It’s a crisp October afternoon, and my first grade classroom is filled with excitement around our autumn leaves investigation. Some students are creating leaf mosaics while others make crayon leaf rubbings at a nearby table. Some read stories from the fall-themed book basket in our library corner; two students just picked up It Starts with a Seed and are going through it together, helping each other to tackle the trickier words. One student sketches and labels different types of leaves, while a few others create beautiful pastel drawings of the autumn forest. A group sits with me at the teacher table, writing an acrostic poem about leaves with a bit of prompting as they sound out words using the alphabet and phoneme wall behind me. Two girls are busy gluing leaves into a large chart that they’ve spread out on the floor, sorting them by color and size. One gently lifts off a leaf after realizing she glued it in the wrong spot; her friend smiles and reassures her: “Mistakes are learning—there, you’ve got it now!”
The class is lively, but not loud; vibrant, but focused, with students engaging at different times in collaboration, independent learning, and teacher-led small groups. A sense of peacefulness rests over the class as students demonstrate the many skills they’ve learned in order to operate with autonomy in the classroom environment. They know the appropriate volume for their voices, how to cross the room carefully while holding scissors safely, how to use and access art tools, how to return books to the classroom library, and how to ask a classmate for help and share ideas with each other. I feel a deep sense of joy and gratitude looking around the room. This positive classroom environment was not achieved by accident. It was intentionally nurtured through an emphasis on social-emotional learning (SEL) during the early weeks of school, drawing on inspiration from the Responsive Classroom® framework. This article focuses on the proactive side of classroom management strategies: cultivating routines and expectations early in the school year to set the stage for a flourishing community of self-regulated learners.
Why Social-Emotional Learning?
Social-emotional learning is defined by CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning) as “the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions.” As Christian educators, we understand the importance of “teaching the heart and soul as well as the mind” (Swaner et al. 12). This holistic approach aligns with a biblical call to be part of caring communities rooted in love (John 13:34–35), to speak life (Eph. 4:29), and to help each other (Eccl. 4:9–1). SEL is important in Christian education because as young students progress in their social and emotional growth, they reflect the image of God when they embody character traits like joy, peace, patience, care, and forgiveness, among others. Fostering these traits in our classroom is a reflection of the love God calls us to share, a love that is central to his story and our faith.
Some educators worry that taking the time to implement SEL will detract from academics and hinder student achievement, but research proves that this is not the case.
Some educators worry that taking the time to implement SEL will detract from academics and hinder student achievement, but research proves that this is not the case. A recent meta-analysis of hundreds of studies involving more than five hundred thousand students revealed that students in schools with SEL programs experienced statistically significant improvements in academic achievement compared to control conditions; these students also benefited from a better school climate and demonstrated enhanced social-emotional skills, attitudes, and prosocial behaviors (Cipriano et al.) The Ontario Ministry of Education recently included SEL as part of their math curriculum, explicitly teaching skills like identifying emotions, stress management, perseverance, and self-awareness because these skills have a proven positive effect on math learning. Social-emotional learning is essential for nurturing well-rounded students, and it is vital that we teach these skills early on, as children’s brains rapidly form new neural pathways. By laying a strong foundation early in the year through social curriculum, we equip students not only for success during the rest of the academic year, but also for a life of purpose and meaningful engagement in safe and joy-filled communities beyond the classroom (Prov. 22:6).
The Responsive Classroom Approach
Responsive Classroom® (RC) is an evidence-based, student-centered social-emotional approach to teaching and learning that uses a specific set of practices with the goal of creating safe, joyful, and positive classroom and school environments (Center for Responsive Schools). The RC approach is guided by six key principles or core beliefs about education:
- Teaching social and emotional skills is as important as teaching academic content.
- How we teach is as important as what we teach.
- Great cognitive growth occurs through social interaction.
- How we work together as adults to create a safe, joyful, and inclusive school environment is as important as our individual contribution or competence.
- What we know and believe about our students—individually, culturally, developmentally—informs our expectations, reactions, and attitudes about those students.
