Positive Narration: Guided Watching

Positive Narration is when a teacher draws attention to a desired behavior, and reinforces behavior in a constructive, narrative way. Teachers use positive narration to increase time on task attendance and positively reinforce expectations of the given directive. By narrating immediately following a directive, and continuing to narrate throughout the lesson, teachers communicate that the directions are important.

During Guided Watching, a teacher might say “I see (student) is giving a thumbs up when they hear the vocabulary word, nice job focusing and earning a Participation Dollar!” In this example, the teacher named a specific student, described the behavior, and reinforced the behavior by giving a Participation Dollar. By doing this, the teacher is communicating that the student is being rewarded for complying with the directions, which reinforces the idea that it is important to follow instructions. 

Positive Narration supports a student's ability to build self-control and their sense of autonomy. When utilized effectively, consistently and equitably, students grow to recognize narration as the way in which the teacher thoughtfully and respectfully offers support, encourages excellence and extends opportunities to self-correct.

Using Positive Narration establishes and maintains positive and productive classroom culture and climate. This methodology is an alternative to distributing consequences as the primary step in addressing off-task behavior. This practice is introduced to teachers more thoroughly in Level 2 of Digitability.