A behavior contract is a great way to help with student behavior. But what is a behavioral contract? Let’s dive into what it is, if they are effective, and even how to create a behavioral contract.
What is a Behavior Contract for Students
A behavior contract is basically a written out plan detailing what the expected behavior is, what will happen if that behavior is displayed, as well as what will happen if it isn’t. It is then agreed upon by both the student and teacher(s).
So what does a behavioral contract look like?
They can honestly be pretty simple looking. Behavior contracts can even be handwritten on a scratch piece of paper. Or they can be all fancied up with cute clip art and fun fonts. It really just depends on what you have time for and what the student is going to buy into.
I mean, a 5th grade boy probably isn’t going to care if you used a font you had to buy. And they certainly won’t be digging cutesie clipart of a kindergartener sitting on a rug with a plastered on smile.
So know your audience and make it suit them.
Do Behavior Contracts Work?
Yes, they really do.
Students will start to understand what is expected and follow that expectation. It might take a few times that the unwanted behavior appears and the contract is not followed for that to kick in though. So just be consistent.
Make sure to follow through with the contract. This is so important! If a student doesn’t see you doing what you said you were going to, they won’t see the point of the contract. Which will lead to them breaking it or just plain not caring. When this happens, a behavior contract is no longer effective.
Say what you mean and do what you say. Simple as that.
How to Write a Behavior Contract
Ready to learn how to create a behavior contract? Follow these rules of thumb:
Keep Them Fairly Simple Looking
You don’t want too much on the page to distract from the words.
Also, keep in mind that this is a contract. And contracts aren’t too cute-looking. So keep your clipart fairly sparse and simple.
Don’t get me wrong here, it is totally okay to put some fanciness on the contract. Doing so even helps students’ to not see it as a bad thing and in some cases might even get them excited about it. Just make sure it isn’t too much. See how the contracts in the picture below only have a little bit on them? This is the look you are going for.
Having contracts that are a bit simple-looking is the way to go. This will send the signal that this means business.
Make it Specific to The Child
The contract should have the student’s first name and date (or date range).
From there make sure to include the specific behaviors that are being looked for. If you think, anyone could pick up this paper, read it, and understand, you are on the right track.
Pro-tip: You can save some time with this step by making some checkboxes for behavior. Then instead of writing everything out, you just need to check a couple of boxes. Simple, right?
Make it Official
Lastly, the contract should be signed by both the teacher/parent and the student. Putting everyone’s John Hancock on there holds everyone accountable for what is entailed.
This way it isn’t a surprise to anyone what happens next. This is true of both what happens if the student follows the contract – this is usually some type of reward or earned privilege. On the flip side, everyone is also aware of what happens if the contract isn’t upheld. So there is no way for anyone to argue about anything because everything is decided ahead of time and put in black and white.
Don’t have the time to Focus on How to Make a Behavior Contract that Works?
Looking for a done-for-you version?
Check out these low prep behavioral contracts for students.
This 92 page (yes you read that right, NINTY-TWO PAGES!) resource contains 6 different behavior contracts to suit the goal/situation. There are 43 different versions (remember how I said above that it is important to fit the student’s interests? Well I got you covered here!). All you need to do is print out the pages, fill them in with the information that is specific to the child you are working with, and BAM, DONE!
There are also digital versions for many of these contracts. So if going digital is your jam (or is super enticing for the student you are working with), this resource is perfect.
Also included is a how to use guide making the whole process of using a behavior contract fool-proof. Find this amazing resource here.
Need More to Help with Tricky Student Behavior?
Modifying behavior can be hard.
Check out this post all on functional behavioral assessments (FBAs) for some great information. Here you’ll find not only what FBA stands for, but also what is the purpose of a functional behavioral assessment, and how to do one.
Once you get the data from an FBA, put it into place by writing a behavior intervention plan (BIP) using this post. It breaks down everything including goals, strategies to use, how to progress monitor, and even shares a behavior intervention plan template.
Grab this simple 5 step guide to help you write an amazing behavior plan (which just might include using a behavior contract). Find this FREE easy to use guide here. Plus you’ll get a few free data collection templates (how awesome is that?!?).
Hopefully, you learned more about what is a behavior contract along with some other helpful things like how to write a behavioral contract.
If you need more examples of great behavior contracts for students, check out this blog post for all the goods.
Happy Teaching!
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