages. 3) This isn't a "punishment" but can be effective for helping to change behavior. A lot of behavior kids get overwhelmed very quickly and again need to "stop and think". Have him "take a break". This is good for ALL kids but mostly get utilized by behavioral kids. If he is being crazy and hyper and defiant tell him, "I think you need to take a break, please go have a seat facing the wall in the break chair." Give him 5 minutes and then ask him to join you OR tell him, "when you think you can make better choices let me know and you can join us" but if it's over five minutes have him make up the time during recess or with an assignment or something. This way he doesn't just go back to a corner and play. Sometimes these kids just get stuck in a loop and honestly don't know how to get out. 4) Have him do "self awareness" worksheets. Now, prior to teaching I was a behavioral therapist and I am a supporter of the cognitive behavioral school of thought. So, feel free to disagree I just wanted to say this is from that standpoint. A lot of behavioral kids are unable to put themselves in another person's shoes. This kid may be able to write a great response of how it would "feel" to be a teacher dealing with a kid like him but he doesn't "feel" that. He has observed your behaviors and listened and knows what to say. Giving assignments that require introspection will be more effective at changing his behaviors. Here are a few links. http://www.box.net/shared/fp9tziylhr http://www.stressgroup.com/ABCworksheet.html http://practicegroundprojects.wetpaint.com/page/Handouts,+Protocols+&+Client+Learning+Activities These are all similar to the SODAS approach and designed to have the child look inside to assess behaviors and slow down... again Stop and Think. If you google "Behavioral Therapy Worksheets" you will find lots of things he can work on. Also, ask the school guidance counselor if she/he has anything like these worksheets that he could work on. Lots of times the behavior is impulsive and there is no reason the child did it. So, the solution is learning to recognize impulsive behavior and then be able to stop and take charge of it. Hope some of this helps!  

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KEITH GESWEIN

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES FOR LITERACY AND WRITING IN GRADES 1-6

Meaningful Assignments for Students Serving In-School Suspension

I always hate the assignments I send with students when they serve ISS.  I hate everything about ISS.  Obviously, when students are fighting or behaving extremely disrespectfully, they need to be removed from class.  But once he/she is taken to ISS, I despise gathering work for the student to do all day because I know I’m going to do a terrible job of doing so.

I always end up feeling guilty for the work I send.  I know I should have already prepared packets of work, but planning ahead is not exactly my strong suit.  So I end up grabbing workbooks and textbooks.  I spend about two minutes looking for things that will take this student a long time to complete.  Then I slap a few post-it notes with pages numbers to complete.  The entire time, I’m thinking, “This is such pointless work.”

These are the students who need the most support and I’m sending pointless work for them to do right after they’ve had a serious altercation with another student or teacher.  I always feel guilty, but I feel like I have no options because I only have a few minutes to find work because I’m in the middle of class.  The work also has to keep the student busy for a day without requiring too much effort from the ISS teacher who already has a million other things to do.

These are the students I’ve kept in mind as I’ve written over 200 passages about famous athletes.  As I research athletes like Kevin Durant, Tom Brady, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Usain Bolt, I look for stories about times they’ve made mistakes and how they overcame them.  When Kevin Durant was in high school, one of his basketball coaches was murdered.  Kevin was really upset because this coach was like a father to him.  Kevin’s performance on the court suffered because he started disrespecting opponents and hogging the ball.  Then Kevin realized his old coach would not want him to play like that.  Kevin stopped doing those things and his play improved.  The students who are sitting in ISS need to realize that huge celebrities like Kevin Durant make mistakes just like them.   Our students need to read stories of successful people who learn from mistakes and are determined never to make the same mistake twice.  Now, Kevin Durant is one of the most respected players in the NBA.

When I write these passages, I also include stories of how hard these athletes have worked to achieve success.  I describe how these athletes have put in years and years of insanely hard work to be successful.  When NFL quarterback Tom Brady was growing up, he hated that his sisters were better athletes than him.  He was determined to do whatever it took to be the best athlete in his family.  Now he is one of the greatest quarterbacks in American football history!  Here are some passages where the headline shows you the focus of the passage.

I’ve written three sets of passages about most athletes.  For example, my set about LeBron James and Michael Jordan includes paired texts about their childhood, pro sports career, and charity work.

Each set of paired texts includes a quiz.  There’s also a writing prompt that ties all the passages together.  The first page, which you can give to the ISS teacher, explains which two passages go together.  Answer keys are also provided.  You can print a few copies of each set to have in a file folder for those times when you have to immediately send work for ISS.

Some teachers have told me the work for ISS should be boring busy-work, which I totally disagree with.   The punishment for the student should come in the form of isolation from his/her peers, not pointless assignments.

In addition to classroom teachers, I encourage ISS teachers to try a few of my paired texts. A few ISS teachers have left feedback on my paired texts saying they were helpful when kids in ISS finished the assignments sent by the classroom teacher.  They are also helpful when the student’s classroom teacher is unable to send work on time.

Click any of the images below to see all the paired texts I have available in my TpT store.  I’ve written passages on more than 70 athletes who compete in a variety of sports, so I’m sure you’ll find topics that will interest your students.  I also have passages written on a variety of reading levels to help you meet the needs of your students.

Feel free to leave feedback in my TpT store to let me know how these work for you.  Thank you for the 5,236,823 things you do for your students every day!

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Kelley Lindberg

Can We Stop Using Writing as Punishment in Schools?

August 30, 2022 by Kelley Lindberg 5 Comments

For as long as there have been teachers, kids, and writing implements, writing has been used to punish unruly students. Whether it was writing “I will not talk in class” twenty times on the chalkboard or being told to pen a dreaded 500-word essay on “respect” after a too-rowdy assembly, most of us have memories of a writing assignment being used to punish us for bad behavior.

Then we wonder why so many people—kids and adults alike—hate writing.

