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  • Early Childhood Behavior Management: Developing and Teaching Rules
Challenge
Initial Thoughts
Perspectives & Resources

How can teachers help young children learn expected behaviors?

  • 1: Preventing Challenging Behavior in Young Children
  • 2: Understanding Behavior Expectations and Rules
  • 3: Developing and Displaying Rules
  • 4: Teaching Classroom Rules

How can teachers encourage and reinforce expected behaviors?

  • 5: Providing Rule Reminders
  • 6: Providing Positive Feedback
  • 7: Using Classroom Reinforcement Systems
  • 8: Sharing Rules with Families

Resources

  • 9: References, Additional Resources, and Credits
Wrap Up
Assessment
Provide Feedback

Resources

Page 9: References, Additional Resources, and Credits

To cite this module, please use the following:

The IRIS Center. (2014, 2026). Early childhood behavior management: Developing and teaching rules. Retrieved from https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/ecbm/

References

Note: The references in this section reflect the source material used to construct this module. The links to these references are not updated.

Alter, P. J., & Conroy, M. A. (n.d.). Preventing challenging behavior in young children: Effective practices. Recommended Practices. Retrieved from http://challengingbehavior.fmhi.usf.edu/do/resources/documents/rph_preventing_challenging_behavior.pdf

Barbetta, P. M., Norona, K. L., & Bicard, D. F. (2005). Classroom behavior management: A dozen common mistakes and what to do instead. Preventing School Failure, 49(3), 11–19.

Benedict, E. A., Horner, R. H., & Squires, J. K. (2007). Assessment and implementation of positive behavior support in preschools. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 27, 174–192.

Campbell, S. B. (1995). Behavior problems in preschool children: A review of recent research. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 36(1), 113-149.

Cavanaugh, B. (2013). Performance feedback and teachers’ use of praise and opportunities to respond: A review of the literature. Education and Treatment of Children, 36(1), 111–136.

Duncan, T. K., Kemple, K. M., & Smith, T. M. (2000). Reinforcement in developmentally appropriate childhood classrooms. Childhood Education, 76(4), 194–203.

Fallon, L. M., O’Keeffe B. V., & Sugai, G. (2012). Consideration of culture and context in school-wide positive behavior support: A review of current literature. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 14(4), 209–219.

Fettig, A., & Ostrosky, M. M. (2011). Collaborating with parents in reducing children’s challenging behaviors: Linking functional assessment to intervention. Child Development Research, 2011, 1–10. Retrieved from http://www.hindawi.com/journals/cdr/2011/835941/

Fettig, A., Schultz, T. R., & Ostrosky, M. M. (2013). Collaborating with parents using effective strategies to reduce children’s challenging behaviors. Young Exceptional Children, 16(1), 30–41.

Fox, L., & Lentini, R. H. (2006). “You got it!” Teaching social and emotional skills. Young Children, 61(6), 36–42.

Fox, L., & Little, N. (2001). Starting early: Developing school-wide behavior support in a community preschool. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 3, 251–254.

Fox, L., Dunlap, G., Hemmeter, M. L., Joseph, G. E., & Strain, P. S. (2003). The teaching pyramid: A model for supporting social competence and preventing challenging behavior in young children. Young Children. Retrieved from https://challengingbehavior.org/docs/TeachingPyramid_yc_article_7_2003.pdf

Gable, R., Hester, P. H., Rock, M. L., & Hughes, K. G. (2009). Back to basics: Rules, praise, ignoring, and reprimands revisited. Intervention in School and Clinic, 44, 195–205.

Hemmeter, M. L., Ostrosky, M. M., & Corso, R. M. (2012). Preventing and addressing challenging behavior: common questions and practical strategies. Young Exceptional Children, 15(2), 32–46.

Hester, P. P., Hendrickson, J. M., Gable, & R. A. (2009). Forty years later—The value of praise, ignoring, and rules for preschools at risk for behavior disorders. Education and Treatment of Children, 32, 513–535.

Kern, L. (n.d.). Addressing persistent challenging behaviors. Recommended Practices. Retrieved from https://challengingbehavior.org/document/recommended-practices-addressing-persistent-challenging-behaviors/

Muscott, H. S., Szczesiul, S., Berk, B., Staub, K., Hoover, J., & Perry-Chisholm, P. (2008). Creating home-school partnerships by engaging families in schoolwide positive behavior supports. Teaching Exceptional Children, 40(6), 6–14.

Myers, D. M., Simonsen, B., & Sugai, G. (2011). Increasing teachers’ use of praise with a response-to-intervention approach. Education and Treatment of Children, 34, 35–39.

Piscareta, J., Tincani, M., Connell, J. E., & Axelrod, S. (2011). Increasing teachers’ use of a 1:1 praise to behavior correction ratio to decrease students disruption in general education classrooms. Behavioral Interventions, 26, 243–260.

Positive Behavioral Interventions & Support. (n.d.). Early childhood PBIS. Retrieved on December 5, 2014, http://www.pbis.org/community/early-childhood?text-only

Positive Behavioral Interventions & Support. (n.d.). SWPBIS for beginners. Retrieved from http://www.pbis.org/school/swpbis-for-beginners?text-only

Simonsen, B., Fairbanks, S., Briesch, A., Myers, D., & Sugai, G. (2008). Evidence-based practices in classroom management: Considerations for research to practice. Education and Treatment of Children, 31, 351–380.

Sprick, R. (2010). CHAMPS: A proactive & positive approach to classroom management: DVD inservice series (2nd ed.). Eugene, OR: Pacific Northwest Pub.

Stormont, M. (2001). Preschool family and child characteristics associated with stable behavior problems in children. Journal of Early Intervention, 24(4), 241–251.

