We are a Responsive Classroom School!

Responsive Classroom is a positive approach to classroom management that promotes the building of strong classroom communities. Teachers and students work together to create an environment that is safe and engaging, giving students more responsibility over what they want to accomplish and the path they need to take in order to get there. The central idea is that every student deserves the opportunity to learn and reach his or her goals. Through this understanding, students and teachers work together to create the class rules and model choices and behavior that will not only follow the rules, but also encourage students to succeed.

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Morning Meeting

Every morning, classrooms throughout our building participate in a morning meeting that begins after students have eaten breakfast and heard the morning announcements. Morning meeting is made up of 4 components. The goal of these 4 components is to provide every student with a feeling of belonging and a voice to be heard and appreciated. Students begin by joining in a common area of the classroom and sit together in a circular fashion.

Greeting: Each student is greeted by one ore more classmates, including the teacher. This component encourages students to communicate with one another in a welcoming and respectful way.

Share: One or more students have the opportunity to share their feelings or response to a topic or question. Some students may also have the opportunity to bring in items from home to share. Classrooms choose to share around the circle, or choose one student to share on a specific day.

Activity: Students participate in an activity together. This might include a game, song or dance. The goal of this component is to encourage students to laugh, smile, and socialize with one another and helps start the day in a positive way.

Morning Message: The morning message is prepared by the teacher before the students arrive to school in the morning. Students are asked to read the morning message before morning meeting begins. These messages might include information about the day’s events or recap events from the previous day. Some teachers also use the morning message as a way to conduct a survey about a particular topic of interest or as a way for students to self monitor and “check-in” on how they have been reaching their goals. After the activity, students will read the Morning Message together.

Want to see Morning Meeting in action? Watch these videos below!