Think about that for a moment. Writing is a creative endeavor. Like painting, music, or photography, writing is an artform. It can be beautiful, expressive, exploratory, and rewarding.

More importantly, writing is an essential part of our everyday lives, both at work and at home. We write emails, post product reviews, produce content for websites, write sales reports, document procedures, fill out applications, keep gratitude journals, or just send Grandma’s cookie recipe to Cousin Ted.

But because many of us were conditioned as children to view writing as a threat, a punishment, and a thing to be feared, we grew up to dread writing, no matter what form it takes. We fear it, and we have no confidence in our ability to do it because we avoid it whenever we can. We were taught to do that.

We don’t twist other artistic forms of expression in quite the same way.

I’ve never heard a teacher say, “Because you didn’t line up for recess quietly enough, you must each take a ball of clay and make a sculpture.” No child ever got sent to detention to make a finger painting of an elephant holding a daisy.

But a 3-page essay on why “silence is golden”? Sure, we’ve all seen that. In fact, a friend just told me, “As a 4th grade child I had pages and pages of ‘silence is golden’ written out so I was ready to turn them in the next time I got in trouble for talking. It taught me nothing. Why is it that we use writing that way?”

What if—and I know this sounds wacky, but stick with me here—we tried to modify the way we use writing as a disciplinary tool?

Believe me, I completely understand why some teachers may do it. Asking kids to write something gets the students to sit down and be quiet for a few minutes, and that’s huge in a classroom environment. A disciplinary writing assignment also requires no special supplies, no cost, and no prep time, which are equally important to our overworked, underpaid educators. And it’s behavior that most teachers probably experienced when they were children themselves, so it feels “normal.”

I totally understand, and I support educators whole-heartedly for all they do (and for all they do with so little support).

I’d just like to humbly propose that perhaps it’s time we re-think the writing-as-discipline approach, because that has conditioned generations of American adults to hate and/or fear writing. And that leads to simple everyday writing tasks causing undue stress. It contributes to low literacy. It leads to unclear business communications.

And, alarmingly, it silences voices the world needs to hear.

As a new school year approaches, I ask all the educators, school administrators, and home-schoolers out there to take a fresh look at how we use writing assignments.

Instead of making writing feel like drudgery, can we focus instead on showing students that writing can be a channel for creativity, imagination, and the joy of expression?

I’m not saying writing assignments can’t be used to quiet a classroom. But perhaps they can be used more as a “redirecting” tool. Rather than focusing on punitive topics (like “silence is golden”), make the writing topics funny. I once had a teacher threaten to make us write “50 Ways to Pluck a Duck.” The very thought of that topic made the class laugh, and the energy in the room changed 180 degrees. We didn’t have to write the essay, but I know I spent more than a few minutes wondering how, exactly, did you pluck a duck? Topics that spark creativity, imagination, and sense of adventure or wonder can turn a chore into a creative moment.

Instead of making them write “I will not disrupt the class” twenty times, how about asking them to write song lyrics about a kid who is shy? Or a story about life from a dog’s point of view? Or a mini-script of two people lost in a carnival funhouse? Or a retelling of Hansel and Gretel? Or maybe go ahead and have them make a clay sculpture or paint that elephant with its daisy.

Often (obviously, not always), kids who are misbehaving are in need of a more productive channel for their energy. Making the writing assignment feel like an acceptable outlet for some of that energy could go a long way.

It’s important, I think, to seek balance. Perhaps teachers who frequently use “punitive” writing assignments can balance them by adding more “rewarding” writing assignments to their toolbox. Wouldn’t it be grand to train a classroom full of kids that writing can be a reward for good behavior, as well as a redirecting exercise for unwelcome behavior? That might take some of the dread out of writing and focus more on the results of student behavior.

The internet is full of resources for teachers to find help managing classroom behavior, with tools and techniques that go well beyond the old “writing as punishment” standby. For example, Dr. Allen Mendler on the TeachThought University website writes about “ 6 Strategies For Growing Closer To Your Most Challenging Students .” I don’t claim to be an expert. But I see the results of punitive writing assignments in the adults around me who shudder at the thought of writing anything . So, I’m just hoping to spark some new ideas and ways of thinking about writing in the classroom.

Instead of growing a new generation of writing-averse children, let’s turn our kids into fearless writers—ones who don’t groan at the thought of an essay, but who welcome writing into their toolboxes of self-expression, alongside their watercolors, markers, guitars, clay, and cameras.

Writing can be a joyous outlet for creativity, but we have to stop making it always feel like a punishment first.

Excuse me while I go write that on the whiteboard twenty times.

Reader Interactions

April 18, 2023 at 5:54 pm

I have heard this argument made before – but have NEVER seen a reference to ANY study or research that scientifically backs up the conclusion that writing punishments makes kids hate writing.

Frankly, it sounds very politically correct to me.

I experienced the “writing lines” punishment as a school child decades ago. Yet I was ALWAYS – even at a young age – able to discriminate between punishment writing and, say, creative writing for fun. And, frankly, I cannot recall a single one of my many classmates who were also unable to make the distinction.

What is interesting is that even though writing punishments are used far less often in “modern” schools, the quality of student writing seems to have undergone a precipitous and on-going decline.

This is in sharp contrast to those of us from an older generation who were subject to writing punishments as a matter of course. Somehow, though, the overall quality of student writing was better – notwithstanding.

I believe that “writing lines” punishment is so obviously a strictly punitive disciplinary measure that even young children are able to dissociate it from normal academic and creative writing.

Let’s take another activity – running. I have always enjoyed this form of exercise – even though the technique of “penalty laps” for mistakes was very commonly applied during gym classes and team sports training. All of us were quite able to distinguish between the use of running as punishment and running for fun and improved health.

I strongly suspect that the difference between punishment and non-punishment writing is the same for most people.

The idea that punishment writing teaches students to hate writing may be intuitive – but, it is also untrue!