Stormont, M. A., Smith, S. C., & Lewis, T. J. (2007). Teacher implementation of precorrection and praise statements in Head Start classrooms as a component of a program-wide system of positive behavior support. Journal of Behavioral Education, 16, 280–290.

Stormont, M., Lewis, T. J., & Beckner, R. (2005). Positive behavior support systems: Applying key features in preschool settings. Teaching Exceptional Children, 37(6), 42–49.

Stormont, M., Reinke, W., & Herman, K. (2011). Teachers’ knowledge of evidence-based interventions and available school resources for children with emotional and behavioral problems. Journal of Behavioral Education, 20(2), 138–147.

Van Acker, R. (2007). Strategies for dealing with classroom aggression. Paper presented at the Working Forum of the Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders. Las Vegas, NV.

Weinstein, C. S., Tomlinson-Clarke, S., & Curran, M. (2004). Toward a conception of culturally responsive classroom management. Journal of Teacher Education, 55, 25–38.

Additional Resources

Articles

Diamond, L. L., & Hsiao, YJ. (2019). Picture-based situation cards to support problem-solving skill development for young children with disabilities. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 52(2), 107–115.

Research shows that young children respond well to picture-based problem-solving instruction, whether it be toward the completion of specific tasks or of broader considerations such as classroom behavior. This article lays out a number of specific strategies and practices that teachers can implement in their own classrooms to improve student outcomes. Tips on creating your own problem-solving cards and posters are likewise included.

Hardy, J. K., & McLeod, R. H. (2020). Using positive reinforcement with young children. Beyond Behavior, 29(2), 95–107. https://doi.org/10.1177/1074295620915724

This article provides eight research-based recommendations for designing, incorporating, and assessing the efficacy of positive reinforcement in early childhood environments, with each accompanied by examples.

Price, C. L., & Steed, E. A. (2016). Culturally responsive strategies to support young children with challenging behavior. YC Young Children, 71(5), 36–43. https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/yc/nov2016/culturally-responsive-strategies

This article explains five ways to cultivate positive teacher-student relationships. These strategies include getting to know children and families, developing and teaching expectations and empathy, understanding how children think and feel, and addressing conflicts in groups.

Books

Hemmeter, M. L., Ostrosky, M. M., & Fox, L. K. (2021). Unpacking the pyramid model: A practical guide for preschool teachers. Brookes. https://products.brookespublishing.com/Unpacking-the-Pyramid-Model-P1231.aspx

This book features not only a detailed breakdown of the Pyramid Model, which is a framework designed to encourage social-emotional development in young children, but evidence-based methods for implementation.

Online Resources

CONNECT. (n.d.). Module 4: Family-professional partnerships. Online module. Retrieved from http://community.fpg.unc.edu/connect-modules/learners/module-4

This resource from the Center to Mobilize Early Childhood Knowledge (CONNECT) includes information on “effective practices for developing trusting family-professional partnerships in early care and education programs.” Also on hand are activities, ready-made handouts, and videos and audios featuring both parents and teachers.

National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations. (2021). Making a scripted story. https://www.challengingbehavior.org/docs/ScriptedStories_Home.pdf

This handout provides a step-by-step guide to creating a scripted story, including brainstorming scenarios or routines with children, fleshing out ideas, and adding photos. Additionally, this document features tips for using scripted stories.

National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations. (2024). Providing intensive individualized intervention for early childhood programs. https://www.challengingbehavior.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/pbs_collection.pdf

This document provides a step-by-step guide, and supplementary resources, for understanding and implementing the individualized positive behavior support (IPBS) process to address challenging behavior.

Websites

The Pyramid Model Consortium
https://www.pyramidmodel.org

This website offers courses, services, and additional materials to aid educators in learning about and implementing the Pyramid Model in early childhood settings.

National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations (NCPMI)
http://challengingbehavior.fmhi.usf.edu

The National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations (NCPMI) assists states “in their implementation of sustainable systems for the implementation of the Pyramid Model for Supporting Social Emotional Competence in Infants and Young Children (Pyramid Model) within early intervention and early education programs.” Visitors will find information on the Pyramid Model and PBIS, evidence-based practices, and technical training and assistance opportunities, among much more.

Credits

Content Experts

Mary Louise Hemmeter
Jessica Hardy

Module Developers

Taylor Brady
Amy Harris
Kim Skow

Content Expert Reviewers

Lise Fox
Amy Hunter
Kathleen Artman Meeker
Michaelene Ostrosky
Rosa Milagros Santos
Elizabeth Steed

Module Production Team

Editor
Nicholas Shea
Jason Miller

Reviewers
Janice Brown
Kim Skow
Deb Smith
Naomi Tyler

Permissions
Janet Church

Transcriptions
Janet Church
Pam Dismuke

Media Specialist/Technical Support
Brenda Knight

Web master
John Harwood

Media

Narration
Brenda Knight

Audio
Brian Smokler
Brenda Knight

Graphics
Shutterstock
Tiered pyramid courtesy of the Pyramid Model Consortium
The Picture Communications Symbols ⓒ1981-2014 by Mayer-Johnson LLC All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Used with permission.

Photos
Jessica Hardy
Shutterstock

Pictures of IRIS Experts are courtesy of themselves. All other media and images courtesy of the IRIS Center.

Videos
Courtesy of CSEFEL at Vanderbilt University (p. 4)

Expert Interviews
Mary Louise Hemmeter (pp. 1, 2, 4, 7, 8)
Erica Roy (pp. 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8)
Amanda Higgins (pp. 2, 3, 4)

When you are ready, proceed to the Wrap Up section.

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