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CANFree Reproducibles
Responsive Circles
A Guide to Resolving Student Conflict and Building School Community
In Responsive Circles, author JR Entsminger equips educators with practical strategies to address conflict and improve student behavior through restorative practices. The book emphasizes using responsive circles to repair harm, foster empathy, and address student conflict while reducing reliance on traditional punishment. It also explores bias, social-emotional learning, and integrating restorative practices or approaches into school culture for a healthier community schoolwide.
Benefits
- Benefit from leader- and teacher-specific implementation guidance
- Understand which facilitation tools to use and why
- Receive the five steps and necessary tools for facilitating a responsive circle
- Learn to navigate responsive circle resistance and resource limitations
- Address underlying behavior issues and learn alternatives to excluding students from their school community
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1: Important Things to Remember About Student Behavior
Chapter 2: Traditional Punishments Versus Consequences
Chapter 3: Responsive Circle Facilitation
Chapter 4: Circle Types and Tools
Chapter 5: Resistance and Resource Constraints
PRINTABLE REPRODUCIBLES
Chapter 3: Responsive Circle Facilitation
- Figure 3.1: Elementary-Level Responsive Circle Participation Script
- Figure 3.2: Middle School-Level Responsive Circle Participation Script
- Figure 3.3: High School-Level Responsive Circle Participation Script
- Figure 3.4: Analyze the Harm Script
- Figure 3.5: Repair the Harm Script
- Figure 3.6: Prevent Future Harm Script
- Figure 3.7: Collective Commitments Script
- Figure 3.8: Reintegration Script
- Figure 3.9: Administrator Facilitator Debrief Script
- Figure 3.10: Administrator or Teacher Facilitator-to-Student Script
- Figure 3.11: Facilitator Formal Check-In Script
- Figure 3.12: Family or Guardian Phone Call Debrief Script
- Responsive Circle Steps
- Responsive Circle Notes
- Discipline Detour
- Mindfulness Exercises
- Collective Commitments Agreement
- Responsive Circle Reflection
SUGGESTED RESOURCES
Books
- DuFour, R., DuFour, R., Eaker, R., & Many, T. (2010). Learning by doing: A handbook for Professional Learning Communities at Work (2nd ed.). Solution Tree Press.
- DuFour, R., DuFour, R., Eaker, R., Many, T. W., Mattos, M., & Muhammad, A. (2024). Learning by doing: A handbook for Professional Learning Communities at Work (4th ed.). Solution Tree Press.
- Hannigan, J. D., & Hannigan, J. (2024). Behavior academies: Targeted interventions that work! Solution Tree Press.
- Hierck, T., & Weber, C. (2024). Positive behaviors start with positive mindsets: Twenty-eight actions to motivate students and boost achievement. Solution Tree Press.
