Responsive Classroom
What is Responsive Classroom?
Responsive Classroom is an approach to teaching and learning that consists of teaching practices and strategies for bringing together academic and social-emotional learning throughout the day. A safe, challenging, and joyful learning environment is created by integrating the three domains: Engaging Academics, Effective Management, and Positive Community. You can find out more about Responsive Classroom by visiting the website.
What does Responsive Classroom look like in 1OC?
Morning Meeting
We will begin each day with a Morning Meeting, giving students a consistent time and place to practice social, emotional, and academic skills. Our Morning Meeting has four major components: greeting, sharing, group activity, and morning message.
Establishing Rules
As a class, we will create our own set of rules and expectations. At the beginning of the year, we will think about our Hopes and Dreams we have for first grade. From these goals, we will create our rules that will allow us to reach our goals. Our four major classroom rules are:
Logical Consequences
In 1OC, consequences will always be respectful, related to the action, and realistic. Additionally, all students will practice Take a Break, which will help them develop self-control while preserving the smooth flow of the classroom. Take a Break gives students a chance to sit quietly and think about what they need to do to get ready to rejoin the group. Sometimes I will tell a student to Take a Break if they are having difficulty following expectations, and other times students will ask to Take a Break if they feel they need a moment to regain self control. I view Take a Break as a positive and respectful consequence to unexpected behavior.
Interactive Modeling
I use Interactive Modeling when I teach a new routine, a social skill, or an academic skill. Through the process of teacher modeling, student modeling, class modeling, and asking for feedback along the way, expectations will be clear and students will have the opportunity to practice success before being expected to do so independently.
Academic Choice
Throughout the school day, I will be giving students a choice about what they learn and/or how they learn. The choice gives them the opportunity to make thoughtful decisions about their work, follow through on their plan, and reflect on their learning at the end. For example, when participating at a math center, a student can choose how they learn by working with 0-10 numeral cards or a 10-sided die. An example of choosing what they learn is when we make a collaborative map of China, students can become experts on a feature (i.e. rivers, mountains, or neighboring countries).
Teacher Language
By using positive Teacher Language, I aim to encourage and support children, rather than criticize them for mistakes. I reinforce specific, positive behaviors, remind students of previously established expectations, and redirect a student when needed. Phrases such as "I see...", "You remembered to...", "Tell me how you are going to..." are some examples of what students will hear me say.
Responsive Classroom is an approach to teaching and learning that consists of teaching practices and strategies for bringing together academic and social-emotional learning throughout the day. A safe, challenging, and joyful learning environment is created by integrating the three domains: Engaging Academics, Effective Management, and Positive Community. You can find out more about Responsive Classroom by visiting the website.
What does Responsive Classroom look like in 1OC?
Morning Meeting
We will begin each day with a Morning Meeting, giving students a consistent time and place to practice social, emotional, and academic skills. Our Morning Meeting has four major components: greeting, sharing, group activity, and morning message.
Establishing Rules
As a class, we will create our own set of rules and expectations. At the beginning of the year, we will think about our Hopes and Dreams we have for first grade. From these goals, we will create our rules that will allow us to reach our goals. Our four major classroom rules are:
- Be safe
- Be kind to others
- Take care of materials and Heath School
- Try your best, take risks, and make mistakes
- Have fun!
Logical Consequences
In 1OC, consequences will always be respectful, related to the action, and realistic. Additionally, all students will practice Take a Break, which will help them develop self-control while preserving the smooth flow of the classroom. Take a Break gives students a chance to sit quietly and think about what they need to do to get ready to rejoin the group. Sometimes I will tell a student to Take a Break if they are having difficulty following expectations, and other times students will ask to Take a Break if they feel they need a moment to regain self control. I view Take a Break as a positive and respectful consequence to unexpected behavior.
Interactive Modeling
I use Interactive Modeling when I teach a new routine, a social skill, or an academic skill. Through the process of teacher modeling, student modeling, class modeling, and asking for feedback along the way, expectations will be clear and students will have the opportunity to practice success before being expected to do so independently.
Academic Choice
Throughout the school day, I will be giving students a choice about what they learn and/or how they learn. The choice gives them the opportunity to make thoughtful decisions about their work, follow through on their plan, and reflect on their learning at the end. For example, when participating at a math center, a student can choose how they learn by working with 0-10 numeral cards or a 10-sided die. An example of choosing what they learn is when we make a collaborative map of China, students can become experts on a feature (i.e. rivers, mountains, or neighboring countries).
Teacher Language
By using positive Teacher Language, I aim to encourage and support children, rather than criticize them for mistakes. I reinforce specific, positive behaviors, remind students of previously established expectations, and redirect a student when needed. Phrases such as "I see...", "You remembered to...", "Tell me how you are going to..." are some examples of what students will hear me say.