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 three domains: Engaging Academics, Effective Management, and Positive Community. The Responsive Classroom approach is based on theories of how children learn and on the experiences of classroom teachers. There are seven basic principles behind this approach:
You can find out more about Responsive Classroom by visiting their website.
What does Responsive Classroom look like in 1R?
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. Children will gather at the rug together to greet each other, share news, do a group activity, and look forward to the day ahead. This daily routine builds community and creates a positive climate for learning.
Rules and Logical Consequences
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. When children break the rules, there are clear and non-punitive consequences that help them learn from the mistake. This approach teaches responsibility and self-control. In 1R, 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.
Teacher Language
Using positive teacher language can help children: develop self-control, manage their own behavior in and out of the classroom, gain confidence in their academic skills, and practice important social skills. Positive teacher language includes:
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 and students become experts on a feature (i.e. rivers, mountains, or neighboring countries).
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 three domains: Engaging Academics, Effective Management, and Positive Community. The Responsive Classroom approach is based on theories of how children learn and on the experiences of classroom teachers. There are seven basic principles behind this approach:
- Learning social skills is as important as learning academic skills.
- How children learn is as important as what they learn: Process and content go hand in hand.
- Children gain knowledge most effectively through social interaction.
- To be successful academically and socially, children need to learn cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy, and self-control.
- Knowing the children we teach—individually, culturally, and developmentally—is as important as knowing the content we teach.
- Knowing the families of the children we teach and inviting their participation is essential to children’s education.
- How the adults at school work together is as important as how skillful each individual teacher is: Lasting change begins with the adult community.
You can find out more about Responsive Classroom by visiting their website.
What does Responsive Classroom look like in 1R?
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. Children will gather at the rug together to greet each other, share news, do a group activity, and look forward to the day ahead. This daily routine builds community and creates a positive climate for learning.
Rules and Logical Consequences
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. When children break the rules, there are clear and non-punitive consequences that help them learn from the mistake. This approach teaches responsibility and self-control. In 1R, 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.
Teacher Language
Using positive teacher language can help children: develop self-control, manage their own behavior in and out of the classroom, gain confidence in their academic skills, and practice important social skills. Positive teacher language includes:
- Using language to help children envision success
- Open-ended questions that stretch children's thinking
- The 3 Rs of teacher language: reinforcing, reminding, and redirecting
- Offering meaningful, specific encouragement
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 and students become experts on a feature (i.e. rivers, mountains, or neighboring countries).