I wrote last week about things you can do to ease classroom stress during testing and other high-anxiety times. Here are three more tips for keeping the atmosphere of your classroom calm and productive!
Have a
It’s spring, and end-of-the-year-testing looms. The children are stressed. You’re stressed. You need to ease the tension—but how?
Well, you’re not alone! When we asked Responsive Classroom fans on Facebook if they’d like to read about
Original Article: https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/article/behavior-challenges-homestretch
It’s April. It’s tempting to think that by now students understand our expectations and know how to behave, so we can all just coast to the end of the year. But, in most classrooms, that’s probably not true.
Original Article: http://www.responsiveclassroom.org/blog/handling-holidays-morning-meeting-message
Tips on using Morning Meeting Messages and the last part of Morning Meeting, reading the message together, to set a positive tone during the build-up to winter holidays and vacation.
Winter themes. As with sharing, you might include
Original Article: http://www.responsiveclassroom.org/blog/handling-holidays-morning-meeting-group-activity
Tips on using Morning Meeting group activity, to set a positive tone during the build-up to winter holidays and vacation.
Consider levels of movement and activity.
How does your class respond (especially right now) to activities that get
Original Article: http://www.responsiveclassroom.org/blog/handling-holidays-morning-meeting-sharing
Tips on using Morning Meeting sharing to set a positive tone during the build-up to winter holidays and vacation.
Themed shares. This is a great time of year to have some themed shares. For instance, you might ask
Original Article: http://www.responsiveclassroom.org/blog/handling-holidays-morning-meeting-greeting
Tips on using the greeting component ofMorning Meeting to set a positive tone during the build-up to winter holidays and vacation.
Observe your students as they enter the room before settling on a greeting.
Are they bouncing and
Original Article: https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/blog/handling-holidays
As the holidays swing into full gear, maintaining a productive and calm atmosphere in the classroom can be challenging. Students can be more fidgety, giggly, testy, and tired at this time of year. In December, children are also
Original Article: https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/blog/do-you-have-chatty-class
I hear a lot from teachers who are feeling frustrated by students’ “chattiness.” They say things like “Mike, they’re not bad kids, they just won’t stop talking to each other. As soon as I stop talking, they start,”
Original Article: https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/blog/introducing-time-out-older-students
A few weeks ago, on the RC discussion board on Facebook, Aimee Casale asked for suggestions for introducing Take a Break (also called Positive Time-Out) to students in the upper elementary grades. I answered her there, and I
Original Article: https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/article/balancing-act
by Mike Anderson
Responsive Classroom Newsletter:
August 2009
It’s the beginning of a new school year. You’re excited about your incoming class and have all
Original Article: https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/article/focused-finish
Q: What’s the most important thing to focus on during the last weeks of school?
A: Showcasing students’ learning and celebrating the community you’ve built together should be the focus at the end of the year. It’s a
Original Article: https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/article/how-do-you-manage-have-private-conversations-students
A: When I needed to chat privately with a child or help a few students work out a problem together, I often did it during lunch or recess. Meeting outside of class time gave us more time to
Original Article: https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/article/re-energize-yourself-when-fatigue-sets
A: I remind myself that in my life, just as in my classroom, certain things are non-negotiable. An important non-negotiable for me is exercise: I swim every morning before school. When I’m stressed, it’s tempting to think about
Original Article: http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061031/GJNEWS_01/110310182
DURHAM — It was an activity fraught with the type of make-believe danger and true adventure any fifth-grader would love.
Granted the saving of ailing chickens, rescuing of mini-zebras and deadly snake pits did not truly take place
Original Article: http://www.seacoastonline.com/article/20050404/NEWS/304049988
PORTSMOUTH — The centerpiece of Michael Anderson’s fifth-grade classroom at Dondero School is the wooden loft in the middle of the room, at the top of which students find seating cushions.
Below are two tanks where students
Original Article: https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/article/news-and-announcement-charts
A: I incorporate bits of word study into the charts whenever possible. In the younger grades, I sometimes made a stack of word cards and asked each student to place a card into a category on the chart
February 2005, Responsive Classroom Newsletter, Original Link: https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/article/news-notes-18
We’ve Moved!
Northeast Foundation for Children moved to a bigger space in November 2004 to accommodate our growing operations and increasing number
Michael R. Anderson (NH ’04)
Teacher
Mary C. Dondero Elementary School
Portsmouth, NH
At the time of the Award, Michael R. Anderson was:
Teacher
Mary C. Dondero Elementary School
Portsmouth, NH
Subject(s) taught: General Elementary
Grade(s): 5
Biographical Information
Original Article: http://www.seacoastonline.com/article/20040208/NEWS/302089982
PORTSMOUTH — Like other teachers, Mike Anderson had one generic phrase to award students for good work when he taught at Flanders Elementary School in East Lyme, Conn.
“‘Great job!’ was mine,” said Anderson, now a fourth-grade teacher
Link: http://www.ncte.org/search?q=reading+violence+in+boys+writing
Original Article: http://www.seacoastonline.com/article/20020919/NEWS/309199995
PORTSMOUTH — Crouching on the ground in front of a portable camping stove, teacher Mike Anderson placed a length of stove pipe over one of the burners and turned up the heat. The 20 or so students closed
Original Article: https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/article/working-families
Question: In my classroom this year, I am implementing two teaching strategies, Morning Meeting and Rules and Logical Consequences, but I’m concerned about parents’ reactions. I can imagine that they will worry that we’re “wasting time” with play or