Introduction
Welcome to the fifth edition of the Responsive Practices Toolbox for educators brought to you by the Social, Emotional and Academic Development (SEAD) and Restorative Practices Department.
Since the beginning of the school year you have taught, practiced and reinforced classroom and campus-wide expectations. With a new semester in the horizon, it is time to review these expectations and procedures to ensure students and staff continue to be mindful of them. As a result, you will see a decline in classroom disruptions and an increase in academic engagement and achievement.
In this edition you will find:
- Activities and Lessons for Reviewing Expectations
- Re-establishing Structures and Routines
- Resources for Positive Transitions
- Parent Connection
- Restorative Practices
Lesson Plans and Activities for Reviewing Expectations
A review of classroom and school-wide expectations helps keep everyone on track for building a strong classroom community.
Using the ideas below, in addition to your campus-based PBIS videos and PowerPoint presentations, will ensure that your beginning of year efforts are reinforced, allowing you to stay strong as we begin the spring 2021 semester!
Click on the pictures and links below for tips, lesson plans and activities to engage students on every level:
- The Responsive Classroom
- PBIS Kick Off Week Lesson Plans
- COVID-19 Safety Expectations Lesson Plans
- Reviewing School-wide Expectations with Jeopardy Game (Template)
The Responsive Classroom
Source: Responsive Classroom
PBIS Kick Off Week Lesson Plans
COVID-19 Safety Expectations Lesson Plans
- students preparing to return to campus
- students new to campus environment
- students in person
In addition, here is a video on COVID-19 transmission.
Re-establishing Structure and Routines
In order to ensure that more time is spent on instruction structure and routines must exist and be reinforced.
Check out the activities below that can be incorporated into your class-wide routines to promote students' learning and participation, whether in-person or remote.
Engaging in Relaxation Routines
Incorporating relaxation opportunities into your daily class routine helps cultivate emotional resilience and empathy. Modeling provides students with practice in co-regulation and fosters the development of self-regulation skills.
Research shows that children and adolescents become more focused, calm, quiet, settled and rested, allowing them to have increased attention to classroom lessons and activities.
Mystery Board
This is a great strategy for classroom management to help teach or review behavior expectations.
Write a classroom incentive very large in the center of the poster board. This can be split into 2 systems one for virtual and one for in class. Cover the board with sticky notes. On each sticky note, write a classroom expectation. As the students consistently demonstrate that expectation, remove the labeled sticky note. Once all sticky notes have been removed, the students earn the incentive. Some incentives may be extra recess, or end of the zoom free time, no homework, virtual dance party or field trip.
The Importance of Routines in Classroom Settings
Reinforcing your existing classroom routines and creating routines for problematic areas allows students to know what to expect and how to meet their own needs within the structure of the classroom. The article below shares how routines can help in the following ways:
- Removing the Guesswork
- Behavior Management
- Fun
- Responsibility
Photo Credit: Lydia Sanchez, 3rd grade teacher at Fenwick Academy.
Planning for Positive Transitions
1. Teaching Routines: Explicit teaching of the expected behavior.
- Model the skills (both correct and incorrect examples).
- Provide multiple opportunities for student practice.
- Monitor and provide feedback.
- Reteach as needed.
2. Precorrections: Quick reminders of expected behavior before the transition.
- Additional support to firm student skills.
- Can be faded or withdrawn as needed.
3. Positive Reinforcement Procedures: Incentives for appropriate behavior.
- Specific praise can be more powerful than tangible rewards.
- Provide attention contingent on correct behavior.
- Ignore or quickly redirect incorrect behavior.
4. Active Supervision: An effective method for monitoring students.
- Scan, move, and interact to create a positive classroom culture.
- Avoid performing tasks or conversing with other adults in key transitions.
Hallways and High Schools
This research article provides a case study including strategies effective for increasing successful transitions at the secondary level. You campus behavior specialist can provide training and modeling in any of these areas.
Source: Loyola University Hallways and High Schools: Changes in Adult Behavior to Decrease Disruption from Students in Non-Classroom Settings
Where in the World Is?
Five Preschool Transition Activities
Intentional teaching involves scheduled and planned transition activities to promote success. Songs, chants and activities can promote your targeted academic skills while facilitating a smooth transition.
Building and Maintaining Parent-Teacher Relationships
When teachers and parents work well together, students do better at home and school. In the midst of the pandemic, this relationship has even greater significance and challenge.
Source: First Person
Communicate Effectively With Parents
Building and maintaining positive relationships with parents requires effective communication. Effective communication is more necessary than ever to reinforce at home what teachers are doing in-person/virtually in the classroom.
Source: Communicating with Parents
Establishing Routines in the Home
During these times of uncertainty, creating and maintaining a routine has many benefits:
Communicating with parents the benefits of maintaining daily routines helps with student success in the classroom. It can assist with reassuring the parent that their student will be better prepared for possible challenges and ready for set expectations.
Sources: CHOC and Building Blocks
Social, Emotional and Academic Development (SEAD) and Restorative Practices Department
Email: bparham@saisd.net
Website: www.saisd.net
Location: 439 Arbor Place, San Antonio, TX, USA
Phone: 210-354-9565
