Articles Supporting the Responsive Classroom® Approach
The articles in this section were selected for their specific relevance to implementation of the Responsive Classroom approach. We bring you:
Articles 'from the field' written by experienced teachers, administrators, and Origins consultants Research supporting the approaches in our workshops and on-site school services
Please send us your School Stories if you think others could learn from your work with the Responsive Classroom approach. You do not need to submit an article in finished form; we have writers that can help develop your submission for publication.
Use the drop-down list to view articles by theme, or browse alphabetically by title.
VIEW BY THEME
New! Conferencing with a Fourth Grader
Liz Debrey
Dialogue from a problem-solving social conference
This article first appeared in Origins’ Special Issue, Spring 2010 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
New! Less Chat, More Communication
Ashlee Mashek
Blurting disrupts any classroom. Consider the best practices described by this 3rd grade teacher
This article first appeared in Origins’ Special Issue, Spring 2010 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
New! Powerful Two-step Problem Solving
Sara Gawlitta
Elementary and middle level teachers alike can use this approach to cracking down on name-calling and teasing
This article first appeared in Origins’ Special Issue, Spring 2010 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
A Comforting Routine in Uncomfortable Times
Lynn Bechtel
Teachers share stories of experiences with Morning Meeting in the days following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Academic Choice for All: Not Just for Some Kids, or Later On, or Certain Subjects
Renae Kiser
My focus this fall has been on implementing all the components of Academic Choice, especially representing, throughout my curriculum. My goals are 1) to have students engaged in at least one Academic Choice experience each day, optimally in each of the subject areas; and 2) to see students using time wisely and choosing challenging activities during their work time.
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Winter 2003-2004 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Accountability Spurs Learning for both Children and Teacher
Casey Otto
It’s easy for me as a teacher to hold students accountable for their actions. It is not easy to hold myself accountable!
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Fall 2006 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Apology of Action: A deeper experience of making mistakes, apologizing, and forgiving
Lee Anne Heikkinen
The most important classroom discovery I have made in years is Apology of Action: showing that you are sorry with your actions as well as with your words.
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Spring 2004 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Are you and your students singing the "Homework Blues?" Transforming Homework from Complaint to Opportunity
Linda Crawford
It’s hard to say who has the most trouble with homework–kids who resist it, parents who struggle to find time to help with it, or teachers who despair of ever getting all students to complete it.
Underneath many of the problems are assumptions, such as that homework is intrinsically valuable, or that all children know how to do it, but some just don't, or won't. The assumptions may prevent us from using all the tools we can to help children succeed with their homework. VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Arts Leverage Learning
Linda Crawford
Although we are rarely asked to explain why children should learn to read or do math, we are often called upon to defend time spent teaching them to draw or make music or dramatize. The simple and compelling reason why they need to learn and apply these art forms is that the arts provide a doorway into all learning.
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Fall 2007 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Book Clubs Expand Choices for Literacy in a Responsive Classroom
Jillian Langer
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Elementary Educators, Winter 2009 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Book Study Groups: Ideas for creating a successful experience
Lisa Boland Blake
In an interview with Deb Hoaby entitled Learning through Learning Communities she describes the effectiveness of site-based study groups to support teacher growth. What follows is a cluster of suggestions for structuring a study group -- specifically, one based on all members of the group having read the same book or series of articles and then coming together to discuss the readings. VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Bringing Closure to a Year of Learning
Marlynn K. Clayton
The year is drawing to a close. It’s been a good experience for you and for the children. How can you wrap up the year with a feeling of accomplishment and pride and impart those same feelings to the children? VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Building Adult Communities in Schools: Stronger Adult Communities Build Better Schools
Linda Crawford
Origins’ work often involves helping schools renew themselves. We like to call it "renewal" rather than "reform," because renewal sounds more hopeful and more organic. We believe that the elements for success are already in the school: most school communities have an abundance of talented teachers and administrators, children capable of great strides forward, and families who care. The question is how we can increase the best of what is there, so that it becomes the culture of the school. VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Building Community Between Regular and Special Education Classes: A Structure of Fulfillment of Good Intentions
Connie Uehling
It does not happen often that cognitively-disabled special-education students feel fully welcomed by regular education classes, at least not in my 23 years of teaching special education.