March 21, 2024 at 2:52 pm

I suppose this means that the writer of the rebuttal has never heard of classical conditioning? I could probably find several studies to prove that, but really need only provide one name to recall it to you, Pavlov. As a college professor who usually teaches composition courses, I could easily provide dozens of experiential stories from actual students to prove the association can be forged by only a handful of instances as well. I would add that running laps as a punishment is a false analogy since we are talking about, not just writing lines, but composing whole essays. This is already a difficult enough task without labeling it as an actual punishment. Alternative punishments should be considered.

March 31, 2024 at 9:08 am

Interesting points! Thank you.

March 31, 2024 at 8:58 am

I agree with you on how unfair it is for students to write sentences as a means of suffering a negative consequence of their poor decisions. I remember having to do this multiple times at home & I also remember a time back when I was in Elementary School, kids sometimes had to do this by writing the final part of the school’s code of conduct. I dread this punishment so much & if I become a parent, I would NOT wish to make my kids do this at all.

March 31, 2024 at 9:10 am

Yep, I will continue to argue that by using writing as punishment, we make kids hate or become afraid of writing, which is an essential skill in almost ANY profession. Thank you!

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Uncategorized   |   Oct 14, 2011

Writing sentences for punishment

By Angela Watson

Founder and Writer

Would you ever or have you ever assigned a student to write their name 50 times as punishment for not writing their name on an assignment?

That’s the question that was posed on my  Facebook  wall this week. Dozens of teachers responded with a huge range of answers:

The discussion was fascinating (I highly recommend you  read the whole thing here , because everyone had an important perspective to add and there are some GREAT ideas for handling the issue.) When all was said and done, the vast majority of teachers concluded that having a child write his or her name (or sentences like “I will remember to write my name”) was NOT beneficial for kids.

My verdict? It’s very rare that I make a blanket statement that a particular action should  never  be taken with any student, ever. Teachers have to know their students as individuals and every situation is different.

What I will say is this: in eleven years of teaching, I never met a student that required this punishment. In fact, I never encountered a situation in which my students needed a punishment  at all  for forgetting to write their names on their papers. Oh sure, I got no name papers ALL. THE. TIME. But I viewed the problem as a procedural issue, and when kids don’t follow our routines and procedures, they need  practice, not punishment . They need more modeling, reinforcement, and feedback until labeling their assignments is second nature. (To learn how I support kids with this, read my  tips on teaching kids to write their names/headings on assignments .)

Most kids get it after a few days of me teaching them; some take a few weeks. Some forget intermittently all the way through June. And that’s okay. Frustrating for the teacher, of course, but okay. A big part of our jobs, especially in the elementary grades, is to teach children to be responsible and accountable for their work. We’re less likely to punish them out of aggravation if we keep this perspective in mind.

What’s your take–is it ever appropriate to have students write sentences for punishment? What do you do when kids forget to put their names or the correct heading on their papers?

Angela Watson

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All I do is grade the paper, write “???” in the top corner and leave it in a no name bin. I leave it up to the students to figure out that they are missing the credit when I pass out progress reports. It requires no extra effort on my part.

Hi, Sarah! Thanks for sharing a workable solution to this problem.

I started doing “Speeding Tickets” for no-name papers. I got a “Speeding Ticket” magnet from VistaPrint and it sits on my whiteboard. Underneath it is a folder that holds any no-name papers. If I get papers with no names on them, I put a speeding ticket on it (just a small sheet of paper that says “Uh oh! This paper got a speeding ticket because it doesn’t have a name :(“) and put them in there. Each week I list assignments on the board with the students’ numbers behind it to show who is missing work (an idea I stole from you!). I am doing this with 2nd graders and while some still forget to check the folder first if they are missing work, a few reminders to check the folder if they see their number helps big time.

I am a huge advocate that in most circumstances children should NOT be made to write as punishment. I think it is why many people hate to write because this was an oft-practiced punishment “back in the day”. I am early 30s and very well remember my 4th grade teacher making us copy a “Silence is Golden” poem if we talked to much in class.

Hi, Sunny! I totally forgot about my missing work board idea! LOL! I just checked and that’s no on the site anywhere, only in the book. I’ll have to add that in someplace. Your speeding ticket concept is cute! A fun twist on the problem coupled with those few reminders is the perfect solution for second graders.

And, um, “Silence is golden?” You must cringe every time you hear that phrase now. 😉

I’m loving what you say about practice rather than punishment. I think most of the time that is true, even with real discipline issues.

Kids need to practice doing things the correct way and being their best self.

Hi, Miriam! I like the way you phrased that, and agree that practice is often more effective than punishment with discipline issues, as well. Most kids truly want to please the teacher, have friends in the classroom, and experience success in school. If we can tap into that innate desire and show them HOW to accomplish those things, everyone will get a lot more enjoyment out their time in the classroom.

I personally when I was a child and misbehaved at school or at home I had to write sentences myself and I actually learned from that. At school one time I forgot my name and had to write it 75 times for my teacher and after that never forgot again that’s the first thing I did on my papers once I was told either that was mine to write on or to copy the paper. I don’t think it hurt me in learning or anything like that it actually helped my hand writing better and made me more confident in my writing. At home it helped me respect my parents more and listen to them better. I personally don’t think it’s wrong at all.

it’s good to see teachers working together

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Resolution on Condemning the Use of Writing as Punishment

1984 NCTE Annual Business Meeting in Detroit, Michigan

This resolution stemmed from concern among teachers of English about research findings showing continued widespread use of writing as punishment by teachers and administrators in elementary and secondary schools. Using writing for punishment, NCTE members warned, distorts the principles and defeats the purposes of instruction in this important life skill and causes students to dislike an activity necessary to their intellectual development and career success. Be it therefore

Resolved, that the National Council of Teachers of English condemn punitive writing assignments;

that NCTE discourage teachers, administrators, and others from making a punishment of such writing as copywork, sentence repetition, original paragraphs and themes, and other assignments which inhibit desired attitudes and essential communication skills; and

that NCTE disseminate this opinion to the appropriate audiences, including the general public.

