Details
Date: August 18, 2020
Time: 4:00 pm EST
Length: 60 minutes
Creating a welcoming and inviting classroom is a priority for teachers at the start of every new school year. COVID-19 has necessitated stricter requirements for creating a class that is safe, inclusive, and representative of all students. 
What do the new requirements mean for our K-8 classrooms as we look to balance health and safety with creating a welcoming and inspiring class for students? After almost six months spent socially distanced from peers, most students will be returning to a new classroom with new students, teachers, and materials. How can educators and school leaders prepare classes and school supplies according to the new requirements while balancing the needs of students? How can educators ensure students will see themselves in the classroom?
Key takeaways:
- Explore the key characteristics of classroom organization for engaged learning in the Responsive Classroom approach through the lens of social distancing requirements
- Learn strategies to teach expectations for movement and use of materials in the classroom through Interactive Modeling, visual cues, and teacher language
- Identify ways to ensure classrooms are culturally representative
- Connect with other educators and Responsive Classroom experts to discuss barriers and potential solutions
Meet the Presenter
Margie Dorshorst
Margie has an extensive education career spanning 33 years, and has served as an elementary principal, speech-language pathologist, Able Learner teacher, and staff development facilitator in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. Through her various roles, she has helped create systems that empower teachers and schools to design and implement innovative practices, and she is committed to supporting teachers and schools with the tools and systems that propel all children to academic and social success. Margie has served as a Responsive Classroom consulting teacher for Center for Responsive Schools for over 15 years.