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Fall 2004 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Bullies Transformed by Teaching Respect
Darren Overton
As schools begin addressing disruptive and damaging relational issues, bullies become less comfortable. Instead of remaining quiet and looking the other way for fear of becoming the next victim, students embrace the power and responsibility of speaking out.
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Fall 2005 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Celebrating the School Community
Linnea Petersen, Lisa Boland Blake
Lively presentation tells a story of strengthened social skills
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Elementary Educators, Winter 2009 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Children's Book List: C.A.R.E.S. and Hopes & Dreams
Origins
Find here Origins children's book selection for implementing C.A.R.E.S. and Hopes & Dreams. The list includes all children's books available from Origins and more, with a synopsis for each book. VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Choice-filled Learning Engages, Motivates, Inspires High Expectations
Joan Johnson
“When I offer choices, I’m able to hold my students to the same level of expectations that I have for myself.”
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Fall 2007 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Classroom Organization: How Surroundings Affect Learning
Tonya Lusk
Now that I am applying the Responsive Classroom approaches to classroom organization, everything is different.... I made two important changes. First, I organized my classroom to promote independence and responsibility. Second, the projects I designed were more open-ended, and they are now largely designed by the children. If I hadn’t taken the first step – organizing the environment – the students would not have been able to move to a high level of self-directed learning. In order for the children to become independent, I had to make their materials and their work space totally accessible and useful to them.
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Spring 1998 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Closing Ceremonies
Amy Blackwood
Using a closing meeting to ensure a calm, productive end of the day
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Fall 2009 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Closing Circle: The Oft-forgotten and So Important Ritual
Ellen Shulman
When I had my own first/second grade classroom, one of the most difficult parts of the day was saying good-bye. ...I realized that I needed to build a structure into the end of my day just as I did with the day’s beginning.
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Spring 2006 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Collaborative Solutions to School-wide Problems
Sean Sweeney
Creating, teaching, and maintaining expectations in the cafeteria and hallways
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Elementary Educators, Winter 2009 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Consequences that Keep the Peace
Meri Ripley
Last year, fresh from a Responsive Classroom workshop and excited to change my classroom management style for good, I sat down to plan how I would go about having my class of first graders create our rules.
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Winter 2005 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Creating Morning Meeting
Katie Jones
A first-year experience with 4th graders
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Fall 2008 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Crisis Control
Julia Garczynski
Enabling independent work and minimizing distraction
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Fall 2009 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Don’t Just Say It, Do It!
Lindsey Lynch
Three uses of modeling to improve communication and build trust
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Winter 2010 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Educating for a Peaceful World
Lisa Boland Blake
With all the violence, intolerance, and injustice in our world, we can become overwhelmed. As teachers, we have a unique opportunity to create a more peaceful world with each Morning Meeting, each thoughtful parent/teacher conference, each inspiring lesson, each interaction with a student.
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Winter 2005 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Empathy in an Urban School
Erik Moe
An educator devises a simple survey to evaluate Morning Meeting as a tool for teaching empathy.
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Fall 2003 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Engaging Young Readers with Books on Sticky Subjects
Kandace Logan
Several young adolescents when asked in an informal interview, “Why do so many middle-school students dislike reading?” said they didn’t like reading because the books they had to read for school were boring, didn’t have anything to do with their lives, or lacked characters that looked or sounded like them... Their comments made me realize how important it is for me to continue emphasizing reading to students.
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Spring 2005 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Families Helping their Children Succeed in School
Mi Yang
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Elementary Educators, Winter 2009 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
First Week Back After Winter Break: January is "Re" Month
Ellen Shulman, Kandace Logan
At this time of year we (and our students) would benefit from remembering the phrase: Assume nothing and teach everything. All our classroom routines must be modeled and practiced, Hopes and Dreams revisited, rules re-examined and reinforced, and behaviors encouraged and reinforced if students are going to quickly get back into the learning groove. VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Getting to Know Each Other at the Beginning of the Year
Linda Crawford
Children learn best in community. When they feel that they belong to a group that knows and cares about them, they are free to do their best work. Establishing a safe and caring community is the job of every classroom teacher who knows that tense, angry, scared children do not – cannot — perform well. Fall is the season of building the foundation for the community, and Morning Meeting is a key structure in the Responsive Classroom approach to build it.