This position statement may be printed, copied, and disseminated without permission from NCTE.

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Teaching with Detention

Introduction

Far too often, students and educators struggle to see eye to eye. Teachers regularly disagree on methods of disciplining their students. Controversy arises, even, with the question of whether or not teachers should apply any discipline to their students, or leave it up to the parents. One of the most common practices in dealing with misbehaving students is holding after school detention. But by keeping students after school hours, are teachers exercising their rights, or going too far? Is detention an effective solution to class disruptions, or would it spur future problems?

Free resources across the internet allow for teachers to weigh detention and all of its possible alternatives.

• Lesson Plan
•   Behavior Worksheets : Here, Worksheet Place provides dozens of worksheets for students that assist them in assessing their behavior and emotions. The worksheets include behavior contracts, bullying analyses, conflict resolutions, goal setting, and more. The page also includes resources for teachers, including classroom management checklists, and class rules that teachers can display on their walls. These tasks can be used as opportunities for reflection in place of punishment or can serve as activities to be completed during detention. These worksheets are mostly intended for younger students and can be completed inside or outside of regular class time.
• Reflection Document : Pivotal Education provides this reflection worksheet to give to detention-serving students. The document is meant to outline an activity more productive than what is normally presented for students, and to prevent further behavior issues in the future. The questions on the worksheet force the student to identify and reflect on the people affected by their actions and ideas for preventing future issues. The open-ended questions within the document allow for flexibility for the worksheet to be used with virtually any age range.
• Discipline Packet : This online packet from Teacher Beacon provides worksheets and for responding to misbehavior. The packet includes printable warning slips, a behavior contract, and a sample letter to parents. Also included are writing assignments to be completed by students who break classroom ground rules. Most of these assignments serve as consequences for minor infringements such as gum-chewing, tardiness, and disruptive behavior. The writing assignments can serve as lesser consequences to stop the behavior before further action becomes necessary. Teachers can utilize items within this packet to establish ground rules and to keep track of recurring offenses.
• Do Detentions and Suspensions Work? : Here. Education World interviewed Annemarie Hillman, a policy fellow at Connecticut Voices for Children, to analyze whether detentions and suspensions prove themselves effective in schools. She classifies suspensions as ineffective since students tend to view them like vacations. Detentions, however, can work “if done right.” They can serve as an incentive to keep students from repeating misbehavior. When students serve detention during lunch, they miss out on a social opportunity and in turn will be less likely to act up in the future. 
• New Direction : James Paterson from District Administration Media examines ways that adults are trying to implement disciplinary action into their schools. The article establishes that African American and special needs students face disproportionate rates of exclusionary punishment. According to a number of cited studies, students who receive detentions are more likely to drop out of school altogether. This article highlights alternatives that teachers have found to the standard sit-silently style of confinement. Allowing students to reflect on their actions and for teachers to coach struggling students proves much more productive. Teachers can read this article to determine improvements for the established practice.
• Student-Run Courts : This article from The Guardian acknowledges the disproportionality of detentions in school systems and outlines a recent alternative to the custom: mock court systems. Rather than serve detention for certain offenses, students are to stand before a committee of their peers, make their case, and ultimately face fair consequences for their actions. The article praises this new approach, arguing that it prevents student-teacher discrimination in disciplinary systems and consequently fights the impelling school-to-prison pipeline.
• Informational Sites
• Defining Detention : Queensland Government provides a foundational understanding of detention and the common practices associated with it. The site outlines parameters for responsible behavior in a linked study, titled “Safe, Supportive and Disciplined School Environment Procedure.” This page can serve helpful for those who may desire a better understanding of what detention is, or for educators unfamiliar with how to lead a session.
• Responding to Bad Behavior : University of Florida’s College of Education lists possible ways in which educators can respond to bad behavior. The items on this list can serve as alternatives to detention, a practice which may be the first thing that comes to mind. The actions can be applied to students of most ages. The approaches range from keeping a behavior log, to requiring a writing assignment, to revoking parking privileges for older students. While detention is one of the listed consequences, teachers can choose from any item on the list to enforce in their own classrooms.
• Task Ideas : Study.com provides this list of tips and ideas for teachers choosing to hold students after school. The goal of the article and the tradition is to provide students with tasks that will prevent future mishaps and improve classroom behavior. The site lists tactics that teachers can employ, such as dialogue journals and reflection sheets, and links supporting articles for each strategy. The site lists four strategies for teachers, all of which can be stretched to fit students of almost any age range.

Young people often rave about how educational institutions take up so much of their time and teach them no real-life skills. They are, after all, full-time students by the age of six. Perhaps by making the time spent with students, detention included, more productive, teachers can allow students to further appreciate their education and apply themselves more in the future. Educators should make sure that any disciplinary measures they take have the students’ best interests in mind. Schools should weigh circumstances to decide what method of discipline would be most fair for the students’ and teacher’s time.

Additional Resources

• Middle-School : This neaToday article criticizes forms of discipline for middle-school-aged children. Author Sabrina Holcomb references the school-to-prison pipeline, a theory that correlates higher rates of suspensions and expulsions with a higher likelihood of those same students becoming unemployed and going to prison. When a student’s learning is interrupted by such punitive measures, they are more likely to drop out of school and rely mainly on government-provided welfare programs. Holcomb acknowledges that the issue is not the fault of the teachers, but rather that of the broader school disciplinary system.
•   Detention Is Not The Answer : This literature review by Stephanie McCann from Northwestern College examines practices of institutional discipline, especially detention, and attempts to determine the most productive method for everyone involved. In the past, the practice has discriminated harshly against certain students. The author gathers that students for whom detention becomes a pattern experience major social and emotional consequences that affect them “for the rest of their life.” She acknowledges alternatives for the penalty and suggests that schools find a consensus for what works for their students. 

