PBIS Sort It! Aha or Oops? – In the Office Edition

PBIS Sort It! Aha or Oops? – In the Office Edition

Teach students how to navigate the school office with confidence, respect, and responsibility using PBIS Sort It! Aha or Oops? – In the Office Edition!

The school office is a unique environment where students interact with secretaries, administrators, nurses, parents, visitors, and other adults. This hands-on PBIS sorting game helps students understand exactly what appropriate office behavior looks and sounds like through realistic situations they may encounter during the school day.

Students read each behavior card and decide:

Is this an “Aha!” choice that demonstrates safe, respectful, and responsible behavior—or an “Oops!” choice that needs to change?

Students then sort the card onto the colorful Aha! / Oops! board, explain their reasoning, and identify a better choice when needed.

The set reinforces important office expectations such as waiting quietly for help, using an appropriate voice level, saying “please” and “thank you,” sitting patiently in designated waiting areas, and clearly stating your name and reason for visiting the office. PBIS Sort It- In the Office-Fin…

What’s Included

This In the Office Edition includes:

• Full-color PBIS Sort It! Aha or Oops? materials
• Large Aha! / Oops! sorting board
• 27 office behavior cards
• Positive “Aha!” behaviors and inappropriate “Oops!” behaviors
• Kid-friendly school office graphics
• PBIS connections to being Safe, Respectful, and Responsible
• Realistic situations involving office staff, administrators, visitors, passes, waiting areas, the nurse’s station, school equipment, and returning to class

Students practice recognizing appropriate behaviors such as handling passes carefully, keeping hands and feet to themselves while waiting, walking calmly to the nurse, and holding the door for a parent or visitor. PBIS Sort It- In the Office-Fin…

They also identify inappropriate choices such as touching items on the secretary’s desk without permission, playing with office equipment, interrupting staff, running through the office, or using furniture as a toy. PBIS Sort It- In the Office-Fin… PBIS Sort It- In the Office-Fin…

How to Play

Print, cut, and laminate the cards for repeated use.

Place the Aha! / Oops! sorting board where students can easily see and reach it.

Choose one behavior card at a time and read it aloud.

Students decide whether the behavior belongs on:

Aha! – Great Choice

or

Oops! – A Choice That Needs to Change

After sorting the card, ask students to explain why they selected that category.

For every Oops! behavior, challenge students to answer:

“How could we turn this Oops into an Aha?”

For example:

“Interrupt an office worker while they are on the phone” becomes
“Wait quietly at the counter until an adult is available to help you.”

This additional step helps students learn the positive replacement behavior instead of simply identifying what they should not do.

Ways to Use PBIS Sort It!

Whole-Class PBIS Lesson
Display the sorting board and work through the situations together. Students can vote Aha or Oops before discussing each choice.

Beginning-of-Year Office Expectations
Use the activity when teaching students how to appropriately visit the front office.

Before an Office Visit
Select a few cards as a quick reminder before students begin independently delivering attendance, notes, forms, or messages.

Small-Group Game
Students take turns reading, sorting, and explaining the behavior cards.

Partner Practice
One student sorts the behavior while the other explains whether they agree and why.

Morning Meeting
Use a few cards as quick discussion prompts about manners, responsibility, honesty, and interacting respectfully with adults.

PBIS Booster Lesson
Bring the activity back whenever school-wide expectations need reinforcement.

SEL or Social Skills Group
Use selected cards to practice communication, patience, honesty, self-control, and asking adults for assistance appropriately.

Center or Station Activity
Laminate the materials and place them in a PBIS, SEL, social skills, or classroom management center.

Game Variations

Aha or Oops? Quick Sort
Students sort all 27 behavior cards into the two categories.

Prove It!
Students earn a card only when they sort it correctly and explain why.

Fix the Oops!
Students select an Oops! card and transform it into an appropriate Aha! behavior.

For example:

“Barge into the principal’s office” becomes
“Wait for permission before entering a private office.”

Act It Out
Students act out an office scenario while classmates identify whether it represents an Aha or Oops choice.

What Could Happen?
Students discuss possible consequences of inappropriate office behavior.

Ask questions such as:

“What might happen if someone runs through the office?”

“Why should we avoid touching materials on someone else’s desk?”

“How does waiting patiently show respect for office staff?”

Safe, Respectful, or Responsible?
After sorting the card, students identify which PBIS expectation it demonstrates. Many behaviors may fit more than one category.

Team Challenge
Divide students into teams and award:

• 1 point for sorting correctly
• 1 point for explaining why
• 1 bonus point for turning an Oops into an Aha

Office Role-Play
Create pretend situations such as:

Checking in late
Delivering a note
Visiting the nurse
Speaking with the principal
Waiting for an adult
Returning something to the office

Students practice what they should say and do in each situation.

Turn Every Oops Around
Give students only the Oops! cards and challenge them to restate every situation as a positive office expectation.

Create-a-Card
Students create additional Aha and Oops situations based on your school’s specific office procedures.

Skills Reinforced

This activity supports:

• PBIS expectations
• Respectful communication
• Appropriate voice levels
• Patience
• Following directions
• Honesty
• Personal responsibility
• Self-control
• Respect for school property
• Respect for adults and visitors
• Waiting appropriately
• Asking for help
• Decision-making
• Understanding consequences
• School routines and procedures

The set also addresses honesty when speaking with administrators, following office staff directions, waiting for permission before entering private offices, taking only what is offered, and returning directly to class once office business is complete. PBIS Sort It- In the Office-Fin…

Perfect For

Beginning-of-year procedures, PBIS lessons, office expectations, school-wide behavior instruction, morning meetings, SEL lessons, social skills instruction, small groups, centers, substitute plans, behavior refreshers, and reteaching expectations after school breaks.

Why Teachers Will Love It

Students are often sent to the office independently, yet office expectations may only be taught briefly—or not at all.

PBIS Sort It! In the Office Edition provides a simple, engaging way to explicitly teach what respectful and responsible office behavior actually looks like.

Instead of simply memorizing rules, students are asked to identify, sort, explain, correct, and reflect on realistic behavior choices.

The easy-to-understand Aha! versus Oops! format opens the door for meaningful conversations about patience, honesty, manners, personal space, respecting adult workspaces, following directions, and representing the classroom positively when interacting with school staff.

Print it, laminate it, and use it throughout the year to reinforce one clear message:

Be patient. Be respectful. Be responsible. Make great choices in the office!