Limited Choices
One of the first classroom management tools that many of us learned, to redirect or set limits with children, is limited choices. This month, I’d like to explore this topic in some detail. I have …
Let Routines be the Boss
Most children are back at school now. With the beginning of every new school year come the resetting of routines, and renewed hopes for effectiveness and cooperation from everyone. At home: making lunch the night …
The Power of Questions: Empowering Students to Learn from Their Experience
Were you ever lectured by an adult? Do you remember it as being particularly effective, or did you feel a little like Charlie Brown listening to his teacher? “Waaa, waaa, waaa, waaa…” Most of us …
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Conflict Resolution: Teaching Communication Skills
“Once the child can speak, he can express himself and no longer depends on others to guess his needs. He finds himself in touch with human society, for people can only communicate by means of …
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Classroom Structure: Routines, Expectations, and Procedures
“Now the adult himself is part of the child’s environment; the adult must adjust himself to the child’s needs if he is not to be a hindrance to him and if he is not to …
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Connection Before Correction
Steven and Greg, two fourth grade boys in my first classroom, had just come in from recess. On their way in, Steven shoved a girl to get inside before she did. Greg followed suit, and …
Classroom Practices that Build Connection
1. Involving Children in Creating Ground Rules and Routines Routines give children the opportunity to predict what is going to happen next. When children can predict what happens next, they have the power to make …
Teacher Follow Through and Classroom Harmony
Is this your classroom? Let’s take a moment and envision our classrooms in the middle of the school-year. It’s January, the most productive time of the school year. You lose track of time because the …
The Class Meeting
The Class Meeting is a time where children come together to help each other solve problems. Many classrooms use morning meetings, circle or community meetings to discuss issues in the classroom. However, most of these …