Example Guidelines : This site lists the guidelines for after-school detention at Lakewood Junior High School in California. The page delineates the school’s specific regulations, including commonly broken rules, expectations for those serving detention, and principles of conduct for future reference. Teachers can utilize this site to gain a better understanding of how one school approaches its academic disciplinary system. Should they choose to administer detentions, educators can look to these clear-cut guidelines when crafting their own system.

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Designing Discipline-Specific Writing Assignments

Learn to write (ltw) activities.

Writing can help students learn and think critically about course content. When students are asked to write discipline-specific genres, they learn to think and write like professionals in those disciplines. Two approaches to integrating writing in courses include write to learn (WTL) and learn to write (LTW) activities; for more about WTL activities, see our Principles page . LTW activities are high-stakes writing in which students learn to think like and communicate as professionals in discipline-specific genres. 

Objectives for Learn to Write Activities

• Learn course content
• Practice disciplinary ways of thinking
• Learn about discipline-specific genres
• Practice writing discipline-specific genres
• Adapt one’s writing to a variety of audiences 

Which Genres Matter Most in Your Discipline?

Genres often vary by discipline and reflect what, how, and to whom the discipline communicates. Here are just some of the genres that we’ve seen in JYW courses at UMass: personal narratives about students’ disciplinary interests; critical responses to scholarship; analyses of images, texts, or other cultural artifacts; literature reviews; research proposals; research articles; lab reports; op-eds; oral presentations; informational videos on YouTube or other media; blog posts for public audiences; and more.

When thinking about the select disciplinary genres that you assign, consider the form, habits of mind, or audiences that professionals in your discipline recognize. By form, how is this particular genre often structured? When considering the habits of mind, ask what ways of thinking, kind of evidence and logic, and skills students might need to write successfully in disciplinary genres. Lastly, you’ll want to consider the intended audiences for the genre and assignment. 

It’s worth noting that some assignments may require similar content skills, but in terms of writing, they require different audiences and habits of mind. A lab notebook might be more about the detail and process, including some personal observations of the process, for an audience of the writer and perhaps few others. On the other hand, a lab report is more contained, focused on the findings, and the audience might be just the professor or possibly a lab group. Lastly, an article is a polished, finalized product of this research. The emphasis is on persuasive and strong evidence, with a much far-reaching audience. 

Sequence the Assignments

It’s important to consider in what order students should work through assignments. How can you require multiple occasions for writing? What might students need to practice in order to be successful on future writing assignments?  For example, the curriculum may sequence assignments along one or more of the following tracks:

• first, specialists; then, non-specialist scientists (e.g.: NSF); last, popular audience
• literature review, methodology, analysis of teacher-provided or new data; conclusions; new research proposal based on findings 
• literature review; lab report with teacher-provided methodology and data; research proposal to specialist audience; research proposal to funding agency

Designing Effective Assignments 

• Identify and communicate 3-4 learning goals for the assignment. 
• Make the prompt meaningful by helping students identify their purpose and intended readers.
• Create scaffolded activities to help students meet those learning goals. 
• Set a plan with clear expectations and deadlines.
• Be sure to include multiple opportunities for drafting, feedback (both  peer  and  instructor ), and revision throughout. 

Questions to Ask Yourself when Designing Assignments

• What are the main units (and associated assignments) in your course?
• What are the main learning objectives for each unit?
• What are the chief concepts or principles you want students to learn?
• What thinking skills or habits of mind are you trying to develop in your students?
• How should you write the assignment to convey the learning goals to students?
• Does the assignment clearly articulate the desired learning outcomes? 

Further Reading

• Bean, John C. “Designing and Sequencing Assignments to Teach Undergraduate Research.” Engaging Ideas: The Professor’s Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning in the Classroom , 2nd Edition , Jossey-Bass, 2011, pp. 224-63. 
• –. “Part Two: Designing Problem-Based Assignments.” Engaging Ideas: The Professor’s Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning in the Classroom , 2nd Edition , Jossey-Bass, 2011, pp. 89-145.
• Glenn, Cheryl and Melissa A. Goldthwaite. “Successful Writing Assignments.” The St. Martin’s Guide to Teaching Writing , 7th Edition , Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2014, pp. 95-124. 
• UMass Amherst University Writing Program. “ Sourcebook for Junior Year Writing Courses .” 2007-2008. 

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Writing Lines Exploring The Tedious Yet Creative Punishment

With each successive year of schooling, classes are supposed to teach more sophisticated methods of problem-solving . Ultimately, even some punishments made people think creatively too. For example, one earnest writer on Medium shared his experience with writing lines. Looking at his background, A.G. definitely has the basis for a mind that thinks creatively and critically. So, his approach makes a lot of sense.

RELATED : Can You Solve This 9-Year-Old’s Tricky Math Problem?

After gaining the teacher’s ire , A.G. would have to write lines, such as the phrase “I will follow the rules.” The amount of times depends on the teacher. But it was never an easy task. When confronted with this punishment, A.G. found the typical way of writing to be boring. He hated the method of writing the line fully first, then a second time fully, then a third, and so on. So, instead, he mixed it up. Maybe that involved writing “I will” all the way down the page, then putting ” follow the” after each of those. Or he might write random words around the page here or there until everything was filled in. Ultimately, these approaches helped make line writing less of the repetitive nightmare it usually was.

Or you can speed the process up all together

Six-year-old Isabella Collier faced a similar situation as A.G. She too needed to write lines, her phrase being “I will make better choices.” Similarly, she took a unique approach that involved writing down the page. But she sped the process up even further with one simple observation. Many letters had lines that could be drawn all the way down the page. For example, “I” could be completed for the whole page with one stroke of the pencil. Other letters provided similar opportunities to a lesser but still helpful extent.

The image went viral through a friend of Isabella’s mother. The family friend captioned the image, “My friend’s kid is going places.” And, really, that’s probably true. That’s a smart observation by Isabella and probably saved her wrist a lot of aching . Writing lines is a less aggressive punishment than some used in the past. But it still takes a toll on the hand and mind. These creative shortcuts help get through the monotony while hopefully still teaching an important lesson about behaving in the classroom. It is, after all, still crucial to get a quality education and to not disturb others wanting the same.

