## Classroomwide Practices to Improve Behavior

### Use a Five-One Ratio of Positive Attention

The 5:1 ratio of positive attention is based on research that has shown that children are better behaved in preschool settings when adults spend the majority of their time attending to positive behavior and not challenging behavior. This strategy maximizes children’s ability to predict what comes next by developing a daily schedule and directly teaching children what comes next.

### Establish Routines within Routines Behavioral Expectations

The predictability of a general schedule does not provide enough structure to prevent some children’s challenging behaviors. It is often helpful to specify other levels of predictability with one’s overall classroom schedule. Make certain that all children know precisely what behavioral expectations you have for each routine. It is recommended that there be no more than three expectations for any one routine.

### Directly Teach Peer-Related Social Skills

Actively teaching social skills involves careful planning around routines and activities, arranging the environment to support peer interaction, and implementing strategies such as peer-mediated interventions, adult cueing and prompting, and reinforcement.

*See examples and learn how to implement these strategies in* **Prevent-Teach-Reinforce for Young Children: The Early Childhood Model of Individualized Positive Behavior Support.** *Learn more at:*

**[https://bpub.fyi/PTR-YC](https://bpub.fyi/PTR-YC)**