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A multi racial, diverse community works together to transform a vacant lot into a community garden. They learn problem solving and build relationships across generational and racial lines. Together they restore together something they can all share with the community.

This connects to the classroom by modeling how people from different backgrounds can show respect, work together and accomplish goals.

Discussion Questions

Why do you think Marcy wanted to turn the vacant lot into a garden?
How can creating something beautiful together help people in a community feel closer or more hopeful?

Mr. Watson didn’t want the garden at first. What do you think caused him to change his mind?
What does this tell us about understanding people who seem upset or difficult at first?

How did the people in the neighborhood solve their problems and work together?
What lessons can we learn from this story about resolving conflict in our own classroom or neighborhood?

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Jones, R. (1991). Matthew and Tilly. NY, NY: Puffin Books.

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Two friends do everything together until a dispute over a broken crayon creates conflict. They part ways and play alone until they realize that they miss each other. They find restoration of their friendship through forgiveness and understanding.

This connects to the classroom because it shows that people can repair harms, forgive each other and continue being friends after a disagreement.

Discussion Questions

Why did Matthew and Tilly get mad at each other?
What could they have done differently when they started to feel upset?

How did they feel when they played apart, and what helped them come back together?
Have you ever had a fight with a friend and then made up? What did you learn from it?

What can this story teach us about solving problems with friends in a kind and respectful way?
How can we use these lessons in our own classroom when we have a disagreement?

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What is Restorative Practices in schools? 5 minute description

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This excellent resource provides lesson plans and activities based on the book "City Green" listed in the book list. It connects to the topic by walking the class through several different scenarios during and after the read along. There are multiple activities and lessons that reflect restorative practices.

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This collection offers a range of articles and case studies on implementing restorative justice in schools. It provides practical insights and examples that can help educators understand and apply restorative practices to foster a positive classroom environment.

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Restorative Justice: Resources for Schools

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Explore resources and case studies that demonstrate how to bring restorative justice to your school or classroom.

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This resource from the Maine Department of Education provides lesson plans that go with the book "Mathew and Tilly" listed in the book list. It connects to the topic of restorative practices by teaching about overcoming anger, practicing forgiveness and getting past disagreements and loss.

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Restorative Circles: Creating a Safe Environment for Students to Reflect

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Dialogue Circles for Classroom Management

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Dialogue Circles for Classroom Management

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Using Dialogue Circles to Support Classroom Management

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Wally is a bully, he takes other peoples lunches every day. He calls people mean names and never shares the crayons. When a notebook goes missing, there's little doubt who took it. What the other animals don't know is why Wally acts the way he does. As they unravel the mystery of the missing notebook, they also begin to understand Wally, which leads them on a journey of self discovery and restoration.

This connects to the topic because it teaches empathy, forgiveness and reconciliation.

Discussion Questions:

What do you think Wally really needed that he wasn’t getting, and how might that explain his behavior?

How do you think the story would’ve gone if the other animals had only punished Wally instead of trying to understand him?

Has there ever been a time when someone misunderstood you like the animals misunderstood Wally? How did that feel?

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Wally and Freya read by the author

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Wally and Freya by Lindsey Pointer, Illustrated by Stella Mongodi

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This resource from Chicago Public schools gives information and lesson plans for Restorative Circles. This connects to the topic by showing how to start, lead and participate in restorative circles that help repair harms.

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This lesson plan template begins by having students move their desks into a circle. It shows how to arrange the class and guide the class culture towards one of openness, communication, restoration and respect.

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A guide for educators to implement restorative practices in classrooms and schools. It includes frameworks, strategies, and real-life examples to support the development of a restorative approach to discipline and community building.

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What to Know about Restorative Practices before writing your lesson 

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What to Know about Restorative Practices before writing your lesson 

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This in depth resource from Open Society gives good information about restorative practices. It also gives ideas for lessons and topics to use in your lessons

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This 72 page resource shows how to set up, teach and use restorative practices in the classroom. This is a practical guide with tons of good information

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6 Practices to implement in your classroom

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6 Practices to implement in your classroom

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This article outlines six practical restorative justice practices, such as using circles and facilitating open dialogues, that educators can implement to address conflicts and build stronger relationships within the classroom.

