Articles First Weeks of School

Clean Slates

This summer I spent a week working with a group of teachers in Denver who are embarking on an amazing adventure together. They had come from all over the country to teach…
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SEP

03

I Want to Be a Dentist!

For teachers who use the Responsive Classroom approach, talking with students about hopes and dreams (or hopes and goals) is a key activity during the first weeks of school. This discussion launches…
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25

Read-Alouds to Inspire Hopes and Dreams

By now you probably know how much I love children's books! Here are some that would be perfect for launching a discussion of hopes and dreams—the first step in the Responsive Classroom…
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16

Read-Alouds for the First Day of School

The other day Jen Audley sent me a link to a blog entry about the first day of school that really got me thinking about the children who come to our classes…
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06

Books for Back to School: Falling Down the Page

I love visiting bookstores, especially children’s bookstores, when I’m traveling. This summer, while I was on the road for work, I discovered lots of new books. (Truth be told, I also spent…
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DEC

Revisiting Hopes and Dreams in the New Year

Reflection and goal-setting are often a focus for adults in January, when the beginning of a new calendar year prompts us to think about what we've accomplished and what we hope to…
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SEP

24

Class Yellow Pages

Here's a beginning-of-the-year project that helps classmates get to know each other by "advertising" their strengths:Each student thinks of things they are good at in school and could help other students with.…
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18

New Teacher’s Toolkit: First Days

From the day school starts, you'll probably have about a three day grace period when most children are going to be on their best behavior. After that they'll start to relax, and…
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Knowing All Our Students: An Interview with Caltha Crowe

In your book Solving Thorny Behavior Problems, you write about teachers getting to know their students. Why is this so important, especially for children with behavior and learning challenges? Children vary enormously…
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Interactive Modeling: Putting away test materials

A step-by-step example of how it might look and sound for a teacher to use interactive modeling. 1. Name the goal. State it as a positive behavior. “At the end of a…
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APR

My Hope and Dream for You

A few weeks before school ended last year, I wrote my fourth grade students notes stating a “hope and dream” for each of them as they moved on to fifth grade. My…
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NOV

2008

A Fresh Start Leads to Learning

Last year's class, my twenty-third, was the most challenging of my teaching career. Most of the students were quite young for fifth grade, and several had a history of severe behavior problems.…
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2008

Hopes Make Goals Come Alive in a Speech & Language Classroom

Setting and working toward goals with students is a key element of my work as a speech/language pathologist. Each student I work with has an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) which names goals…
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2007

Learning Names At the Start of the Year

Caltha Crowe retired in June after 35 years of teaching. Most recently, she taught third graders at King’s Highway Elementary School in Westport, Connecticut. She is a certified Responsive Classroom consulting teacher.
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FEB

2006

Hopes, Goals, and Classroom Rules

On a winter afternoon, a group of third graders has settled down for a class discussion. Their teacher, Nancy Kovacic, holds the book the children made last fall—pictures and words embodying their…
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APR

2005

Looking Ahead to Next Year

For students, teachers, and parents alike, few events bring more hope and nervousness than the start of a new school year. As the summer winds down, many teachers begin to have conflicting…
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JUL

2004

Opening Soon!

An exciting way to introduce classroom materials and learning areas slowly, safely, and with a sense of ownership and fun As eager kindergarten students enter the classroom on the first day of…
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JUN

30

2004

A Teacher’s Rules

July 2004In the school where I taught for many years, students and teachers worked together in the first weeks of school to create classroom rules that were based on everyone's hopes and…
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JUL

2003

Everyday Rules That Work!

Scholastic published this article on the Responsive Classroom approach to rules and logical consequences for the August 2003 issue of Instructor magazine. It was reprinted with permission on the Responsive Classroom website,…
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2001

Hopes and Dreams in a Primary Classroom

I love the beginning of each school year with the coming of fresh new faces to excited to learn. Most of my students have been to kindergarten and come to first grade…
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MAR