- Partnering with families—knowing them and valuing their contributions—is as important as knowing the children we teach. (Center for Responsive Schools)
There are many resources available, such as workshops, PD sessions, teacher training courses, and dozens of books on specific topics like positive approaches to classroom discipline, teacher language that fosters learning, interactive learning structures, and so on. The discipline structures espoused by the RC framework emphasize self-regulation and intrinsic motivation as opposed to external motivation (threats of punishment and rewards). Logical consequences are given to students when they need more than a cue or redirection. In a longitudinal study exploring RC implementation with over five hundred students, the approach was proven to increase both the amount of time students were academically engaged during the school day as well as their achievement, particularly in math. Another study found improved reading achievement, increased closeness in student-teacher relationships, better prosocial skills, less fearfulness, and more assertiveness in schools where RC practices were used (Rimm-Kaufman et al.)
The First Six Weeks of School
Building a structured, safe, and supportive environment early on in the school year lays the groundwork for deeper academic engagement and growth later in the year.
Building a structured, safe, and supportive environment early on in the school year lays the groundwork for deeper academic engagement and growth later in the year (Curby et al.). The First Six Weeks of School is a core RC resource and a comprehensive guide to setting up students and teachers for success. I will discuss the components and strengths of this framework for the early weeks of school. The book is intended for K–6 educators, while another text, Building an Academic Community, addresses key practices for the first four weeks of middle school. As a new teacher, I found this resource invaluable, and after nearly a decade of using it, I’ve found these principles and practices highly effective. The text provides detailed plans for each day of the first six weeks that can be adapted according to your specific needs and schedule.
Central goals of the first six weeks of school, as defined by the authors, are the following:
- Create a climate of warmth and safety.
- Teach the schedule and routines of the school day and our expectations for behavior in each of them.
- Introduce students to the physical environment and materials of the classroom and the school, and teach students how to use and care for them.
- Establish expectations about ways we will learn together in the year ahead. (Denton and Kriete 3–4)
Morning Meeting
Each day begins with a morning meeting, where students gather together to greet one another, participate in reciprocal sharing, and receive a morning message (Center for Responsive Schools). After greeting each other, classmates share their news and respond to what others have shared with questions and comments, reinforcing the skill of active listening and reciprocal, respectful conversation. Sharing builds empathy and connection among students and adults in the classroom alike: “How do we respond to a friend whose family member is ill? When a classmate shares about their pet, what kind of questions can we ask? How do our friends know we are actively listening to them?” Everyone then takes part in a short, fun activity that builds group unity and helps students practice both social and academic skills. Morning meeting ends with students reading a morning message from the teacher. Morning meetings build community through a familiar but fun routine where students feel seen, heard, and cared for in a safe environment, setting a positive and united tone for the day (Center for Responsive Schools).
Rules
One of the most impactful RC practices is having students collaborate to create the classroom rules. They start by brainstorming a list, then work together to narrow it down to a few key, overarching rules. Rules are stated simply and in the positive, for example “Be Safe” instead of a massive list of prohibited unsafe behaviors. This is an abridged version of this article. To read more, subscribe to the print or digital edition of Christian Educators Journal.
Works Cited
CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning). “What is Social and Emotional Learning?” CASEL, 2024, schoolguide.casel.org/what-is-sel/what-is-sel/.
Center for Responsive Schools. Responsive Classroom, 2024, www.responsiveclassroom.org/.
Cipriano, Christina, et al. “The State of Evidence for Social and Emotional Learning: A Contemporary Meta‐analysis of Universal School-Based SEL Interventions.” Child Development, vol. 94, no. 5, 2023, pp. 1181–204.
Rimm-Kaufman, Sara E., et al. “Efficacy of the Responsive Classroom Approach: Results from a 3-Year, Longitudinal Randomized Controlled Trial.” American Educational Research Journal, vol. 51, no. 3, 2014, pp. 567–603.
Rimm-Kaufman, Sara E., and Yu-Jen I. Chiu. “Promoting Social and Academic Competence in the Classroom: An Intervention Study Examining the Contribution of the Responsive Classroom Approach.” Psychology in the Schools, vol. 44, no. 4, 2007, pp. 397–413.
Swaner, Lynn E., et al. “Leadership for Flourishing Schools: From Research to Practice.” Association of Christian Schools International, 2021, www.acsi.org/docs/default-source/website-publishing/research/fsci-leadership-report-2021.pdf.
Wilson, Margaret B. Teasing, Tattling, Defiance and More: Positive Approaches to 10 Common Classroom Behaviors. Center for Responsive Schools, 2013.
Alexandria Middlemiss is an Assistant Professor at Redeemer University’s School of Education and a PhD candidate at Western University.