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Outcomes
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Increases social skills and academic engagement
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Establishes positive classsroom climate
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Increases learner investment and independence
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Decreases disruptive behaviors
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Foundation
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Knowledge of child development
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Explicit teaching of social as well as academic skills
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Facilitation of positive community membership
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Guiding Principles
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The social curriculum is as important as the academic curriculum.
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How children learn is as important as what they learn: process and content go hand in hand.
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The greatest cognitive growth occurs through social interaction.
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There is a specific set of social skills that children need to learn and practice in order to be successful academically and socially: cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy, and self-control (CARES).
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Knowing the children we teach--individually, culturally, and developmentally--is as important as knowing the content we teach.
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Knowing the families of the children we teach is as important as knowing the children we teach.
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How we, the adults at school, work together is as important as our individual competence: lasting change begins with the adult community.
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Teaching Practices
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Morning Meeting: A daily routine that builds community, creates a positive climate for learning, and reinforces academic and social skills.
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Rules and Logical Consequences: A clear and consistent approach to discipline that fosters responsibility and self-control
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Classroom Organization: Strategies for arranging materials, furniture, and displays to encourage independence, promote caring, and maximize learning
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Guided Discovery: A format for introducing materials that encourages inquiry, heightens interest, and teaches care of the school environment
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Academic Choice: An approach to giving children choices in their learning that helps them become invested, self-motivated learners
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Reaching Out to Parents/Guardians: Ideas for involving parents or guardians as true partners in their children's education
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