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University of San Diego - Professional & Continuing Education

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How to Implement Restorative Justice Practices in the Classroom

Restorative justice (RJ) is a trending topic in the world of education. While many educators have a basic understanding of what it is, what it takes to actually implement restorative justice practices is not as clear. But with an indisputable upside - research shows that restorative justice programs help reduce exclusionary discipline and narrow racial disparities in school discipline - more teachers are seeking resources to help begin the process.
Here are our tips to help you start implementing restorative justice practices in your classroom and school community.

What is Restorative Justice?

Restorative justice is defined as "a philosophy and a theory of justice that emphasizes bringing together everyone affected by wrongdoing to address needs and responsibilities, and to heal the harm to relationships as much as possible." Restorative justice in school settings is being used to replace traditional punishment practices with a community-oriented approach that involves all stakeholders finding a solution.

How Does Restorative Justice Work in the Classroom?

While the process will vary from incident to incident, there is a basic structure that frames all restorative justice interactions. It is as follows:

1. All involved parties discuss the incident in question.

2. The victim will be given the opportunity to share their feelings, as will the accused. Restorative practices must provide equal time to each party as the primary goal is not punishment, but restoration.

3. Teachers/administrators will act as facilitators to the mediation, where they ask open-ended questions in an effort to foster reflection. These group meetings are known as circles and are central to restorative justice practices.

4. Questions posed to students often include: What can you do to fix this? How would you feel if the same thing happened to you? How did your behavior impact your fellow students?

5. All involved parties decide on a course of action, and all parties work together to carry out that plan.

What Are the Benefits of Restorative Justice in the Classroom?

While research is still ongoing, there are a number of benefits that many organizations - both schools and other settings - have experienced after shifting to restorative practices. Here are some of the most important:

Reduces exclusionary discipline

Builds stronger interpersonal relationships

Improves respect amongst peers and teachers

Reduces overall stress in the school community

Allows teachers to focus more time on teaching

Narrows racial disparities in disciplinary action

Improves student academic performance

Encourages all parties to take responsibility

Strategies for Implementing Restorative Practices in the Classroom

Implementing restorative practices in your classroom doesn't have to be done all at once. In fact, it is easier - and you as a teacher will find more success - to add RJ strategies slowly in ways that work for your classroom environment. Here are some steps you can take to start using restorative justice in your class.

Circles are one of the pillars of restorative justice in schools, and are a great starting point for teachers looking to use more RJ practices. Circles are a whole class activity designed to help the class community set their expectations and standards of behavior for the environment. During the circle exercise, students and teachers alike are encouraged to share their goals, what worries them, and how they want to interact with their classmates. With circles, students are given the feeling of ownership over class rules that will directly impact them.

Circles are also used after an incident that needs remedying. In a post-event circle, all relevant stakeholders will meet with a teacher who acts as the mediator for the discussion. With restorative justice, the conversation follows the same format:

Discuss what happened

Address the harm, needs, and cause of the conflict

Determine acceptable outcomes

Act on the plans of action

Implement Focused Communication Practice

Communication is vital in any restorative justice model, so any RJ practices should start with focused communication practice. In your classroom, find ways to demonstrate clear, thorough communication skills. This will help students understand what is expected of them and learn how to effectively listen, learn, and share.

Introduce Restorative Skills

Skills like problem solving, empathy, positivity, and communication are all critical for restorative practices to be effective. And while these things are all introduced through other aspects of your teaching, make an effort to discuss and model these through the lens of restorative justice.

