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Little is known about the integration of social-emotional learning (SEL) with science instruction. We used a sequential mixed-methods design to examine (1) how fourth graders use argumentation practices and social gestures in science class and (2) how argumentation practices and social gestures differ between intervention and comparison classrooms. Intervention classrooms implemented Connect Science. Fourteen student conversations in seven classrooms were coded for argumentation practices (i.e., claims, evidence, and questions) and social gestures (i.e., agreement, disagreement, assertive speech, and prosocial speech). Across all classrooms, science conversations were most productive when students used social gestures to support use of argumentation practices. Without social gestures, conversations were disconnected or highly assertive. Proportionally, Connect Science students discussed science content more and discussed logistics less than comparison students. Findings include recommendations for conditions (i.e., SEL instruction, science reference materials, and time) to enhance scientific discourse and argumentation in elementary school classrooms. [This article was published in "Elementary School Journal" (EJ1283311).]

The development of energy literacy for all citizens is critical as we face climate change and rapid depletion of existing energy resources. This study explores energy literacy development in fourth grade classrooms. Our team developed a curriculum on energy resources aligned with the Next GenerationScience Standards. We then trained teachers how to implement the program and support their students' engagement in a service-learning project related to energy conservation. We used qualitative methods to analyze students 'open-ended responses from an energy literacy assessment. Students were familiar with solar, hydropower and wind energy, and suggested that solar energy should be used more in the future. Students were more easily able to explain energy transfer in wind turbines and solar panels than in other electricity production systems. Students learned important energy and natural resource concepts in the context of an environmental service-learning program. Discussion focuses on the importance of integrated science instruction that helps students see how their electricity use impacts the environ-ment, and provides them with opportunities to take action. We also suggest important ways that renewable energy companies can contribute to energy and climate literacy initiatives.

This study provides empirical benchmarks that quantify typical changes in students' reports of social and emotional skills in a large, diverse sample. Data come from six cohorts of students (N = 361,815; 6% Asian, 8% Black, 68% White, 75% Latinx, 50% Female) who responded to the CORE survey from 2015 to 2018 and help quantify typical gains/declines in growth mindset, self-efficacy, self-management, and social awareness. Results show fluctuations in skills between 4th and 12th grade (changes ranging from -0.33 to 0.23 standard deviations). Growth mindset increases in fourth grade, declines in fifth to seventh grade, then mostly increases. Self-efficacy, self-management, and social awareness decline in sixth to eighth grade. Self-management and social awareness, but not self-efficacy, show increases in 10th to 12th grade.

The present study examines the extent to which participation in a 14-week professional development course designed to improve teacher-child interactions in the classroom moderated the relation between teacher-reported job stress and gains in observed teacher-child interaction quality from the beginning to the end of the intervention. Participants were preschool teachers (N = 427; M age = 42) with an average of 11 years of experience teaching. Teachers reported how intensely they experienced different sources of stress at pre-test only (i.e., prior to being randomized into the treatment condition [course or control]). Teacher-child interactions were measured through classroom observations at pre and post intervention. Results demonstrated that control teachers reporting higher professional investment stress showed fewer gains in observed emotional support relative to control teachers experiencing less professional investment stress. These findings were not evident for teachers in the course condition. Interestingly, teachers with higher professional investment stress showed fewer gains in instructional support in the control condition and greater gains in the course condition, relative to teachers in their respective treatment groups who reported lower levels of professional investment stress. Findings suggest that participation in the professional development intervention had a buffering effect on the negative association between professional investment stress and emotional support. With regard to instructional support, it is possible that teachers' heightened awareness and anxiety over their need to develop professionally may have made them more responsive to an intervention designed to improve practice.

Research from the past two decades positions relational trust as a key factor in school reform efforts. Trust between teachers and their principal (teacher-principal trust) and teachers and their colleagues (teacher-teacher trust) are particularly important. "Leading Together" (LT) is a new professional development and coaching model of the Center for Courage & Renewal designed to develop individual and collective capacity to build trust and enhance communication among adults in schools. In this article, we investigate the relation between successful implementation of LT and changes in trust in eight schools that participated in a pilot study of LT from 2012 to 2014. Results showed moderate increases in teacher-principal trust and teacher-teacher trust in schools implementing LT successfully. This article describes changes in trust and processes needed for the successful implementation of team-implemented programs, models, or approaches. [For the corresponding grantee submission, see ED580950.]

