Greenacres

The Responsive Classroom (RC) is an approach to teaching and learning that fosters safe, challenging, and joyful classrooms and school.  Developed by classroom teachers, it consists of practical strategies for bringing together social and academic learning throughout the school day. 

Components of Responsive Classroom

Morning Meeting: Each morning we will come together as a class to greet, share, and get to know one another and build our classroom community.  The group meets in a circle and participates in the following:

Greeting: We greet one another by looking at each other, using each other's names, and using kind voices to say hello in a variety of ways.

Sharing: We take turns throughout the week sharing on our choice of topics.  We practice listening and questioning skills with one another daily. 

Activity: We participate in a game, activity or song together!  We'll engage in fun and movement and get ready for the day ahead of us.

Morning Message:  When students arrive each morning, there will be a message waiting for them to read and interact with.  The message lets the kids know what is in store for the day and provides us with many language and literacy opportunities as we read it and work through it together.

Rule Creation:  During our first weeks of school we will work together to set our goals for the year and to form a set of classroom rules that will help us achieve those goals in a safe and fun environment.

Logical Consequences: Students' misbehavior will be responded to in a way that allows children to fix and learn from their mistakes while maintaining dignity.  The various methods used in our classroom are as follows:

1. "Take a Break": If a student is having a hard time focusing on learning or is distracting others from learning, he/she may be asked to take a break.  During this time, the student goes to one of our take a break chairs, thinks about his/her actions, re-gains self control, and re-joins the group when he/she is ready.  This method is different from "Time Out" in that we recognize that there may be a time when any one of us needs some time to re-focus and by "Taking a Break" we can do that in a positive way and resume learning as soon as we are ready - all while maintaining our dignity.

2. "You Break It, You Fix It": If a student breaks material item belonging to another student, the classroom, or the school, OR hurts the feelings of another person, that student will be held accountable for his/her actions.  He/she will be expected to "Fix" the problem in an appropriate way that is agreed upon by all parties involved.

3."Loss of Privilege": If a child's behavior does not positively reflect how an activity or job has been taught, he/she may lose the privilege of using the material or participating in the activity for the remainder of the day.  For example, if a child was not using a marker appropriately, he/she would need to practice with a teacher before being able to use the markers independently.