Have Daily Circle Discussions

Restorative justice relies on the classroom truly feeling like a community - a sense of closeness, honesty, trustworthiness, and dependability are all important ingredients. One way to foster these feelings is by holding circle discussions every day. In this environment, students can communicate openly and get to know their classmates, which builds a sense of closeness and strengthens your classroom culture.

Encourage Independent Communication

As you know, restorative justice practices involve the perpetrator and the victim (for lack of better terms) resolving issues together. To build a foundation for this type of interaction, allow students to independently communicate about issues that may have been taboo before. Discussing feelings, ideas, and reactions without teacher involvement will help them feel more comfortable in formal RJ interactions.

Let Students Share About Themselves

Restorative justice practices take students and their personal lives into account, so it's only logical that you would take time to get to know more about each pupil in your class. Depending on the age group this can be intimidating or even hard to accomplish, but students at the minimum should know they are encouraged to share. By getting to know the whole student, teachers and classmates can get to understand their behaviors better.

3 Real Examples of Restorative Justice Practices in Schools

To give you proper context around restorative justice in schools, here are three very different school districts who have found success with RJ practices.

1. Oakland Unified School District

2. Chicago Public Schools

3. Primary schools in Australia

Restorative Justice Resources

The best way to move to a restorative justice model in your classroom or school is to improve your knowledge and understanding of its practices in an in-depth manner. At the University of San Diego Division of Professional and Continuing Education (PCE), we offer a Restorative Justice Facilitation and Leadership Certificate that will equip participants with the level of mastery and understanding of restorative justice that empowers them to spearhead any implementation of restorative justice. Available online, this three-course certificate covers everything from the philosophy of RJ to the tenets of restorative leadership.

If you are an educator looking to do more high-level research first, here is an introductory list of restorative justice resources.

FAQs About Restorative Justice in the Classroom

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6 Restorative Justice Practices to Implement In Your Classroom [+Real Examples]

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Restorative justice in schools is proven to have countless benefits - here are 6 practices to implement in your class: [link]

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Educators Guide to Restorative Practices

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Educators Guide to Restorative Practices

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This guide aims to help educators understand restorative practices and how they contribute to creating safe and inclusive learning environments. It emphasizes community building and constructive conflict resolution strategies.

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Restorative Practices: A Guide for Educators - Schott Foundation

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Toolkit & Infographic: What Are Restorative Practices? An Educator's Guide to Fostering Positive School Climate and Culture Download the toolkit here! Educators across the nation recognize the importance of fostering positive, healthy school climates and helping students learn from their mistakes. Increasingly, they are partnering with parents, students, district officials, community organizations, and policymakers to ...

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What is my topic and why did I chose it?

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What is my topic and why did I chose it?

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My Topic is Restorative Practices in the Classroom. I chose it in part because of my own experiences in school in the 1970s and early 80s. I'm familiar with the punitive system of dealing with misbehavior, and I've rarely seen it work in the long run. I think that kids with a pattern of misbehavior often have other things going on in their lives that are reflected in their behavior. I think if we can look at those things we might be able to get to the root cause of misbehavior and help kids get on the right track.

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It's important to teach Restorative Practices because they show students how to take responsibility, fix harm, and see how their behavior affects others. It helps build trust and create a safe, respectful classroom conducive to learning.

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How would you teach this topic in your future classroom?

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How would you teach this topic in your future classroom?

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In my future classroom, I’ll teach restorative practices by having regular class circles, helping students talk things out, and helping them fix problems instead of just handing out punishments. I want students to learn how to own their actions, make things right, and understand how their choices affect others.

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What are 3 questions or concerns you have about teaching this topic?

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What are 3 questions or concerns you have about teaching this topic?

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1. My first concern is that I may slip back into old ways of thinking about discipline in schools. I have pretty set ideas on what I think are universal values. But as I learn more, I see that others may not share those values. I need to be conscious not to assign my values onto other people.

2. What if a student keeps causing harm and restorative practices are not changing the behavior? At what point does a school say enough is enough?

3. How do we get school leadership to try these practices and step away from the punitive approach to discipline?