QUESTION:

What’s the correct way to introduce the DWS Hierarchy to primary students? I want to do this right!

RESPONSE:

There isn’t any one correct or best way to introduce the DWS Hierarchy to students but I can share a few starting points that seem to work well for many people.

  • On pages 70-72, of his book, Discipline without Stress, Punishments or Rewards, Dr. Marshall describes an effective process that involves the students in drawing and then explaining their own illustrations for each of the four levels.
  • The four levels can be introduced with a specific scenario. One popular one can be found at this link called “The Trash Scenario.”
  • Each level can simply be discussed orally. Students could then do some roleplay to demonstrate their understanding of the concepts.
  • Picture books can be used to highlight the various levels. Some examples can be found in Dr. Marshall’s book and more can be found at this link, Connections to Literature. You probably have many favorite children’s books. It’s quite possible that some of your favorites might be used to illustrate the DWS levels.
  • There’s a wonderful little book, The Children of Rainbow School, written by Tanis Carter, a primary teacher who uses DWS in her own classroom. It has four chapters, each one explaining the concepts of a particular Hierarchy level through one continuing story.
  • For older primary students, the suggestion at this link, A Butterfly Analogy, may be a suitable way to introduce the RRSystem.

As my teaching partner and I become more comfortable in using the DWS approach and as we work with more and more classes of children, we worry less and less about the initial presentation of the system. We’ve found that the understandings that we want our students to gain are best built in little steps, in real-life classroom situations, over the course of an entire school year. We no longer worry if we don’t introduce the Hierarchy “perfectly” in the very first lesson. We know that we’ll have lots of opportunities throughout the year to “get it right!”

My own philosophy (when teaching or doing other things in life,) is to remember that the most important thing to do in any situation where I want to implement something new is simply to get started! I always find that once I do get started–even if my start wasn’t absolutely “perfect,”–I can clearly see what I need to do next; one step just naturally tends to lead to the next. I think you’ll find that it’s the same for you too! By keeping the pressure off yourself in the early stages of introducing the system, you’ll feel free to find creative ways to revisit the Hierarchy throughout the school year.

In his book, Dr. Marshall suggests: “Implement now, perfect later.” That’s the mindset I personally like to adopt too. No matter how you choose to introduce the Hierarchy, you certainly won’t do any “damage” to your class and you’ll make your own life a lot less stressful if you don’t demand perfection of yourself as a beginner to this approach.


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Posted In: Teaching the Hierarchy
posted On: August 12, 2008: 2:16 pm: By Kerry Weisner
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