There are other structures that help, too. Here are ideas shared with us by teachers who attended workshops this past summer.
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Fall 2003 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Go Slow to Go Fast: Dealing with Chronic Behavior Issues
Kristi Abbott
Recently I began using some tools new to me: social conferencing, problem-solving meetings, and role plays. I am employing them to help eliminate some of the chronic behavior issues in my classroom and to create a more positive, productive learning environment in which my first grade students develop better social skills.
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Spring 2006 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Guided Discovery
Emily Langan
Creative and Responsible Use of Materials for the Long Term
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Fall 2008 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Guiding Discovery in the Art Room
Sarah Pfahl
Modeling and exploring in an art room lead to greater expressiveness, community, better art, and a neater room.
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Fall 2004 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Happy Endings
Kathy J. Krieger
Closing each day so students clean up, get organized, build community, and leave in good shape
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Fall 2008 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Helping Students Choose to Learn
Angela Irsfeld
"I see how children are more interested and motivated …"
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Spring 1999 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Helping Students Fulfill Reading Standards
Kate Spilman
Building Academic Communities Through the Arts (BACTA) helped me create a vision for my students to become active participants in the learning process. My vision was to use the arts, specifically the theater, to help my shy students as well as the rest of the class, actively participate in storytelling. In turn, I hoped this would develop their self-confidence and fulfill one of our state’s reading standards: “The student will produce a response to literature that engages the reader, gives a judgment, supports the judgment, and shows the student understands the writing.”
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Spring 2004 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Homework Because It’s Fun
Kari Thimjon
I wanted to empower my students to do their assignments and homework because they themselves wanted to. My goal was that the children would become intrinsically motivated to learn. I focused on homework.
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Winter 2006 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Hopes and Dreams for School Communities
Origins
Find here examples of school community Hopes and Dreams from different grade-level classrooms, adult/educator communities and parents. VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
I decided I would never write for pleasure again … How Much Do We Influence Children?
Ellen Shulman
We all have had educational experiences that were pivotally important to how we view ourselves as adults -- an experience that influenced the career path we chose, or a teacher who encouraged us to stretch ourselves in an area in which we thought we would never have success.
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Winter 2007 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Implementing the Responsive Classroom on a Tight Budget
Linda Crawford
This is another one of those belt-cinching times for education. Every day we get calls from administrators and teachers asking for help in building a caring, successful school community using The Responsive Classroom approach, but on a really tight budget. The larger classes grow, the fewer the support services available in a building, the more important it is for teachers to learn how to cultivate courteous, engaged learners.
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Spring 2002 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Involving Students in Creating a Calmer Classroom
Mary Ulrich
Like many teachers in computer labs, I have had the chronic problem of students impatiently waiting for my attention when they have a question or hit a snag...My plan was to involve the students in solving our shared problem.
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Spring 2006 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Keeping Best Practices Alive
Sustaining the Responsive Classroom Approach with On-site Peer Coaches
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Winter 2008 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Keeping the Peace: Learning to Solve Interpersonal Problems
Aly
Following is an article written by a sixth-grader in 1997 about Responsive Classroom problem-solving strategies introduced by her teacher. VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Kindergarten Quiet Time: An Action Plan for Choices Brings Rest, Reflection, and Growth
Cynthia Epland
This year our district started all-day kindergarten for all students. I knew I would need to help the children adapt comfortably to the long day -- I knew I had to build in a time to rest for students who needed it.
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Winter 2007 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Landing on Your Feet on the Playground
Pat Gatterman
Using proactive and reactive tools to make the playground a safe, positive place for all
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Elementary Educators, Winter 2009 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Last Weeks of School: Ideas for Bringing Closure to a Year of Learning
Marlynn K. Clayton
The year is drawing to a close. It's been a good experience for you and for the children. How can you wrap up the year with a feeling of accomplishment and pride and impart those same feelings to the children? VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Learning from the Children
Anne Burkstrand
Can Children Monitor Their Own Behavior? Can Teachers “Crab” Less? Can Work Improve as a Result?