Theory suggests that African American students benefit from warm and demanding teachers. This study examines the relation between students' perceptions of 634 teachers' warm demander characteristics and achievement growth in fourth and fifth grades (M[subscript student age] = 9-11.5 years). Analyses explored whether relations were moderated by the proportion of African American students in the classroom or the ethnic match or mismatch between African American students and their teachers. Results indicated that students' perceptions of teachers' demand (challenge and control) related to student achievement growth. Findings showed a stronger relation between challenge and academic growth in classrooms with more African American students, but no significant findings were identified for ethnic match or mismatch. [This paper was published in "Child Development" (EJ1147173).]

It is time to mobilize whole child advocates behind the neuroscience of learning and development, write education professors Sara Rimm-Kaufman and Jacqueline Jodl. Here, they describe four key research findings on the brain and learning--and how to translate them into practice in order to support the whole child.

The Student Engagement in Mathematics Scale (SEMS) is a self-report measure that was created to assess three dimensions of student engagement (social, emotional, and cognitive) in mathematics based on a single day of class. In the current study, the SEMS was administered to a sample of 360 fifth graders from a large Mid-Atlantic district. The Rasch partial credit model (PCM) was used to analyze the psychometric properties of each sub-dimension of the SEMS. Misfitting items were removed from the final analysis. In general, items represented a range of engagement levels. Results show that the SEMS is an effective measure for researchers and practitioners to assess upper elementary school students' perception of their engagement in math. The paper concludes with several recommendations for researchers considering using the SEMS. An appendix presents the Student Engagement in Mathematics Scale (SEMS).

The Responsive Classroom (RC) approach is an instructional delivery and social-emotional learning intervention designed to provide teachers with skills needed to create caring, well-managed classroom environments that are conducive to learning. This study examines the extent to which RC training predicts close student-teacher relationships, as well as negative relationships. Sixty-three fifth-grade teachers and 387 students in 20 schools participated in this study. Schools in the study were randomly assigned to the treatment (RC) or a waitlist control. Observers rated teachers' use of RC practices, and teachers reported their use of RC practices and relationship quality with each child. RC training did not directly predict close or conflictual student-teacher relationships; however, an indirect effect was noted. Training in the RC approach increased teachers' use of RC practices, which in turn related to increased closeness. No indirect effect emerged when predicting conflict. Findings suggest that, with sufficient dosage and adherence, RC practices are one way of boosting close student-teacher relationships.

We propose that social psychological findings on the intuitive bases of moral judgment have broad implications for moral education. The "five foundations theory of intuitive ethics" is applied to explain a longstanding rift in moral education as an ideological disagreement about which moral intuitions should be endorsed and cultivated. The Kohlbergian moral reasoning side has sought to limit the domain of moral education to Harm and Fairness-related moral concerns, whereas character education approaches have tried also to cultivate intuitions concerning the Ingroup, Authority and Purity foundations. Recent attempts to merge the two lines of moral education have not fully addressed this ideological rift, for example by delineating how a single approach could reconcile opposing group- and individual-focused conceptions of moral education. We conclude that psychological research on moral intuition offers a descriptive account of human morality that reveals problems with attempts to create a normative basis for moral education from either side of the ideological divide.

The present paper asks three questions about pre-service teachers. First, what are the prevalent beliefs about teaching among pre-service teachers? Second, what are the personality characteristics of pre-service teachers? Third, in what ways do personality traits and other demographic attributes predict beliefs about teaching? Participants were 397 pre-service teachers enrolled in the teacher education program at the University of Virginia; 288 were enrolled in a five-year teacher education program and 109 were enrolled in a two-year master of teaching program. Findings have implications for the consideration of such attributes in teacher education programs. (Contains 3 tables.)

This longitudinal study followed students (n = 265) from kindergarten through seventh grade and examined early social and academic predictors of school performance at two normative school transitions. Questions addressed include: (a) are there changes in students' school performance over time, especially at school transition points; (b) are changes in school performance dependent on sociodemographic factors; and, (c) does early social and academic competence predict stability or change in school performance following transition? Early social and academic competence was assessed in kindergarten via teacher report and standardized tests. Days absent, discipline infractions, and mathematics and language arts letter grades obtained from school records served as outcome variables. Findings showed stability for outcomes with the exception of discipline; discipline infractions increased after the first transition. Sociodemographic factors predicted greater performance declines following transition. Early social competence predicted reduced discipline; students rated as more socially competent in kindergarten were less likely to show discipline increases during transition, after controlling for demographic factors. Findings emphasize behavioral and academic stability suggesting that early social competencies forecast fewer increases in discipline infractions at school transition points. (Contains 4 tables and 1 figure.)

