Responsive Classroom
and
Open Circle
Social and Emotional
Learning Programs
Successful Partnerships
• The most accurate predictors of student achievement
in school are not family income or social status, but the
extent to which the family creates a home environment
that encourages learning, communicates high yet
reasonable expectations for the child’s achievement,
and becomes involved in the child’s education at
school.
National PTA. 2000. Building Successful Partnerships: A
Guide for Developing Parent and Family Involvement
Programs. Bloomington, Indiana: National Education
Service, 11–12.
Open Circle
•
Open Circle Curriculum is a comprehensive social and emotional learning program that
supports elementary school children in developing the skills they need to be successful
learners and to form healthy, positive relationships with people throughout their lives.
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Twice each week during the whole school year, the class will meet in a circle for about 15
minutes.
Lesson topic include listening well, including one another, cooperating, understanding
feelings,
teasing, bullying, recognizing differences among people, getting calm, problem solving,
positive self-talk, and more.
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The goals of the lessons are to create a safe, caring and highly engaging classroom
environment and to give children the skills they need to succeed academically, solve
interpersonal problems and build positive relationships.
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You can help your child develop these skills by discussing and practicing them at home. Ask
your child to tell you what we talked about in the last Open Circle Meeting or to show you a
favorite Open Circle activity. Please take home the sheet which contains some of the
vocabulary words that your child will be learning in Open Circle.
Responsive Classroom
• Responsive Classroom is a research- and
evidence-based approach to elementary
education that leads to greater teacher
effectiveness, higher student achievement,
and improved school climate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=playe
r_embedded&v=x0mTPUI_994
Guiding Principles
The Responsive Classroom approach is informed by the work of educational theorists
and the experiences of exemplary classroom teachers. Seven principles guide this
approach:
1.
The social curriculum is as important as the academic curriculum.
2.
The greatest cognitive growth occurs through social interaction.
3.
To be successful academically and socially, children need a set of social skills:
cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy, and self-control.
4.
Knowing the children we teach—individually, culturally, and developmentally—is
as important as knowing the content we teach.
5.
Knowing the families of the children we teach and working with them as
partners is essential to children's education.
6.
How the adults at school work together is as important as their individual
competence: Lasting change begins with the adult community.
Responsive Classroom Components
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Morning Meeting—gathering as a whole class each morning to greet one another, share news, and
warm up for the day ahead
Rule Creation—helping students create classroom rules to ensure an environment that allows all
class members to meet their learning goals
Interactive Modeling—teaching children to notice and internalize expected behaviors through a
unique modeling technique
Positive Teacher Language—using words and tone as a tool to promote children's active learning,
sense of community, and self-discipline
Logical Consequences—responding to misbehavior in a way that allows children to fix and learn
from their mistakes while preserving their dignity
Guided Discovery—introducing classroom materials using a format that encourages independence,
creativity, and responsibility
Academic Choice—increasing student learning by allowing students teacher-structured choices in
their work
Classroom Organization—setting up the physical room in ways that encourage students’
independence, cooperation, and productivity
Working with Families—creating avenues for hearing parents' insights and helping them
understand the school's teaching approaches
Collaborative Problem Solving—using conferencing, role playing, and other strategies to resolve
problems with students
Morning Meeting
October 22, 2013
Good Morning Children,
Today is Tuesday. We have Library. We have
learned the sound of letter /d/ in Fundations. Can you
think of a word that begins with the sound of /d/?
Love,
Mrs. Stanton
Our list of /d/ words:
October 23, 2013
Good Morning Children,
Today is Wednesday. We have
Music. Turn to your partner and tell them a
teen number and how it is made. For example,
19, is a one and a 9!
Love,
Mrs. Stanton
Sharing
Activity
Morning Message