My hope going into this school year was that the second graders I teach would be able to monitor their own behavior to a degree appropriate to the developmental level of seven- and eight-year-olds, while doing quality work during independent work periods. VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Learning How to Learn: Teaching Confidence, Reflection, and Self-discipline, and Becoming a Better Teacher
Kristin Moldan
While they were engaged in choice-rich work, my students with the highest needs had shown the least effort. Often they were slow to get to work, gave up early, and wasted time. In addition, many were uncomfortable representing their work in a public way. I decided to improve my teaching methods so they would have greater success in independent work.
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Fall 2007 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Learning Interrupted: A Teacher Acts to Reduce Disruptive Behavior
Heather Jerrie
This school year I decided to focus on reducing interruptions during lessons. The most creative and exciting lessons sometimes became defused and derailed, I got frustrated, and the children were stressed and uncomfortable.
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Spring 2006 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Learning through Learning Communities: An Interview with a Member of a Learning Community
Barbara Borer
Most teacher-to-teacher conversations take place over lunch or coffee or during brief encounters during the day. In a few schools, however, the chance to talk about how we teach occurs in learning communities established for that purpose. Deb Hoaby, a third grade teacher at Pinewood Elementary School in Monticello, Minnesota, started such a learning community. VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Learning to Teach: Personal and Professional Growth Entwined
Dr. Terrance Kwame-Ross
A Minneapolis public charter school uses the Learning Community Model as a structure for administration, teachers, and staff to grow both personally and professionally. VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Literacy in a Responsive Classroom: Choice Menus
Origins
Find here 10 Choice Menus for student use within the Literacy in a Responsive Classroom approach. Students use the menus to help improve and represent literacy skills and knowledge. Please download, adapt and print from this resource for your classroom use. VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Logical Consequences Build Self-control with Dignity
Betsy Kringen
A first grade teacher surveys behavior approaches which have failed in her classroom and describes her process toward successful implementation of logical consequences.
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Fall 2008 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Long-range Effect of Encouragement is Self-confidence
Yajaira Guzman Carrero
The Responsive Classroom workshop was for me like the final polish of a rock that has been forming through experiences and education. It brought me back to my fundamental belief that children do not need rewards because ideally, discipline leads to self-discipline, which becomes the foundation for self-approval and self-acceptance.
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Spring 2003 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Looking Back, Looking Forward
Northeast Ftd. for Children
A question and answers from teachers for bringing closure to the school year VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Making Choice Work in Literacy
Sheri Laska
One of the areas of the Responsive Classroom approach that I decided I would tackle this past year was Academic Choice....Every part of my curriculum was planned with the spectrum of children’s needs in mind, and the understanding that social learning is the key to academic growth.
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Fall 2004 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Meetings & Charts in Physical Education?!
Christopher Hagedorn
A specialist adapts Responsive Classroom and Developmental Designs approaches for great results
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Winter 2008 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Morning Meeting: One More Time, with Rigor
Tanya Amundson
A kindergarten teacher returns to implementing Morning Meeting this time implementing all the steps with rigor.
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Fall 2008 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Morning Meeting’s Impact on Teaching and Learning: Taking a Break for Small Things Brings Big Changes
Steve Drone
When I implemented Morning Meetings into the daily schedule of my first-grade classroom, my vision was to create a positive community among my students....
The outcomes I was hoping to achieve were 1) a reduction in disruptions during the day, and 2) the development of a strong community in our room. I wanted my students to feel so much a part of something very special that their attitudes and behaviors would reflect a strong sense of belonging.
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Winter 2003-2004 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
My Year in School: Student Self-assessment
Northeast Fdtn. for Children
Find here student self-assessment forms for use during the last weeks of school. VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Nonverbal Language Arts
Christopher Hagedorn
Helping students learn self-control and social skills by teaching them to decode and respond to visual communication
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Spring 2007 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Off to a Good Start: Emotionally Disturbed and Behaviorally Disordered Students Learn, Grow, and Join in Community
Robin Becker
As a special-education teacher of multi-categorical students in an inclusive school, I get into a variety of classrooms each year, some on a daily basis....Because Morning Meeting has so many benefits for my students, I work hard to find enough support for all of them to attend. I join in these morning meetings myself, and do as much as possible to help teachers and students make any adaptations that are necessary. It is a time during the school day that some of my students can actually be part of their general education classes and have a sense of belonging.