This article presents a study that investigated potential misconceptions presented in third grade mathematics classrooms and the association of these potential misconceptions with Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching (MKT) and standards-based teaching practices (as measured by the Mathematics Scan). A sequential explanatory mixed methods model was used to analyze the frequency of potential misconceptions presented via instances of lack in teacher clarity or misuse of representations as well as the association to MKT and M-Scan scores. A qualitative multiple case study design was then used to identify patterns in lessons where potential misconceptions were often present as opposed to lessons where no potential misconceptions were presented. The results document the prevalence of potential misconceptions related to representations and language use. These potential misconceptions were most frequently conveyed through a lack of clarity or overgeneralization. Teachers who had higher frequencies of potential misconceptions were found to relate to lower MKT and M-Scan composites. This supports professional development and policy initiatives in mathematics education of the importance of teachers' content knowledge for mathematics teaching.

Teachers need more clarity about effective teaching practices as they strive to help their low-achieving students understand mathematics. Our study describes the instructional practices used by two teachers who, by value-added metrics, would be considered "highly effective teachers" in classrooms with a majority of students who were English learners. We used quantitative data to select two fifth-grade classrooms where students, on average, made large gains on a mathematics achievement test, and then examined teaching practices and contextual factors present in each classroom. Participants included two teachers from a mid-Atlantic district and their students who were 67% English learners and 68% economically disadvantaged. We found that the use of multiple representations of mathematics concepts, attention to vocabulary building, individual and group checks for understanding and error analysis were prevalent practices in both high gains classrooms. Also, class sizes ranged from 12-19 students. Discussion focuses on whether observed practices are aligned with recommended teaching practices for English learner students.

Teachers of elementary mathematics face multiple, convergent demands. These demands include supporting the growing population of English language learners (ELLs) and facilitating mathematical discussions across relevant curricular contexts. The authors used a comparative case study to examine how two teachers attempt to facilitate discussions while enacting a Calendar Math curriculum, in Grade 4 classrooms with high concentrations (>50%) of ELLs. The authors found that these teachers' use of Calendar Math did not provide a supportive context for conceptually based discussions. However, teachers did support ELLs in mathematical discussions by including display questions, elaborating student responses, modeling the use of mathematical vocabulary use, and use of self-talk. Teachers differed with regard to how often they elaborated responses, used vocabulary, the amount of teacher speech and the length of lessons. We discuss what these practices may mean for ELLs.

AbstractThis qualitative study explored the relationship between EL Education and Comparison school students’ definitions of empathy and educators’ teaching practices. We interviewed 23 5th and 6th grade students and 18 educators from nine middle schools across the United States. Students were asked to define empathy and educators described empathy teaching practices. Three themes appeared in student definitions: empathy, prosocial behavior, and empathy-motivated prosocial responding. Empathy-motivated prosocial responding was a stronger theme amongst EL Education students. Their responses indicated belief that empathy is tied to prosocial action. Six themes appeared in educator’s practices: modeling, coaching, restorative practices, opportunities to practice, curriculum integration, and community spaces. EL Education educators described practices that promoted both empathy and empathy-motivated prosocial responding. Together, these findings highlight EL Education as a promising model and add to a toolkit of prosocial teaching practices. Recommendations for using the myriad of empathy teaching practices described by educators are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Facilitating productive discussions in the mathematics classroom is a challenge for many teachers. Discourse--student communication of mathematical ideas with teachers and peers--provides a platform on which students share their understanding, clarify misperceptions, and evaluate ideas. If students are unable to access and participate in discourse, their opportunities to learn mathematics may be diminished. The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) (CCSSI 2010), as well as the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM's) (2000) Process Standards describe discourse as crucial to students' mathematical development. One potential barrier to accessing discourse is students' English language proficiency. Discourse can be difficult to implement, especially in classrooms with students who are learning English in addition to mathematics. Teachers need concrete suggestions for effective practices that can help them facilitate discourse in classrooms with English language learners (ELLs), so that discourse can advance ELLs' mathematical development. This article presents suggested instructional strategies to support ELLs in both understanding and participating in mathematical discourse.

Student behavioral concerns are a top priority for school psychologists. This project took an ecological systems perspective by examining the contribution of students' initial externalizing and internalizing behaviors and the quality of their classroom environments to their behavioral outcomes across one school year. Participants included 322 elementary students and their 32 teachers. Results suggested that externalizing and internalizing behaviors were stable over time. However, the correlation between fall and spring internalizing behavior was accentuated if students also had high externalizing behavior in the fall. Poor spring behavioral engagement was predicted by students' fall internalizing (but not externalizing) behavior. Importantly, classrooms high in emotional support attenuated the stability of students' internalizing behavior. In addition, students' fall externalizing behavior appeared to be associated with reduced spring internalizing behavior in classrooms high in emotional support or classroom organization. Findings underscore the importance of considering both student- and classroom-level factors when predicting elementary students' behavioral outcomes.

