Some of these behavior interventions are confusing for us to understand so how the heck are our kids going to understand these contingencies? Visuals to the rescue! Behavioral Contingency Maps are a MUST-HAVE resources that will clearly & concretely explain any behavioral intervention to your kids. After a bunch of weeks of behavior intervention – posts this resources is a perfect dessert course! I was approached back in the winter by Deedee Wills from the megablog – Mrs. Will Kindergarteen about creating some for her classroom. She had recently attended a PD about the effectiveness of using behavior maps within the early childhood classrooms. This resource has been phenomenally successful in both general ed & special ed classrooms 🙂

What are behavior contingency maps? Contingency behavior maps show a visual representation of engaging in appropriate and inappropriate behaviors and the consequences the behaviors result in. These maps are an ABA based intervention and follow the ABC pattern of behavior (antecedent, behavior, consequence). First the antecedent (or environmental trigger) is depicted, then the appropriate and inappropriate behavior options, and finally the consequence for each response. The two paths depict the two choices the individual can make regard his/her behavior.

Why are they effective? Using visuals is essential so students can understand the behavior map. The visual maps are especially useful for early childhood students and students with special needs who have low receptive language. Contingency maps are effective because they illustrate in a concrete way the results of both the desired and undesired behavior.

How do you use behavior maps? Contingency maps can be used in a few different ways. It is important to teach the strategy. Review the behavior map and discuss the consequence for each series of behaviors. Practice the strategy. Go through each path and model the responses and consequences. Utilize the behavior map in the situation the behaviors commonly occur. If the behavior typically occurs during circle time, anticipate and prevent the behavior. Pull out the behavior map at the start of circle time and review the behavior paths and consequences. Keep the behavior contingency map present and visible throughout the day to provide an extra reminder for students.

Included in this resource are 25 pre-made behavior contingency maps for common classroom problems such as Keeping Your Hands to Yourself, Losing a Game, Raising Your Hand, Finishing Your Work, and much more. This are ready to print and use!

BUT since every child and every classroom is different, there is also an interactive behavior map that you can individualize for any scenario! All options can be velcroed and moved around! Included are over 60 options for behaviors and reinforcers!

Organizing all the pieces can be tricky so I made a board to organize the pieces so you can quickly and easily find what you need!

I have heard some super sweet feedback so far but the best feedback I have gotten is from one of my students. I started using this with a student who has a had variety of disruptive and anxiety driven behaviors lately. He actually asked me last week for the good choice board and refers to it often. Most importantly – we’ve seen a drastic decrease in behaviors! Hope this will be helpful for your students!

Check out the video tutorial of my Behavior Contingency Maps: