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 kinks in systems that you thought would be seamless, only to discover – that’s not going to work! A once well-oiled machine, now just Read More »
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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FEB

08

2016

Teaching Perseverance? Try Interactive Modeling

We all know students who seem to give up quickly and appeal for our help, even when the task is appropriately challenging, or students who are reluctant to even start a task…
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DEC

11

2015

Teaching Children to Check Their Own Behavior

“One of my jobs here at school is to help make sure that every single one of you can do your best learning every day.” As a school counselor, that’s how I…
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APR

09

2015

The Building Blocks of Collaboration: Partner and Small-Group Chats (Grades 5–6)

Children learn a great deal, academically and socially, by collaborating—working together toward common goals. A good way to help students begin developing collaboration skills is by teaching them how to exchange ideas,…
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NOV

12

2014

Keeping Sharing Fresh

In my conversations with teachers I hear a common concern about Morning Meeting at this time of year—how to move forward with sharing. Teachers have long lists of varied ideas for greeting…
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JUL

28

2014

Go Slow to Go Fast

My second grade class sits cross-legged on the rug. It is the first day of school, and I'm introducing a classroom tool that the children will be using today and all year.…
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APR

07

2014

The Hot Seat

Are you looking for interactive learning structures that will help your students gain a deeper understanding of content while also developing and practicing higher level thinking skills? The Hot Seat is a…
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FEB

26

2014

When the Wheels Start to Wobble

Ever drive down the road and realize the car is wobbly and perhaps in need of alignment? Sometimes I just know my class is going to feel the same way. Right before a…
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SEP

26

2013

Jake’s Social Stories

It's getting to be the time of year when teachers' efforts during the first weeks of school begin to pay off. With classroom routines becoming well-established, a blossoming sense of community, and…
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OCT

01

2012

Teaching Children to Disagree

Not long ago I watched an animated group of second graders happily share their opinions about a children's picture book. They were responding to their teacher's open-ended question about what might have…
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AUG

31

2012

Finding Time before Dismissal

"How do I make the time for a Closing Circle at the end of the school day?" That is definitely the question I hear most from people who want to start using…
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AUG

01

2012

Why Does Interactive Modeling Work?

When it's done effectively, Interactive Modeling helps students achieve greater, faster, and longer-lasting success in meeting expectations and mastering skills. My new book, Interactive Modeling, provides step-by-step guidance on using this powerful…
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JUL

26

2012

Time to Change the Routine?

Which parts of your school day just don't seem to work as well as you'd like? Now's a great time to do some problem-solving, imagine new possibilities, and plan to make changes…
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FEB

28

2012

Lining Up

"Mr. Anderson! Kelsey cut in line!" calls out Nicole."No I didn't! I was here a second ago. I just had to get my lunch ticket!" Kelsey retorts.The fourth grade girls glare at…
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JAN

05

2012

Try This: Y-Charts for Revisiting Rules

Are you looking for a strategy to help your students navigate particularly tricky times of day, such as transitions, recess, lunch, or dismissal time? Try making a "looks like/sounds like" chart (often…
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NOV

29

2010

Interactive Modeling: Responding to a Signal

A step-by-step example of how it might look and sound for a teacher of older students to use interactive modeling. 1. Describe a positive behavior you will model “Sometimes when we’re having…
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NOV

29

2010

Keeping Routines Crisp

(This is one of a series of posts about reteaching everyday classroom routines, such as lining up or responding to the quiet signal.)Once you and your students have gotten classroom routines back…
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NOV

23

2010

Reteaching Routines

It's never too late to revisit or reteach any classroom routine. In fact, here's a story from the Responsive Classroom newsletter by a teacher who started her whole year over in November!
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JUN

03

2010

Planning for Success: Classroom Celebrations

A reader recently asked about including children with challenging behaviors in year-end celebrations. Should children with persistent behavior issues be allowed to participate in this type of celebration? The short answer is "yes."Still,…
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APR

01

2010

Interactive Modeling: Walking in Line

A step-by-step example of how it might look and sound for a teacher of younger students to use Interactive Modeling. 1. Describe a positive behavior you will model “When we walk in…
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APR

01

2010

Interactive Modeling: Responding to a Signal

A step-by-step example of how it might look and sound for a teacher of older students to use interactive modeling. 1. Describe a positive behavior you will model “Sometimes when we’re having…
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JAN

08

2010

Reflecting on Classroom Routines

What routines do you use in your classroom? Which are going well? Which still need some work?
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NOV

01

2007

Teaching Transitions

In many classrooms, it's during transition times that things get a little chaotic, possibly resulting in behavior problems that frustrate in the moment and spill over into the rest of the day.…
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