Identifying the active ingredients of an intervention--intervention-specific components serving as key levers of change--is crucial for unpacking the intervention black box. Measures of intervention fidelity can be used to identify specific active ingredients, yet such applications are rare. We illustrate how fidelity measures can be used to identify program active ingredients in the context of a social-emotional learning intervention (Responsive Classroom). We applied one customary and two novel approaches to create indices of fidelity. In the customary approach, we averaged fidelity ratings across all core components. In the novel approaches, we computed fidelity indices for specific components by (a) averaging responses from like items and (b) deriving factor scores from a multitrait, multimethod factor analysis. We then tested indices in relation to achievement gains (N = 1,442). Indices derived using novel approaches explained more outcome variance than indices from the customary approach. Further, novel approaches revealed one component as a potential active ingredient. Discussion highlights strengths and limitations of the indices and implications for identifying program active ingredients.

This study investigates the effectiveness of the Responsive Classroom (RC) approach, a social and emotional learning intervention, on changing the relations between mathematics teacher and classroom inputs (mathematical knowledge for teaching [MKT] and standards-based mathematics teaching practices) and student mathematics achievement. Work was conducted in the context of a randomized controlled trial. Participants were 88 third-grade teachers and their 1,533 students. A multigroup path analysis accounting for fidelity of implementation revealed no direct or indirect effects linking MKT to student achievement in the RC or control condition. The same analysis revealed different findings for the RC versus control teachers. In the RC group only: (a) Teachers trained in RC who used more RC practices showed higher use of standards-based mathematics teaching practices, and (b) higher use of standards-based mathematics teaching practices related to greater improvements in math achievement. No comparable findings were evident in the control condition. Results demonstrate the importance of building social and emotional capacity in teachers by helping create a supportive classroom that helps teachers provide stronger mathematics teaching practices that lead to improved student learning.

The current study examined Connect Science, a service-learning program that incorporates social and emotional learning lessons and science lessons developed around Next Generation Science Standards. Guided by Self-Determination Theory, focus groups with 8 Connect Science classrooms and 8 control classrooms investigated fourth graders' experience of autonomy, competence, relatedness, and academic engagement in science. Results of a content analysis indicated that Connect Science students reported more frequent cognitive autonomy and more positive emotional science engagement than students in control classrooms. However, Connect Science students reported more mixed feelings about relatedness to their peers. Students from both Connect Science and control classrooms reported similar experiences of competence and teacher relatedness. The findings demonstrate that service-learning is a promising practice for facilitating student autonomy, choice, and emotional engagement in science while also highlighting the relational challenges of such approaches. We discuss future research directions and recommendations for mitigating such challenges in elementary classrooms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the effects of behavioral and social engagement and classroom supportiveness on the development of civic efficacy in fourth-grade science classrooms. We define civic efficacy as children's beliefs that they are not only capable of making a difference in their community, but they also feel a responsibility to do so. This study enrolled 815 students (48% female) across 39 classrooms, including 31 fourth-grade teachers at 25 schools in a large urban school district in the South Central U.S. Stepwise regression showed that behavioral engagement, social engagement, and classroom supportiveness in science class all positively predicted civic efficacy, and social engagement accounted for the greatest amount of variance in that civic efficacy. Findings suggests that social engagement is a stronger driver of civic efficacy than behavioral engagement and classroom supportiveness, pointing to the importance of collaboration and teamwork in science classrooms. We discuss implications for elementary classroom practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines concurrent teacher-student interaction quality and 5th graders' (n = 387) engagement in mathematics classrooms (n = 63) and considers how teacher-student interaction quality relates to engagement differently for boys and girls. Three approaches were used to measure student engagement in mathematics: Research assistants observed engaged behavior, teachers reported on students' engagement, and students completed questionnaires. Engagement data were conducted 3 times per year concurrent with measures of teacher-student interaction quality. Results showed small but statistically significant associations among the 3 methods. Results of multilevel models showed only 1 significant finding linking quality of teacher-student interactions to observed or teacher-reported behavioral engagement; higher classroom organization related to higher levels of observed behavioral engagement. However, the multilevel models produced a rich set of findings for student-reported engagement. Students in classrooms with higher emotional support reported higher cognitive, emotional, and social engagement. Students in classrooms higher in classroom organization reported more cognitive, emotional, and social engagement. Interaction effects (Gender × Teacher-student interaction quality) were present for student-reported engagement outcomes but not in observed or teacher-reported engagement. Boys (but not girls) in classrooms with higher observed classroom organization reported more cognitive and emotional engagement. In classrooms with higher instructional support, boys reported higher but girls reported lower social engagement. The discussion explores implications of varied approaches to measuring engagement, interprets teacher-student interaction quality and gender findings, and considers the usefulness of student report in understanding students' math experiences.

