Responsive Classroom
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Seven Principles
 The
social curriculum is as important as the
academic curriculum
 How children learn is as important as what
children learn
 The greatest cognitive growth occurs through
social interaction
 There is a set of social skills that children
need to be successful academically and
socially
Responsive Classroom

Seven Principles cont’d
 Knowing
the children we teach is as important
as knowing the content we teach
 Knowing the parents of the children we teach
is as important as knowing the children
 Teachers and administrators must model the
social and academic skills which they wish to
teach students
The First Six Weeks

The first six weeks is devoted to four intentions:



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Create a climate and tone of warmth and safety
Teach the schedule and routines of the school day
and our expectations for behavior in each of them
Introduce students to the physical environment and
materials of the classroom and school (and teach
them how to use and care for them)
Establish expectations about ways we will learn
together in the year ahead
Morning Meeting

Morning Meeting is a 20-30 minute daily
routine used to begin the school day in
elementary and middle school classrooms
 Greeting
 Sharing
 Group
Activity
 News and Announcements
Guided Discovery

Guided Discovery is a focused, playful
activity to introduce students to new
things
 Introduction
– naming
 Generating ideas and modeling exploratory
work
 Children explore
 Children share their explorations and
observations
 Clean up and care of materials
Establishing Rules with Students

It is critical to learn students hopes and
dreams and work to incorporate those in
class rules
 What
do students want to learn?
 Why do they want to learn this?
 How will they use this to achieve their hopes
and dreams?
 How can they create rules that respect others’
hopes and dreams?
Modeling Behavior
Teacher names and presents the desired
behavior
 The teacher demonstrates the desired
behavior
 The teacher asks students to notice and
name elements of the behavior
 The teacher focuses on the “tricky” parts
 Students practice the “tricky parts”

Modeling Behavior cont’d
Teacher reinforces observed positive
behaviors
 The teacher continues to reinforce,
remind, and redirect as needed

Logical Consequences
A discipline technique that focuses on the
consequences of misbehavior
 Emphasizes internal control rather than
external control
 Three criteria for consequences

 Related
 Respectful
 Reasonable
Logical Consequences Cont’d

Most logical consequences will fall into
three categories:
 Making
reparations “You Break it- You fix it”
 Mishandling responsibility “More Limits Need
to be Set”
 Time Out