All of us, students and teachers alike, approach the end of the school year with a wide variety of feelings. Just as teachers might be feeling burned out right now, it is normal for kids to be exhausted and disengaged in the final stretch. The end of the year can be especially hard on Read More »
Continue Reading
JAN
26
2021
Trust Yourself – You Know a Lot Already
Did the first half of the school year give you a “déjà vu” feeling from your first year of teaching? Everything feels new and unfamiliar. A lot of time is spent ironing out…
Continue Reading
Continue Reading
JAN
26
2021
Grounding Responsive Classroom Practices One Step at a Time
Walk with me as I share how my daily scheduled walks for self-care have served to ground and bring to life the Responsive Classroom core belief, guiding principles, and academic and social-emotional…
Continue Reading
Continue Reading
JAN
26
2021
Approaching Discipline with Compassion
Teaching and learning has been transformed this year by various models of hybrid, virtual, and remote learning. Along with restructuring and modifying how they deliver education to students, the coronavirus pandemic has…
Continue Reading
Continue Reading
DEC
07
2020
Reflection in a Virtual Classroom
This time last year, I published an article titled “Building a Positive Community Through Reflection.” The article began with excitement for the start of a new year and a new decade. Little…
Continue Reading
Continue Reading
DEC
07
2020
A New Perspective on Student Self-Reflection
Helping students create a habit of reflection is an essential step in teaching them how to establish and maintain self-control. But sometimes teachers with positive intentions inadvertently ask questions around reflection that…
Continue Reading
Continue Reading
NOV
20
2020
Using Social Interaction to Engage Students
Written by Sarah Scavone At this point in the school year, we have spent a great deal of time intentionally building our learning community. The strong relationships we build with our students,…
Continue Reading
Continue Reading
NOV
20
2020
Increase Student Engagement with Your Lesson Design
Written by Kristen Vincent, Responsive Classroom Consulting Teacher Lesson design is about planning and structuring lessons in a way that engages students in learning, practicing, and applying academic content and skills. Well-designed,…
Continue Reading
Continue Reading
NOV
20
2020
Giving Students Choices
Written by Chris Carter, New York City Public Schools kindergarten teacher After multiple delays, New York City schools started this school year in late September with both hybrid and remote instruction. I…
Continue Reading
Continue Reading
NOV
20
2020
Five Ideas to Help Parents Empower Students during At-Home Learning
Written by Margie Dorshorst As students continue to learn at home through various educational models, many parents have expressed concern about how to motivate their children to stay engaged and complete tasks…
Continue Reading
Continue Reading
NOV
12
2020
My Approach to Virtual Kindergarten
Last spring, when terms like global pandemic, virus, hybrid-, distance-, synchronous-, and asynchronous-learning first became a regular part of educators’ vernacular and most educators across the country were thrown into unfamiliar territory,…
Continue Reading
Continue Reading
OCT
30
2020
Tips to Bolster Positive Relationships in the Face of the Presidential Election
By Lindsey Lynch and Ramona McCullough No matter the outcome, the results of this year’s presidential election will be challenging for many students, families, and educators. During this time, you can help…
Continue Reading
Continue Reading
MAR
27
2020
Tips, Activity Ideas, and Resources for Virtual Learning
As you make the transition to online teaching, here are some tips, activity ideas, and resources to support your virtual classroom: Communicate to parents the supplies their children will need for at-home…
Continue Reading
Continue Reading
MAR
19
2020
Maintaining a Positive Community Remotely
Over the weekend, a friend shared a video with me that you may have seen as well, as it has been widely shared on social media. The video was taken in a…
Continue Reading
Continue Reading
JAN
15
2020
Strategies for Getting Students Back on Track
Helping students get back on track when they are engaged in off-task or rule-breaking behavior is an important goal when responding to misbehavior. We want students to quickly get back to positively…
Continue Reading
Continue Reading
JAN
13
2020
Revisiting Routines with Students
Does this sound familiar? You teach your students classroom routines at the beginning of the year and watch as they integrate these new routines into their learning, but for some reason –…
Continue Reading
Continue Reading
JAN
01
2020
Goal Setting: An Ongoing Method for Channeling New Energy
Every January 1st, we all receive a chance to start fresh. While many of us set a New Year’s resolution, often we only manage to stick with it for a week or two! What…
Continue Reading
Continue Reading
DEC
10
2019
Rediscovering the Power of Reflection
There are days when, as educators, so many tasks are vying for our attention that our to-do lists feel endless. During these hectic days, reflection — a key piece of teaching and…
Continue Reading
Continue Reading
OCT
23
2019
Bullying Prevention: How Aware Are You? 5 Steps You Can Take
According to stopbullying.gov, between one in four and one in three U.S. students say they have been bullied at school. October is National Bullying Prevention Month, and this provides an opportunity for…
Continue Reading
Continue Reading
OCT
21
2019
What to Do When Students Start Testing Limits
The school year is in full swing: hopes and goals have been established, classroom and school expectations are in place, and learning is in high gear. Everything is off to a great…
Continue Reading
Continue Reading
OCT
20
2019
Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes: Re-establishing Balance in Your Classroom
With the changes in fall weather outside, the weather inside the classroom is likely changing too. As a result, teachers often find themselves responding to misbehavior more than they did earlier in…
Continue Reading
Continue Reading
SEP
23
2019
Classroom Organization: Assess How It’s Going
Below are some areas that can help create the conditions for students to feel comfortable and ready to start their work of learning and building a positive classroom community. Assessing your classroom…
Continue Reading
Continue Reading
SEP
17
2019
Creating a Place for Learning
We all can think of stores that felt inviting and organized, places that created the optimal shopping experience. Classrooms, like stores, can be places where we frequently want to spend our time,…
Continue Reading
Continue Reading
SEP
05
2019
Preparing Students to Become Independent Learners using Routines & Procedures
It’s the start of a new year! Day one is either right around the corner or has just recently taken place. The beginning of the year is filled with so many fresh…
Continue Reading
Continue Reading
JUN
03
2019
The End of the School Year: A Time to Pause and Celebrate Successes
The walls of the classroom look emptier than they looked a month ago and a few remnants of the presence of students remain: a pencil here or a sticky note there containing…
Continue Reading
Continue Reading
APR
25
2019
Six Ways to Celebrate Poetry Month in the Classroom
Did you know that according to poets.org, National Poetry Month is actually the biggest literary celebration in the world? It’s never too early to start fostering a love of the English language…
Continue Reading
Continue Reading
APR
03
2019
Challenge Is a Part of Learning
“If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” –Frederick Douglass This famous quote, printed on bright pink cardstock and posted above the whiteboard of a third grade classroom, stood out during…
Continue Reading
Continue Reading
Current Category
Other Categories
Building Classroom Community
Building Schoolwide Community
Bullying
Challenging Behaviors
Classroom Organization
Classroom Rules
Conversation Skills
Empathy
Encouragement
Engaging Academics
Family Connections
Language Arts
Misbehavior
Movement
Professional Community
Professional Development
Sharing
Working with Families