RESTORATIVE PRACTICES TOOLBOX: Class Activities for Jose H. Damian Elementary School by Dr. Villa - ESC19

Morning Meeting Circle

drvilla_region19 — 2025-09-15 01:55:05 UTC

Start each day with students sitting in a circle. Use a 'talking piece' that is passed around, giving each child a chance to share something positive or a goal for the day. Only the person with the talking piece may speak. This builds community, teaches active listening, and establishes a safe space for communication.

Implementation tips:
- Keep sessions to 10-15 minutes
- Use simple prompts like 'Share something kind someone did for you' or 'What are you looking forward to today?'
- For younger students (K-1), use concrete objects as talking pieces that relate to current themes

Peace Corner

drvilla_region19 — 2025-09-15 01:55:05 UTC

Create a designated space in your classroom for conflict resolution and emotional regulation. Stock it with simple tools like feeling charts, breathing guides, fidget tools, and reflection sheets appropriate for different grade levels.

Implementation steps:
1. Set up a small, quiet corner with comfortable seating
2. Include visual aids for identifying emotions
3. Create simple reflection forms with prompts like 'I feel...' 'I need...'
4. Teach students how to use the space independently
5. For K-2, include picture-based emotion cards and simple breathing visuals
6. For grades 3-5, add more nuanced emotion vocabulary and conflict resolution steps

Problem-Solving Cards

drvilla_region19 — 2025-09-15 01:55:05 UTC

Create a set of scenario cards with common classroom conflicts. Have students work in pairs or small groups to discuss potential restorative solutions. This helps build empathy and conflict resolution skills.

For K-2 students:
- Use simple scenarios with pictures
- Focus on basic emotions and needs
- Guide discussions with prompts

For grades 3-5:
- Create more complex interpersonal scenarios
- Include discussion questions about impact and repair
- Have students role-play potential solutions

Classroom Agreements Creation

drvilla_region19 — 2025-09-15 01:55:05 UTC

Instead of imposing rules, co-create classroom agreements with students. Guide a discussion about what makes everyone feel safe, respected, and able to learn. Create a visual display of these agreements that everyone signs.

Process:
1. Gather students in a circle
2. Ask: 'What do we need to feel safe, respected, and able to learn?'
3. Record all suggestions
4. Group similar ideas and refine into 5-7 agreements
5. Create visual representations for each agreement (especially helpful for K-2)
6. Have all students contribute to the final display
7. Revisit and revise agreements quarterly

Feelings Check-In Board

drvilla_region19 — 2025-09-15 01:55:05 UTC

Create a visual board where students can indicate their emotional state at the beginning of the day using name cards or clothespins. This helps you identify students who might need extra support and normalizes emotional awareness.

Setup options:
- For K-2: Use a simple 4-emotion system with pictures (happy, sad, angry, worried)
- For grades 3-5: Expand to include more nuanced emotions
- Add a space for students to indicate if they would like to talk to the teacher

Check the board at the start of the day and after lunch/recess to identify shifts in emotional states.

Restorative Questions Practice

drvilla_region19 — 2025-09-15 01:55:05 UTC

Teach students a set of restorative questions they can use when conflicts arise. Practice using these questions through role-play scenarios appropriate to their grade level.

For younger students (K-2), simplify to:
- What happened?
- How did you feel?
- What do you need now?

For older students (3-5), use:
- What happened?
- What were you thinking at the time?
- Who has been affected by what happened?
- What do you think needs to happen to make things right?

Practice these questions regularly so they become familiar tools students can use independently.

Appreciation Circles

drvilla_region19 — 2025-09-15 01:55:05 UTC

End the week with a circle where students share appreciations for their classmates. This builds positive connections and helps students recognize the contributions of others.

Implementation:
1. Sit in a circle with a talking piece
2. Model by sharing an appreciation for a student
3. For K-2: Use sentence stems like 'I appreciate ___ for ___'
4. For grades 3-5: Encourage more specific appreciations
5. Ensure every student receives at least one appreciation
6. Consider tracking who has been appreciated to ensure no one is overlooked

Variation: Create appreciation journals where students write weekly appreciations for different classmates.

Conflict Resolution Role-Play

drvilla_region19 — 2025-09-15 01:55:05 UTC

Create age-appropriate role-play scenarios that allow students to practice using restorative language and conflict resolution skills. For younger students, use puppet shows or teacher modeling. For older students, provide conflict scenarios and have them practice mediation techniques.

For K-2:
- Use puppets to demonstrate conflicts and resolutions
- Focus on simple issues like sharing and taking turns
- Provide visual cue cards for resolution steps

For grades 3-5:
- Create scenario cards based on real classroom issues
- Teach a simple mediation process
- Have students rotate through roles of mediator and conflict participants

Breathing Buddies

drvilla_region19 — 2025-09-15 01:55:05 UTC

This mindfulness activity helps students develop emotional regulation skills. Have students lie on their backs with a small stuffed animal on their bellies. As they breathe deeply, they watch their 'buddy' rise and fall. This concrete visual helps young children focus on their breath.

