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"The Responsive Classroom" is a social curriculum which is the Expo intermediate team's method of including "Lifeskill" lessons as a regular part of each school day. About seven years ago we decided we wanted to continue the kind of character and citizenship training ("Lifeskills") started in kindergarten and primary classrooms and we wanted an approach appropriate to the developmental level of children we teach. We chose "The Responsive Classroom" model. All the intermediate teachers received training and, as new people were hired, there was additional training. Other teachers in the school have also been trained and implement this approach. The following is a description of "The Responsive Classroom" from their guideline book published by the Northeast Foundation for Children, the creators of this curriculum."A clear social curriculum can help build a classroom or school into a learning community where high social and academic goals are both attained. Our approach, known as "The Responsive Classroom", is built around six central components that integrate teaching, learning, and caring in the daily program. These components are set in the context of commonly shared values, such as honesty, fairness, and respect, and are implemented through the development and strengthening of social skills, such as cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy, and self-control." The Six Key Components are:
Any of these six components can be implemented independently and enhance any classroom or school. The morning meeting is the one which is universally used throughout the ten intermediate classrooms at Expo. It's format which provides children daily opportunity to practice courtesy, conversation, sharing, and problem-solving. It is a motivator for the academic challenges of the day ahead. The other five components are practiced in varying degrees. There is a great deal of commitment on the part of intermediate staff to continue our training and practice in "The Responsive Classroom." It's an evolving process of classroom experimentation and professional development.
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540 Warwick Street South | Saint Paul, MN 55116 | 651-290-8384 | Fax 651-293-8639 Site is created and maintained by EXPO technology staff and students. We welcome comments and questions. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
