Restorative Practices in the Classroom by Paul Carter

Book List

pcarte23 — 2025-05-23 21:57:58 UTC

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?

What are Restorative Practices?

pcarte23 — 2025-05-23 22:00:31 UTC

Lesson Plan for the Story City Green

pcarte23 — 2025-05-23 22:00:52 UTC

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.

Resources for Schools

pcarte23 — 2025-05-23 22:01:37 UTC

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.

City Green

pcarte23 — 2025-05-24 22:03:07 UTC

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?

Mathew and Tilly Lesson Plans

pcarte23 — 2025-05-24 22:13:55 UTC

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.

Restorative Circles

pcarte23 — 2025-05-24 22:22:47 UTC

Dialogue Circles for Classroom Management

pcarte23 — 2025-05-24 22:24:47 UTC

Matthew and Tilly Read Along

pcarte23 — 2025-05-24 22:37:55 UTC

City Green Read Along

pcarte23 — 2025-05-24 22:38:58 UTC

Wally and Freya

pcarte23 — 2025-05-29 22:14:20 UTC

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?

Wally and Freya

pcarte23 — 2025-05-29 22:16:28 UTC

Wally and Freya read by the author

What to Know about Restorative Practices before writing your lesson

pcarte23 — 2025-05-29 22:24:44 UTC

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

Restorative Circles Lesson Plan

pcarte23 — 2025-05-29 22:27:47 UTC

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.

Restorative Lesson Plan

pcarte23 — 2025-05-29 22:31:01 UTC

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.

Tool kit for Teachers

pcarte23 — 2025-05-29 22:47:44 UTC

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.

6 Practices to implement in your classroom

pcarte23 — 2025-05-29 22:49:33 UTC

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.

How to Teach Restorative Circles

pcarte23 — 2025-05-29 22:51:16 UTC

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

Educators Guide to Restorative Practices

pcarte23 — 2025-05-29 22:54:05 UTC

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.

What is my topic and why did I chose it?

pcarte23 — 2025-05-29 23:08:58 UTC

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.

Why is this topic important to teach?

pcarte23 — 2025-05-29 23:09:16 UTC

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.

How would you teach this topic in your future classroom?

pcarte23 — 2025-05-29 23:09:32 UTC

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.

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

pcarte23 — 2025-05-29 23:09:51 UTC

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