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Fall 2004 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Opening Soon!
Lynn Bechtel
An exciting way to introduce classroom materials and learning areas slowly, safely, and with a sense of ownership and fun VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Organizing for Success: A Specialist’s Uses for Responsive Classroom
JoAnn Hovet
I teach art, and organizing the art room has always been a struggle for me. After taking Responsive Classroom I, I made several organizational changes that not only dramatically changed the students’ behavior, but also dramatically changed the manner in which I teach.
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Fall 2002 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
PBIS and the Responsive Classroom Approach
Northeast Ftd. for Children
Find here a Fact Sheet and White Paper about PBIS and the Responsive Classroom approach VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Planning, parental involvement, and practice, practice, practice help 2nd graders in becoming effective problem-solvers
Tara Johnson
Like adults, children have many responses to the problems and challenges they confront throughout the day. Some children are shy and withdrawn, and avoid confrontation; others are outgoing, and want to talk about a problem even if it’s not theirs! VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Practicing
Lisa Boland Blake
How do we manage our own emotions so we can help a child who has lost self-control? How can we avoid taking student behavior personally?
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Spring 2007 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Reflections on Morning Meeting
Magnuson, Pincus and Shulman
Three teachers share their experiences with a key Responsive Classroom component. VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Reimagining Morning Meeting
Betsy Dobbins
A specialist uses a Welcome Circle to reinforce student/teacher relationships
This article first appeared in Origins' Special Student Issue, Spring 2009 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
RESEARCH A Multi-year Evaluation of the Responsive Classroom
Dr. Stephen N. Elliott
Research on the effectiveness and acceptability of the Responsive Classroom approach in promoting social and academic competence VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
RESEARCH Caring to Learn
Dr. Stephen N. Elliott
A Report on the Positive Impact of a Social Curriculum: Research on the Responsive Classroom approach VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Research Evidence for the Responsive Classroom® Approach
Origins
Prepared by Origins staff, this research compilation connects published, controlled research findings with principles, premises, and specific components of The Responsive Classroom approach. VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
RESEARCH In progress: The Responsive Classroom Efficacy Study (RCES)
Dr. Sara Rimm-Kaufman
A large-scale, randomized, controlled trial to test the Responsive Classroom approach. The study will focus on how the children perform in math and whether the methods improve teachers’ capacity to teach and, ultimately, lead third to fifth graders to achieve higher test scores. VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
RESEARCH Social and Academic Learning Study on the Contribution of the Responsive Classroom® Approach
Dr. Sara Rimm-Kaufman
FULL REPORT and SUMMARY on Six Findings
In a major study, researchers at the University of Virginia's Curry School of Education found that children at schools using the Responsive Classroom approach showed greater increases in reading and math test scores. Read about this and five other key findings from the study. VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
RESEARCH The Responsive Classroom Approach: Its Effectiveness and Acceptability
Dr. Stephen N. Elliott
Responsive Classroom research project in the District of Columbia Public Schools VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Responsible Independence in the Classroom and Around the School
Shannon Casey
My goal this fall was for the children in my care to become responsible citizens in their classroom and school.
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Winter 2006 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Responsive Teacher Language
Leslie Bakkum
The most exciting thing about responsive teacher language is that encouraging and empowering language has the potential to teach life skills to our children. They need to learn in a non-competitive environment where they are free to experiment, make mistakes, formulate ideas and try them out, make choices, speak without fear or ridicule or shame, and make meaning of the world around them for themselves. VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Responsive Teachers Know Their Kids: A Seventh-grader looks back
Eden Rome
We are responsible for our learning … now I’m never bored
This article first appeared in Origins' Special Student Issue, Spring 2008 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Rigorous Teacher Language Dramatically Helps a Classroom
Meg Atkins
Last year my second-grade students had difficulty managing transitions that required moving around the room, to the point where the transitions were sometimes unsafe.
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Spring 2006 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Rounding Out and Gathering In: Closure in the Classroom
Linda Crawford
There are many ending times in a school year: the last half-hour of the day; the day before a vacation; the last few days of the school year – they all mark endings, and they are often characterized by hectic activity, restlessness, pushing against the rules, minor and major resentments and squabbles.