RELATED : 18 TV And Movie Teachers We Love And Need In Our Classrooms

We couldn’t leave this article without showing some of Bart’s Best Chalkboard Lines! My personal favorite is “Underwear should be worn on the inside,” at the 2:00 mark of this compilation. Enjoy and try not to laugh too hard! 🙂

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writing assignment as punishment

By Denisemomof4 , April 1, 2011 in General Education Discussion Board

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Denisemomof4.

have any of you used a writing assignment as a punishment? You know, the kind where the child will have to write, "I will not do X," or "I'm sorry for doing X" type thing. If you have done this, would you mind sharing an example of what you've had the child write, how many times, and the age of your child?

I'm just starting to do this as a form of discipline for my 8 year old girl. It's working surprisingly well. She has many behavioral issues stemmed from trauma and neglect in her childhood (she was in an orphanage until 14 months of age) but I really need her to DO her schoolwork so I know she's learning. Putting her in school would NOT be good for her. I decided to try something new. Since writing the wrong answer, and sometimes on the entire lesson, and for WEEKS or MONTHS on end, has been something she's done for so long now, I'm having her write the RIGHT answer X number of times for EVERYTHING she gets wrong. She sees her sister having to rewrite words X number of times when she spells them wrong, so now she's doing the same - and she's DOING it. This past week her math and phonics papers were the best they've been in numerous months!!!

I'm going to try this now on other behavioral issues. She just scratched up our NEW fireplace :glare: and she will lose all privileges until this new writing assignment is done. It worked on schoolwork so far and I'm hoping it will work on other discipline issues!

FWIW, no other form of discipline has worked on her long term to date. I am surprised she's actually doing the work and I'm hoping it will have lasting affects on her.

Anyone else?

(I won't do the entire happy dance yet but am hopeful that perhaps I've finally found a form of discipline that will make a difference!!!)

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I have my oldest DD write "reports" when she has blatantly done something that she knows is wrong (the most recent was taking vitamins without asking - my brother almost died from eating an almost-full bottle of Flintstones as a child and my DDs know that I consider vitamins the same as medicine).

I started her with this when she was about eight, and had her write eight well thought-out sentences. Now that she is nine she writes nine sentences ;) If I really want to make a point I mark her paper with corrections, cross out repetitive sentences, and have her write it over. She hates it, but I rarely have the same problem more than once!

As for schoolwork corrections, the girls both write misspelled words 3x and oldest DD also uses it in a sentence. Sometimes with grammar mistakes, I'll have her write the rule. Usually her mistakes are because I haven't explained something as well as I should have - in those instances I do not make her write anything.

Day before yesterday, both of my older children wrote "I will be quiet when Mom is on the phone." 100x. In cursive (a deal, especially for my DS). And it has to be neat, or it gets redone. I think there's something to repetition, if nothing else. It got the idea in their heads when talking to them and removing privileges wasn't doing it, and I bet DS, especially (who usually instigates around here) won't be pulling it again. It works really well in our home.

SonshineLearner

I have a friend who makes her kids run laps around the house. Don't obey? Run 5 laps and try again.. :)

Yes, I've done it once with my oldest. As she gets older, I will do it more....and add reports to that as well.

When my ds was about 9, we were having some trouble with manners with other adults. So I reprimanded a lot (so he had plenty of warning), and finally I said that he must really need a lot more information on how to act around adults. I said it really nicely, but it looked like we'd need a few books on manners. I checked out about 5, and then had him write a one-page report on it. That worked REALLY well.

Now whenever we're having an issue with something, I sympathetically suggest that maybe we need to get some books and do some research on the subject. And he stops!

I also warned him yesterday that if he leaves the front door open ONE MORE TIME, he will write 10 times "I will remember to always close the front door when I come into the house and when I leave the house." In his very best handwriting.

Whereneverever

I do at times. I assign in groups of 10 until she's done arguing and working. For instance, "I will use my hands to help, not hurt." and the baseline is 10- and as long as she's standing and bickering I keep adding.

Wow - 100 times?! I threatened 10. I think I will up my threat to at least 25 if you're doing 100. 10 sounds pretty pathetic in comparison!

LOL DS needs LOTS of repetition... lots and lots and lots. If he got the idea at 10 or 25, then I'd probably assign that many. But... he doesn't. :glare:

Actually, he had a major meltdown over it, but my DD jumped right in and started. I excused her after 25, because of her good attitude about her discipline. She still learned her lesson, and we haven't had a phone incident since. DS is still learning his lessons about accepting discipline gracefully, and the intended lesson of not running through the house screaming like a banshee when I'm on the phone.

I lied as a young teen. A lot. My Mom was fed up and I had to write a line-and-a-half sentence 1000 times before I was allowed to do anything (besides eat, sleep, shower, school, and church). I don't think that I ever lied again. Seriously!

amo_mea_filiis.

I was doing this with ds and I may go back to it. I felt a little bad because he does struggle with handwriting, but I got over it! LOL.

He usually has to write apology notes to his sister.

Recently I made him start drawing pictures. He's a pretty angry kid, so he has to draw 6 things that his sister does that makes him happy. Or when he was going through his "I wish I was never born" phase, I made him draw pictures of good things.

I try to keep everything on the positive side, so instead of teaching him how to write the words he shouldn't be saying, I'll have him write "I will only use nice words like ..." "When (sister) annoys me, I will walk away."

My dd does it on her own. A week ago I had a butterfinger (I know, in the grand scheme of things this is nothing) and dd was begging for it. I told her no, and reminded her that she and her brother have other types of treats. This is my treat, and I usually do not have treats. Anyway, later that day I went for my treat and the wrapper was empty! I sent her to her room for not listening. When she came out, she had a note of apology and said she'd work for the cost of the treat. It was very sweet. I did make her go back and edit her mistakes! :)

ok, I'm feeling better now. After Laurie's response, I questioned whether or not I was being too tough. Sorry Laurie - that's nothing for you to take personally!

