Recess is the favorite school activity of many students. For their teachers, who must monitor the activity, however, it often is the least favorite. A highly physical, yet unstructured activity, often characterized by limited supervision, recess typically is fraught with disciplinary problems.
The difficulties a teacher might encounter on the playground run the gamut of behavior problems. Those can include children arguing over the score of a game, a student ridiculing a classmate for poor physical skills, a student intentionally damaging playground equipment, a child crying because she has no one to play with, or a student angrily accusing his classmates of cheating.
The range of issues that arise on the playground, however, also presents opportunities to teach students important lessons about such issues as good sportsmanship, kindness, conflict resolution, and respect for property. Students will learn those lessons most effectively, moreover, if you deal with them immediately, as the problems arise. Tackling recess problems head-on is important for another reason: unresolved playground disputes often carry over into the classroom.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
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Establish playground rules. If you are responsible for monitoring students on the playground, explain the rules to them on the first day and periodically review them. If another staff member has recess responsibility, make it clear to your students that, even though another person is in charge of the playground, you expect them to follow her rules without exception. In setting playground rules, consider such issues as taking turns, sharing equipment, playing fair, treating playground equipment with care, and putting equipment away at the end of recess. Let them know that recess is a privilege and any student who cannot follow the rules will lose that privilege. If necessary, take your students to the playground and demonstrate recess do's and don'ts. Give special attention to the issue of teasing. Make it clear that ridicule or put-downs of any kind will not be tolerated and that no one is to be made fun of because of their athletic ability. Sportsmanship is another topic you might put on your meeting agenda: specifically being both a gracious winner and loser.
Provide
a range of activities. Although most students opt for physical activities
during recess, have items for students who prefer quieter activities.
Provide a box with such items as games, books, and art materials. Also,
consider organizing cooperative activities for students who prefer to
avoid the pressures of competition. As an example, a group of students
might work together to complete a puzzle or create a mural.
Stay
in contact with the playground monitor. Ask the playground monitor
to let you know if any of your students have significant or continuing
difficulties on the playground. Make sure your class knows the two of
you will be talking. Although consequences are most effective when implemented
immediately, you might tell a misbehaving student you are disappointed
in his behavior and review the rules with him. Also ask the monitor to
let you know if a student with a history of playground problems has been
behaving appropriately during recess so you can acknowledge his improved
behavior.
Talk
with misbehaving students about their behavior. Help those students
understand why their behavior is inappropriate and how it presents a problem.
A student might not understand, for example, that his behavior created
a safety concern or hurt another student's feelings. Give brief reminders
to students before recess about the importance of following the rules
and the potential consequences of not following them.
Coach
students with poor playground skills. Some students need guidance
on how to handle social situations. Give them help at the time of the
problem, but treat the situation as a teaching opportunity rather than
a disciplinary problem. If, for example, a student yelled at a teammate
"How did you miss that ball? You really stink!" you might take the student
aside and help him understand what he might have said instead. (perhaps
"Good try. You'll get it next time.") When you see the student handling
a similar situation in a more appropriate or sensitive manner, let him
know how proud you are of him.
Provide
immediate consequences. You will be more effective deterring future
misbehavior on the playground if you respond immediately, especially with
younger children. If the playground is supervised by monitors, it is more
effective for them to assign consequences at the time of the problem than
to tell you about it and have you assign consequences later on. Of course,
the monitor might still want to inform you, especially if the problem
could carry over into the classroom.
Have
a misbehaving student complete a playground report. Keep a clipboard
and pencil and paper handy. If a student has misbehaved on more than one
occasion, remove him from the activity and have him fill out a form asking
him to describe what happened, what he did, how his behavior might have
affected other students, and what he might do differently next time. Keep
the forms to help identify patterns.
Have
a problem-solving bench. If students have a conflict on the playground,
and can't drop it, have them talk it out while sitting on a bench set
aside for that purpose. Help structure their talk by having each student
tell his or her side of the story while the other is quiet, and then together
figuring out a solution to the problem. Let them know the point is not
to figure out who is at fault or who started it, but rather to decide
what each can do to solve the problem. Tell them they must let you know
how they solved the problem. Keep an eye on them as they try to resolve
the conflict and intervene if necessary.
Give
misbehaving students a time-out on the playground. If a student is
not following playground rules, you might want to have him sit down quietly
for five or ten minutes. If he talks or gets up, then the time out period
starts over from the beginning. The possibility of being benched, even
for a short time, will be frustrating to many students and might be sufficient
to get most to comply with the rules. If the misbehavior is serious or
continuous, you might want to remove the student from recess for a longer
period, perhaps a day or even a week.
Practice
inclusion. If a student is playing by himself and being ignored by
his classmates, encourage other students to include him in their activities.
Keep a watchful eye to make sure they are interacting with him in a kind
manner. You also might give the isolated student a fun activity to do
to lure other students to play with him.
Give
a troublesome student a playground job. You might be surprised to
find that a student who can be a hellion on the playground also can be
a cooperative and reliable helper. If he is interested, you might make
him responsible for giving out or collecting playground equipment. Or
you might have him serve as a safety monitor -- some coaching on how to
do that in a fair and kind manner might be necessary. Keep a close watch
to make sure he doesn't go too far in exercising control over classmates.
Avoid
hurt feelings when choosing teams. Here's a simple and effective way
of avoiding the hurt of being the last student chosen: Appoint two captains
and have them alternate choosing players for their team. When about half
the students have been chosen, allow the remaining students to alternate
choosing which team they want to be on.
Establish playground rules. If you are responsible for monitoring students on the playground, explain the rules to them on the first day and periodically review them. If another staff member has recess responsibility, make it clear to your students that, even though another person is in charge of the playground, you expect them to follow her rules without exception. In setting playground rules, consider such issues as taking turns, sharing equipment, playing fair, treating playground equipment with care, and putting equipment away at the end of recess. Let them know that recess is a privilege and any student who cannot follow the rules will lose that privilege. If necessary, take your students to the playground and demonstrate recess do's and don'ts. Give special attention to the issue of teasing. Make it clear that ridicule or put-downs of any kind will not be tolerated and that no one is to be made fun of because of their athletic ability. Sportsmanship is another topic you might put on your meeting agenda: specifically being both a gracious winner and loser. 