Implementation:
1. Gather small, lightweight stuffed animals or beanbags
2. Demonstrate the activity first
3. Start with just 1 minute for K-1 students
4. Gradually extend the time as students develop focus
5. Use this as a calm-down activity after recess or transitions
6. For grades 3-5, add simple guided meditation prompts

Community Building Through Art

drvilla_region19 — 2025-09-15 01:55:05 UTC

Create collaborative art projects that require students to work together and make decisions as a group. This builds communication skills and provides practice in consensus-building.

Project ideas:
- Class quilt (each student creates a square that connects to others)
- Friendship mural with interconnected elements
- Group mandalas where students take turns adding elements

For K-2:
- Provide more structure and clear turn-taking
- Focus on simple themes like 'our classroom family'

For grades 3-5:
- Allow more student autonomy in planning
- Incorporate themes of community, belonging, and diversity

Restorative Stories and Literature

drvilla_region19 — 2025-09-15 01:55:07 UTC

Incorporate children's books that teach restorative themes like empathy, perspective-taking, making amends, and community-building. Use these stories as launching points for discussions and activities.

Recommended books by grade level:

K-2:
- 'The Invisible Boy' by Trudy Ludwig
- 'Hey, Little Ant' by Phillip and Hannah Hoose
- 'Have You Filled a Bucket Today?' by Carol McCloud

Grades 3-5:
- 'Each Kindness' by Jacqueline Woodson
- 'The Juice Box Bully' by Bob Sornson and Maria Dismondy
- 'Say Something' by Peter Reynolds

Follow up readings with discussions, journal prompts, or role-plays based on the themes.

Emotion Detectives

drvilla_region19 — 2025-09-15 01:55:07 UTC

This activity helps students develop emotional literacy and empathy. Students work in pairs to identify emotions in pictures, stories, or role-plays. They discuss how they can tell what someone is feeling and what might help that person.

For K-2:
- Use photos or illustrations showing clear emotions
- Focus on basic emotions and physical cues
- Provide sentence stems like "I think they feel ___ because ___"

For grades 3-5:
- Include more complex emotions and scenarios
- Discuss how the same situation might make different people feel differently
- Add questions about what might help someone feeling this way

Toolbox of restorative

2025-09-18 14:42:25 UTC

18 compliment/gratitude circles

Maggie Castillo

2025-09-18 14:42:58 UTC

Strategy 12-frames

Susana Felix

2025-09-18 14:43:04 UTC

18-compliment/gratitude circles

Ms. Coronel

2025-09-18 14:43:10 UTC

15 Taking Role Plays

Anilu Luna

2025-09-18 14:43:29 UTC

I will use "Think Aloud" teacher modeling in my classroom.

Anchieta

2025-09-18 14:43:35 UTC

I love the 2x10 challenges where students are given a safe space to talk about anything that is on their mind.

I also like #35 where there is an agenda for a “weekly meeting” to celebrate, address concerns, create solutions, make commitments, and give shout outs.

Ms. Atherton

2025-09-18 14:43:52 UTC

I am going to try anchoring charts for hotspots #44

M. Zamarripa

2025-09-18 14:45:11 UTC

I'm going to try the daily reflection at the end of the day. Restorative Exit Ticket

Ms.Lopez

2025-09-18 16:24:32 UTC

Affective Statements. #2

Y. Urquidi

2025-09-18 16:24:45 UTC

Two minute relationship rounds😊

M.Barraza

2025-09-18 16:24:58 UTC

Teo-Minute Relationship Rounds

Varela

2025-09-18 16:25:05 UTC

Warm-strict boundaries

A.Gomez

2025-09-18 16:25:06 UTC

I will like to try incorporating social stories with the use of puppets.

P.Chavez

2025-09-18 19:02:08 UTC

Apology of Action 💛💛

Moises F Moreno

2025-09-18 19:02:19 UTC

Class jobs that build care

Mrs. Rimo

2025-09-18 19:02:52 UTC

36 “Think Aloud”

Mr.K.

2025-09-18 19:52:14 UTC

Restorative language during routines.

Patricia Padilla

2025-09-18 19:52:20 UTC

#10Circules for problem solving

Sandra Albizures

2025-09-18 20:22:53 UTC

Two-Minute Relationship Rounds

Mrs. Montes

2025-09-18 20:22:58 UTC

The strategy that I will try is, 2-minute Relationship Rounds.

Ms. Rodriguez

2025-09-18 20:24:37 UTC

I would like to use the apology of action (repair over sorry ).