I've had the same behavioral issues with dd for so many years now and it's just got to stop. I have her in my sight ALL THE TIME (have for YEARS now!) but I've JUST started to step into the kitchen to get tea, or what ever, and allowed her to stay at the table. I should have known I can't let my guard down. In those few seconds she decided to scratch up our beautiful fireplace. Since damaging the house has been going on for years, I've given her a HEFTY writing assignment (actually more than 100 times) because I just can't take it anymore. I'm tired of repairing her damage. I make her clean her messes, writing on walls, boogers off of things, etc. but the damage which requires repairs is something dh or I normally take care of. I will be doing wall repairs and repainting the bathroom where she was picking apart the drywall when I was allowing dd11 to take her to go to the bathroom. :svengo:

actually, like I said, mine is even more than 100. I wasn't going to admit that because I didn't want to get blasted, but really, unless you're dealing with a child with severe behavioral issues (and destroying a house IS a CHOICE no matter what's going on inside of you), you really can't say what you'd do. I've had to rip out carpets, replace walls, and this while she was a TODDLER.

I really shouldn't complain. Yes, I'm LIVID that she did this to my gorgeous and NEW fireplace, but really, she's doing SO MUCH BETTER that I truly am counting my blessings. AND still dishing out consequences. I think writing assignments are such drudgery that maybe she's deciding that her games on her schoolwork simply aren't worth it. Hopefully the destruction will stop, too.

Also, it's been three months since she drew all over the wall. We truly ARE making progress. Years ago destruction was a daily thing.

dd11 has lied a few times recently and I've told her that not only is it a sin, it destroys relationships. It hurts me SO deeply. I remember my boys having a huge writing assignment over lying about the same age, and she's got a 500 writing assignment this weekend because the groundings apparently haven't worked. I've never done this before with her but I'm thinking I won't have to again. ;)

She's being a trooper about it. I think she's being the perfect role model as younger dd sits there with her writing assignment.

Hey - if it works.......

Recently I made him start drawing pictures. He's a pretty angry kid, so he has to draw 6 things that his sister does that makes him happy. Or when he was going through his "I wish I was never born" phase, I made him draw pictures of good things.   I try to keep everything on the positive side, so instead of teaching him how to write the words he shouldn't be saying, I'll have him write "I will only use nice words like ..." "When (sister) annoys me, I will walk away."  

I *LOVE* this! I think I will change what my dd's are writing!!!

You could have her write 10 different sentences about not destroying things. Then 10 more about WHY we don't destroy property.

This might help her think things through a little bit.

I've only done this a couple of times. She had to write out "I will not be rude." 10x when she was interrupting me while I was on the telephone. She also had to write out "I will be loving to my siblings" when she was having a prideful day. I would post it up on our "school" wall for a few days.

I have always been scared to do this because I have never really enjoyed writing, although I have always been fairly decent at it. I have been afraid that my dcs would hate it even more if I used it for punishment, but that is probably not the case.

Special circumstances can require us as parents to consider tools that we would not, in theory, pursue.

This would be one of them for me. In most situations, I would not suggest writing as discipline. In your situation, I understand why you've decided to try.

Know that the effectiveness may eventually wear off and you'll have to find something else.

  Know that the effectiveness may eventually wear off and you'll have to find something else.

I do realize this. It's always two steps forward, one step back with her, and what works now won't work later. I don't know what I'll try next, but last time what ever I did (it was after my mom's death and I don't remember what the consequence was) had her doing her school work well for almost a year. I'm hoping that will happen again this time.

You could have her write 10 different sentences about not destroying things. Then 10 more about WHY we don't destroy property.   This might help her think things through a little bit.

I *LOVE* this as well! Thanks!!!

Denise, I am just so absolutely thrilled to hear you've found something that is working for you both. And hooray for not writing on the walls in three months. HOORAY! I am so so glad that she is making progress.

thank you! How nice of you to write this!

Actually, she had about 8 months of TERRIFIC behavior before the decline of my good friend and parents. She recently told me that when I was caring for everyone, she felt like I didn't care about her. :sad: I suspect we will make tremendous progress once again. I'm only feeling myself, or recovered, in the past few months. She's really doing well and I'm really focused on helping her to make better choices. I'm also closely guarding my time because I'm dedicated to doing fun things with my girls alone, without a homeschool group, without friends.

It seems that life has just been quiet and easy with her for a few months now. I'm SO happy to see her doing well again.

K&Rs Mom

I've done this - they make a mark on the sidewalk with the sidewalk chalk each time around.

I've also had 8yo copy relevant definitions from the dictionary - clearly she wouldn't act this way if she understood what obedient and respectful mean, right? :lol: I've had to use the thesaurus on my computer to come up with enough relevant words at times (side note - my dictionary actually has a definition for the phrase "sweetness and light"). Now that I think about it, she hasn't had to do this in quite a while. Maybe it actually worked.

I've had her write apologies, too - to me or to whomever she's hurt/wronged. I required at least 5 decent sentences in legible handwriting, delivered gently (no throwing the paper at someone and stomping off).

littlebug42

When I was a kid, my Mom has this ancient, deadly boring grammar book called Write Better, Speak Better that she would have us copy passages out of. Brutal but effective. :001_smile:

I had ds15 write a 5 paragraph essay when he was 11ish about the importance of sleep when we started having issues with him going to sleep. He would argue about bedtime, sneak a light and read past bedtime, and other stuff like that. He was really srgumentative and touchy about everything. In his research, he found that lack of sleep contributes to poor attitudes, easy irritation, and viewing things negatively.

ETA: I have also had ds9 write I will not .... papers a few times when he was younger. Some times they need the repetition to drill it in their heads.

