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 if there was an approach to starting fresh in the new year that actually produces results? SMART goals—goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, Read More »
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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…
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MAR
07
2019
Clearing the Way for New Growth
Recently I was in a school conducting observations, and I noticed that all of the classrooms were picture-perfect. The decorations on the walls looked like an advertisement for a teacher store, and…
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JAN
17
2017
Revisiting Classroom Rules
How often do you revisit classroom rules? Most teachers establish rules at the beginning of the year, and many devote time to modeling and practicing rules with students in the first weeks…
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OCT
05
2016
Self-Assessment and Goal Setting Go Hand in Hand
When built into daily schoolwork, goal-focused self-assessment fosters academic achievement by helping students develop lifelong skills.
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JUL
01
2015
Music Class Rules
I’d been teaching for over 30 years and felt pretty comfortable with the way I managed my music classes. But a few years ago, I took a Responsive Classroom workshop, and it…
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JUL
01
2015
Special Area Rules
Special area teachers may come up with their area rules on their own, use or adapt classroom rules, or use schoolwide rules. No matter where your special area rules come from, the…
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JUL
18
2014
A Guide on the Side
It's still summer, but I'm thinking ahead to winter. I'm picturing writing workshop time mid-way through the year: Students are busy at the computers, working with an intensity that's balanced by smiles…
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SEP
03
2012
The First Days of School
What can you do, this school year, to bullyproof your classroom? Establishing a positive classroom climate where kindness prevails and everybody is included is a vital first step.
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AUG
23
2012
Classroom Jobs
Monday mornings were especially exciting in my classroom because that’s when students discovered what their weekly jobs would be. They would go straight to the classroom job chart and search for their…
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JUL
19
2011
The First Six Weeks of School
The early weeks of each new school year offer teachers distinct opportunities and challenges. It is during this time—when expectations and routines are established, rules generated, and goals articulated—that the foundation is…
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SEP
16
2010
Read-Alouds for Rule Creation
Classroom rules work best when students understand why rules exist and how rules will help them, as individuals and as a group. I have found several children's books over the years that…
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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
31
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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