Many teachers have found that attention to endings can make a big difference in the health of the classroom community and the well-being and sense of belonging of each member of the community.
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Spring 2000 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Rules and Rituals: Tools for Creating a Respectful, Caring Learning Community
The authors describe how John B. Murphy Elementary School on Chicago's northwest side has been transformed by the Responsive Classroom approach. VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Social Conferences to Help Restore Peace
Kandace Logan
As a fifth grade teacher in an intermediate school, I’ve had my share of conversations with students regarding behavior....After I took Responsive Classroom II, I had a better understanding of how to talk with students in a way that helped them solve their own problems. I needed to remember to allow students to talk, and avoid getting into my lecture mode....Social conferencing helped a great deal in my classroom because it allowed both the student and me to have a voice.
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Winter 2005 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Special Issue: Elementary School Student Stories
These articles first appeared in Origins' Special Student Issue, Spring 2008 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Specialists and Classroom Teachers Team to Solve Problems
Liz Debrey
Problem-solving Meeting to Address Cross-classroom Issue Builds Community and Empowers Kids
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Winter 2008 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Start Simply, Go Slowly: Tips for Morning Meeting
Barbara Borer
Lots of skills help create a friendly and vibrant Morning Meeting. The best guideline for building these and other skills is: Start simply. Go slowly. Model and practice all the way.
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Fall 2008 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Strengthening the Staff Community Builds Up the Whole School
Kris Hilgert
... Our goal was to improve the quality of our school through the use of the Responsive Classroom approach. As part of this goal, we would implement a plan of consistent Morning Meetings throughout the school, with teachers using all four components according to the format of the RC model.
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Winter 2003-2004 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Stronger Ties in School Community Help Bring Peace to the Playground
Mary Paustian
Paras, teachers, administrators, kindergartners, and “big kids”
all participate in process to have more fun, less trouble
At the beginning of the school year, my principal approached me and said, “Mary, what are we going to do about your recess time? Your 22 kindergartners are out there with 180 fifth graders!” I looked out at the playground and observed what was happening. The principal had reason for concern! VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Students, Teachers, and Videotape
Barbara Trombley
Videotaping is one of the less subjective ways to collect data for reflecting on and improving our teaching. Once we get over the discomfort of seeing ourselves on camera, a bounty of data awaits us.
Trombley says, "Watching the video was insightful! First, I noticed in the video that sometimes when I thought everyone was paying attention, in truth, there were some who were not."
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Winter 2007 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Students’ Take on Take a Break
Brian Greening, Jo Devlin
Three students comment on TAB’s effectiveness
This article first appeared in Origins' Special Student Issue, Spring 2009 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Surviving the Late-Spring Jitters
Marlynn K. Clayton
It's late spring and you're wondering what has happened to the class you thought you knew and the behavior you worked so hard to establish. VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Take a Break for Media Specialists
Kelly Iverson
Take a Break helps students increase self-control in the media center
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Winter 2008 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Take a Break: September through May
Jit Kundan
This article first appeared in the Origins’ publication Developmental Designs: A Middle School Newsletter, Fall 2007 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Taking Time to Save Time
Linda Bestler
A specialist uses problem-solving conferences to resolve repeated misbehaviors
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Winter 2010 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Talking to Children about Violence and Other Sensitive and Complex Issues in the World
Linda Lantieri
A note from the editors at The Responsive Classroom: Teachers and parents often feel confused about how to handle children's questions about the violence that occurs in our world. We have found the following guide to be very helpful in answering teachers’ and parents’ most frequently asked questions about communicating with children about difficult issues in their wider world. Here, we reprint excerpts from this guide with permission from Educators for Social Responsibility. VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Teacher Independence and Interdependence
Steven DeLapp
One of the challenges of school leadership is how to balance the strengths and unique interests of individual teachers with the need for shared images and common directions for the school as a whole. How does a school create independence and autonomy in its educators but still cultivate agreement about what everyone in the community will do and value?
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Fall 2005 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Teacher Language for Motivation and Community-Building
Lisa Cash
We all have seen the effects of teacher language in our classrooms. Give one hint of exasperation to Jose, and watch the fireworks explode! But use encouraging language to comment that he really took initiative when he moved to the back of the line, rather than fight with the person who was bothering him, and watch him relax. The tense situation has ended. Jose is thinking about the positive choice he made rather than whether it’s fair that he had to move or who will get lunch first.