When I used to be a public school teacher, this same method was quite effective for certain students at recess time for discipline. I used the encyclopedia. If the particular (strong willed) student was acting out in class, the usual method beyond the "teacher glare" or standing next to the student while lecturing (which usually stopped the behavior)... then if the behavior or disruption continued, his/her name went on the board as a warning. I never said anything to shame or embarrass them. I just kept on with my lesson as if nothing happened. LOL

If during the same day, more disruptions or misbehavior continued, a check next to their name. One check mark meant no recess. Two check marks meant the dreaded copying from the encyclopedia along with missing 2 recesses and a note sent home. Third check mark? Automatic phone call to parents with the copy work and loss of all 3 recesses -- student was immediately sent to the principal with the copy work. Rules for this were posted clearly on the front of the classroom and I made sure each student had their parent sign an acknowledgment stating they knew of my discipline system the first week of school. It usually took one student at the beginning of the school year to show all of the students how the system worked and then the rest of the year went well. ;) I usually never had to go beyond the name on the board and one check mark after that first incident.

Oh yeah, I sure have done this! For my ds6 :) And another Mom on this forum suggested that for tattle-tales, they need to fill out a form. This also I will implement given another year when my dd is big enough!

Yup, dd writes lines in groups of 25. I really can't think of what she had to write last time, but it was about 1 and a half lines long so it took up both sides of a page of lined paper.

I never used the method on my ds that you described, nor was it used on me by my mom. However, I distinctly remember a time when I had been sassy and I had to look up the word "respect" in the dictionary and write out the definition. I then had to write how I had NOT been respectful, why that was wrong, and how I could be respectful in the future. It REALLY made an impact on me. I can't recall my age, however.

thanks for all the replies! I really feel this is the right thing for now.

Both my dd's have writing assignments this weekend and have NO privileges until they're all done. Dd11 is a great, easy kid but she's at the developmental stage where testing the waters with lying is acceptable to her. NOT ME. I am having her write about lying this weekend. (both my boys did the same at her age and I do remember writing assignments with them, too!)

Dd8 actually has three writing assignments right now. Sometimes any sort of discipline will bring on more issues with her and this has happened.

Yesterday we had the plumber come over to fix the leak in the pipes (that dh caused! Ssssshhhhhhhhhhhh!) so we could have our master bathroom shower back. We've known this guy for about 15 years now. He came into the addition so see our new work and give us contacts for the kitchen remodel. While in there he saw dd8 sitting at the table doing her writing assignment. He leaned over to see what she was writing and immediately broke out in a chuckle. What was she writing:

"I will not bully my mom anymore."

Yes, that was what she was writing! I'm rereading some of Nancy Thomas' work to refresh my mind about dd8. ALL OVER HER WORK she speaks of the mother being bullied by the child. I had forgotten about that but WOW, that's exactly what happens in my house! She bullies me!

So I had her start with the above writing assignment and when she finishes that she will get on to the writing assignment for scratching the fireplace. I know I could be more creative in my choice of words with this one, and I really want to be more positive and encouraging as some of you pointed out. However, with this one it's straight forward. Stop the bullying. Period.

The plumber, dh and I laughed and dd8 was NOT amused.;) He also spoke of when he made his kids do writing assignments. They're all grown and out of the house now and doing VERY well. I'm convinced it's because of the writing assignments. ;):lol:

mathewsgang

I sometimes have them write out a verse that applies to the misbehavior. I just had my 7 year old write out Eph. 6:1 several times to help him with obeying an order that he has been given.

have any of you used a writing assignment as a punishment? You know, the kind where the child will have to write, "I will not do X," or "I'm sorry for doing X" type thing. If you have done this, would you mind sharing an example of what you've had the child write, how many times, and the age of your child?   I'm just starting to do this as a form of discipline for my 8 year old girl. It's working surprisingly well. She has many behavioral issues stemmed from trauma and neglect in her childhood (she was in an orphanage until 14 months of age) but I really need her to DO her schoolwork so I know she's learning. Putting her in school would NOT be good for her. I decided to try something new. Since writing the wrong answer, and sometimes on the entire lesson, and for WEEKS or MONTHS on end, has been something she's done for so long now, I'm having her write the RIGHT answer X number of times for EVERYTHING she gets wrong. She sees her sister having to rewrite words X number of times when she spells them wrong, so now she's doing the same - and she's DOING it. This past week her math and phonics papers were the best they've been in numerous months!!!   I'm going to try this now on other behavioral issues. She just scratched up our NEW fireplace :glare: and she will lose all privileges until this new writing assignment is done. It worked on schoolwork so far and I'm hoping it will work on other discipline issues!   FWIW, no other form of discipline has worked on her long term to date. I am surprised she's actually doing the work and I'm hoping it will have lasting affects on her.   Anyone else?   (I won't do the entire happy dance yet but am hopeful that perhaps I've finally found a form of discipline that will make a difference!!!)

If it works for you then go ahead. It is surprising sometimes what will motivate a kid.

It wouldn't work for us, though. My ds hates writing, and I really don't want him to "hate" it. If I used it as punishment, it would just make my efforts to teach him good writing that much harder because he'd associate it even more with torture than he seems to already. :sad:

My 10 y/o sometimes has to write lines as a punishment. When she does, it can be anywhere from 10-50 times depending on what she's in trouble for.

Average is probably 20/25 lines. This past school year, it tends to happen like once every couple of months, that she's writing lines for something or other!

Guest momk2000

No, I would never use schoolwork as a punishment. My kids love school, and I wouldn't want them to start viewing it in a negative light, or as a punishment.

well it certainly ISN'T considered school work.

Because my dd has been so much trouble to homeschool, she's basically doing everything online anyway. I do have her do math and phonics papers as extra fluff, but most of her schoolwork is online. This has restored my sanity.

We just added A Reason For Writing a few weeks back to make sure she still kept up with good handwriting practice. She won't need to do that when she has writing assignments.

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