Are you looking for ways to teach students not to destroy other people’s property? If so, keep reading.
1. Give an organizer for learning materials inside the student’s desk.
2. Teach the student appropriate care and handling of others’ property (e.g., sharpening borrowed pencils, keeping books free of marks and tears, etc.).
3. Make sure that all personal property is tagged with the student’s name.
4. Teach the student that borrowing personal property from others does not lessen their responsibility for the property.
5. Teach the student how to conserve rather than waste learning materials (e.g., amount of glue, tape, etc., to use; putting lids, caps, and tops on such learning materials as markers, pens, bottles, jars, cans; etc.).
6. Teach the student appropriate ways to deal with anger and frustration rather than destroying others’ property (e.g., pencils, pens, workbooks, notebooks, textbooks, etc.).
7. Teach the student how to handle property belonging to others (e.g., keep property with them, know where the property is at all times, secure property in a locker, etc.).
8. Give the student an appropriate space to store/secure others’ property (e.g., desk, locker, closet, etc.) and require the student to store all property when not in use.
9. Teach the student that the failure to care for others’ property will result in the loss of freedom to use others’ property.
10. Give reminders (e.g., a list of property or learning materials) to help the student keep and care for school properly.
11. Restrict the student’s freedom to take property from school if they are unable to remember to return the things.
12. Restrict the student’s chances to use others’ property if the student is unable to care for their own personal property.
13. Minimize the number of learning materials for which the student is responsible. As the student shows appropriate responsibility for the property, slowly increase the number of learning materials for which the student is responsible.
14. Teach the student safety rules in the care and handling of others’ property and learning materials (e.g., pencils, scissors, compass; biology, industrial arts, and home economics learning materials; etc.).
15. Require that lost or damaged property be replaced by the student. If the student cannot replace the property, compensation can be made by working at school.
16. Consider using an adaptive behavior management app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.
17. Click here to learn about six bonus strategies for challenging problem behaviors and mastering classroom management.
18. Consider using a socio-emotional learning app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.
19. Consider using an emotional intelligence app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.
20. Consider using a school counseling app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.
