Key takeaways
- Start the canvas from the FBA function and its data, not from a list of favorite strategies.
- Every prevention, teaching, and response box should name the same function.
- Write the response to the replacement and the response to the problem behavior as two separate boxes.
- Fill in the data plan and review date before the plan goes live.
A BIP planning canvas is a one-page table the team fills in to get from an FBA finding to a behavior plan. Each box answers one question, from the function the FBA found through prevention, the replacement behavior, the two responses, and the data plan. The canvas below shows what to write in each box, a filled example for one composite student, and a blank column for yours.
The canvas
The example student is a composite fifth grader we will call Andre. His FBA found that when he is given independent writing, he tears the paper and puts his head down, and the task is paused while an adult comes over.
| Box | What to write | Filled example | Your student |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Function | The function the FBA found, in one line | Escape from independent written work | |
| 2. Evidence | The counts behind the function | In 13 of 16 logged instances, the behavior followed an independent writing task; in 12, the task was paused | |
| 3. Target behavior | Observable definition two adults would score the same way | Tears the worksheet or puts his head down on the desk for more than 10 seconds after a writing direction | |
| 4. Triggers and setting events | What sets it off and what makes it more likely | Independent writing; worse after a missed breakfast or a hard morning transition | |
| 5. Prevention | Changes before the behavior that make it less likely | Writing in three-sentence chunks; first sentence given as a starter; half length on hard-start days | |
| 6. Replacement behavior | An acceptable behavior that gets the same outcome with less effort | Hands over a break card or says "I need a two-minute break" | |
| 7. Teaching plan | How and when the replacement is taught before it is needed | Model and practice three times a day in calm moments for one week, then prompt at the start of writing | |
| 8. Response to the replacement | What every adult does when the student uses it | Honor it at once, every time: "Good asking. Two minutes." Then return to the same chunk | |
| 9. Response to the problem behavior | What every adult does when the old behavior happens anyway | Stay brief, prompt the break card, keep the worksheet on the desk; do not re-teach in the moment | |
| 10. Safety line | What to do in a rare escalation, and what is not authorized | Not a safety risk; no room clears or restraint; if objects are thrown toward others, clear the area and call the office | |
| 11. Data plan | What is counted, by whom, and on what | Tally of problem behavior and break requests per writing block, logged by the classroom teacher daily | |
| 12. Review | Fidelity check, review date, and owner | Five-item fidelity check weekly for a month; data review in five weeks; owner: case manager |
Check the canvas against the function
Before anyone writes the final plan, read boxes 5 through 9 and finish this sentence for each: "This fits because the function is ___, and this box changes that by ___."
Passes: "Writing in three-sentence chunks fits because the function is escape from writing, and smaller chunks make the demand less worth escaping."
Fails: "A sticker for sitting quietly fits because it is a good classroom practice." It does not name the function. A sticker for sitting does nothing about the writing demand, so the box gets rewritten.
The function-to-strategy map lists prevention, teaching, and response options for each of the four functions if a box is stuck. For box 6, choosing and teaching replacement behaviors covers the response-effort test a replacement has to pass.
Filling it in as a team
- Bring the FBA summary and the ABC log. Boxes 1 through 4 come straight from them. If the team is still debating the function, finish the FBA first; the ABC observation log shows how to read the pattern.
- Fill boxes 5 and 6 together. Prevention and the replacement behavior are where the function does the most work.
- Write the two responses separately. Box 8 makes the replacement pay off. Box 9 stops the problem behavior from paying off. Blending them is the most common drafting mistake.
- Ask the adult who will run the plan to read boxes 8 and 9 aloud. If they hesitate on a line, rewrite it as an action.
- Finish boxes 11 and 12 before anyone leaves. A plan without a data plan and a review date drifts within a month.
From canvas to working plan
The canvas is the thinking. The working plan is what an aide reads at 10am, so turn boxes 5 through 10 into short, labeled layers in plain language. Writing a BIP staff can actually follow covers that step, including the two-page rule and a 15-minute staff training. When the review date arrives, reviewing BIP fidelity and progress shows how to read box 11's data alongside the fidelity check.
For the tally in box 11, the free frequency data sheet has a start time, end time, and tally column for each writing block.
When the team is ready to write it up, the free BIP draft builder covers the same ground in four steps: the target behavior and definition, triggers and the hypothesized function, replacement behaviors with prevention and teaching, then reinforcement, responses, the data plan, and a review date. It prints a one-page draft for the team to review, and nothing is sent to a server. With a free Evident account, the draft carries into the student's FBA/BIP tab.
Common questions
Is the canvas the same thing as the BIP?
No. The canvas is the planning step a team fills in together. The finished BIP is the short working plan staff run from, written in plain actions, with the FBA summary and data history kept in appendices.
Can we fill in the canvas without a completed FBA?
You can sketch it from strong ABC notes for a low-risk support plan, but the function box should come from an FBA for serious or persistent behavior. If the function box is a guess, every strategy below it is a guess too.
How long does it take to fill in?
About 30 to 45 minutes for a team that brings the FBA summary and ABC data to the meeting. Most of the time goes to the replacement behavior and the two response boxes.