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Spring 2003 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Teacher Language Helps Build Community, Facilitate Learning
Andy Ducey
This middle school article is relevant to elementary school educators because it addresses student experiences with Teacher Language, a universal teaching issue.
This article first appeared in Origins' Special Student Issue, Spring 2008 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Teacher Language that Builds Self-Esteem and Independence in Students
Amy Kettunen
My action plan goal: I will increase my usage of teacher language that builds self-esteem and independence in students. I knew that if my language was unsupportive and disrespectful, my students would approach me with apprehension and would be less likely to participate in class discussions, take risks, and try new things.
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Winter 2003-2004 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Teaching Caring, Tackling Bullying
Tonja Brott, Ondrea Dellman
Accentuate the positives, eliminate the negatives
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Winter 2010 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Teaching Expectations
Amy Alpaugh
Improving hallway behavior through modeling and reinforcing
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Fall 2009 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Teaching Social Skills through Conflict Resolution
Jamie Carlson
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Fall 2009 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Technology in the Responsive Classroom
David Grambow
Using a computer is no more inherently isolating than reading a book is. It is up to the teacher to be sure that using the computers is a social activity.
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Winter 2000-2001 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
The Importance of Quality Sharing
Kathryn Miller
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Fall 2009 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
The Many Academic Uses of Morning Meeting
Mary Backman
As we teachers are pressed to cover content, to meet and assess standards, and to address a spectrum of needs within our classrooms, we must use time for multiple purposes. To resist the forces that would have us set aside the social curriculum as if it were not as important as academics, we can be creative and resourceful in our use of time. Morning Meeting provides daily opportunities to practice social skills. VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
The Meaningful Morning Meeting: Starting the Day with Success
Carolyn Rottman
Carolyn Rottman leads the gifted-and-talented program – an all-school program! – at Eastern Heights Elementary School in St. Paul, MN and is a certified presenter of Responsive Classroom workshops.
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Fall 1998 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Thoughts from an Adult Learner in an Arts-integration Workshop
Tools of Engagement: A Guest Teacher’s Literacy Tool Kit
Ann E. Kisor
As a Guest Teacher, I want to do more than merely fill in for the regular classroom teacher. My challenge for myself is to bring an extra dimension to whatever lessons I’m assigned to teach, so as to really engage students in a lively experience of learning.
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Winter 2006 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Turn and Talk
Sharon Looney
Transforming disruptive chatting into productive conversation in a kindergarten class
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Winter 2010 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Turning Behaviors Around
Joe Anklam
Student social skills grow with help from strong relationships, positive reinforcement, and early intervention
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Winter 2010 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Using Responsive Classroom, School Builds Community, Improves Attendance, Raises Test Scores
James Braaten
As part of the Sumner staff, we were already part of the change to RC practice. We were in graduate school, and we needed an action research project to complete our master’s degrees. We decided to measure the effect Responsive Classroom has had on our classrooms and school. VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Using Proactive Social Conferences for Social and Academic Success
Christine Besch
Children make academic and social choices every day. It is my job as a 2nd-3rd grade classroom teacher to provide them with the tools to succeed in their choices. So this year I set out to help my students understand that to a large degree, they are in control of their social interactions.
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Spring 2007 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
Videotaping Enhances Reflection
Laura Steabner
Videotaping is one of the less subjective ways to collect data for reflecting on and improving our teaching. Once we get over the discomfort of seeing ourselves on camera, a bounty of data awaits us.
Steabner writes, “Thinking about how I could assess our success in building community, I decided one measure would be to videotape my morning meetings. It’s hard to be a participant and an observer at the same time, so videotaping allowed me to fully participate in the meeting.”
This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Educators, Winter 2007 VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE
When to Play Games and When Not To: Building Community with Fun and Straight Talk
I’ve learned that children do break rules; it is a developmental fact, but deep inside each child is trying to be good… The key is giving the students the opportunity to learn self-control. —Melissa McCarthy
Articles 'from the field' written by experienced teachers, administrators, and Origins consultants 
