Teaching Children
with Challenging Behavior
Helping students gain
control of their emotions
starts with getting to
know them.
Caltha Crowe
It was the second day of school, and the 3rd graders were sitting in a circle on the floor, intrigued by the colorful manipulative rods I had just unveiled. I asked the chil-
dren what they knew about the rods,
how they had used them in the past, and
what ideas they had for using them now.
Paulina suggested building a tower. Juan
recalled making staircases in 2nd grade.
Other classmates offered ideas, and the
students listened intently. Then I walked
around the circle, carefully giving each
child a small handful of rods so they
could try out one another’s ideas.