Data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Cohort were used to examine the extent to which early parenting predicted African American children's kindergarten social-emotional functioning. Teachers rated children's classroom social-emotional functioning in four areas (i.e., approaches to learning, self-control, interpersonal skills, and externalizing behaviors). Mothers completed self-report questionnaires assessing their home-based parenting practices (i.e., warmth and home learning stimulation). Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that mothers who engaged in more frequent home learning stimulation (e.g., shared book reading) had children with more positive teacher ratings of approaches to learning, self-control, interpersonal skills, and fewer externalizing behaviors. Notably, demographic characteristics also contributed to children's social-emotional functioning. Specifically, African American girls from more affluent, two-parent homes with highly educated mothers had the most positive ratings of classroom social-emotional functioning across all four dimensions.

This randomized controlled field trial examined the efficacy of the Responsive Classroom (RC) approach on student achievement. Schools (n = 24) were randomized into intervention and control conditions; 2,904 children were studied from end of second to fifth grade. Students at schools assigned to the RC condition did not outperform students at schools assigned to the control condition in math or reading achievement. Use of RC practices mediated the relation between treatment assignment and improved math and reading achievement. Effect sizes (ES) were calculated as standardized coefficients. ES relations between use of RC practices and achievement were 0.26 for math and 0.30 for reading. The RC practices and math achievement relation was greater for students with low initial math achievement (ES = 0.89). Results emphasize fidelity of implementation.

Self-efficacy forecasts student persistence and achievement in challenging subjects. Thus, it is important to understand factors that contribute to students' self-efficacy, a key factor in their success in math and science. The current cross-sectional study examined the contribution of students' gender and math and science anxiety as well as schools' use of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) practices to students' math and science self-efficacy. Fifth graders (n = 1,561) completed questionnaires regarding their feelings about math and science. Approximately half of the students attended schools implementing the "Responsive Classroom"® ("RC") approach, an SEL intervention, as part of a randomized controlled trial. Results suggested no difference in math and science self-efficacy between boys and girls. Students who self-reported higher math and science anxiety also reported less self-efficacy toward these subjects. However, the negative association between students' anxiety and self-efficacy was attenuated in schools using more "RC" practices compared with those using fewer "RC" practices. "RC" practices were associated with higher science self-efficacy. Results highlight anxiety as contributing to poor self-efficacy in math and science and suggest that "RC" practices create classroom conditions in which students' anxiety is less strongly associated with negative beliefs about their ability to be successful in math and science.

This study highlights the connections between two facets of teachers' skills--those supporting teachers' mathematical instructional interactions and those underlying social interactions within the classroom. The impact of the Responsive Classroom (RC) approach and use of RC practices on the use of standards-based mathematics teaching practices was investigated in third-grade classrooms. Eighty-eight third-grade teachers from 24 elementary schools in a large suburban district were selected from a sample of teachers participating in a larger randomized-control study. Results showed that teachers at schools assigned randomly to receive training in the RC approach showed higher use of standards-based mathematics teaching practices than teachers in control schools. These findings were supported by analyses using fidelity of implementation: greater adherence to the intervention predicted the use of more standards-based mathematics teaching practices. Findings support the use of the RC approach for creating classroom social environments that facilitate standards-based mathematical practices. (Contains 3 tables and 1 note.)

The present observational study used hierarchical linear modeling to examine predictors of children's social and self-regulatory outcomes in first-grade classrooms. Specifically, goals were the following: (1) to explore relations between emotionally supportive teacher-child interactions and children's social behaviors (aggression with peers, exclusion by peers, prosocial behaviors) and self-regulatory skills (behavioral self-control); and (2) to examine whether emotionally supportive teacher-student interactions contributed differentially to social and self-regulatory outcomes for first-graders at risk for school difficulty based on sociodemographic characteristics compared to counterparts with fewer sociodemographic risk characteristics. Participants were 178 students and 36 teachers in seven rural schools. Results indicated higher teacher emotional support related to lower child aggression and higher behavioral self-control. Emotional support was equally important for all children regardless of the number of sociodemographic risk factors. Results provide evidence for the contribution of teacher behaviors to students' social behaviors and self-regulatory skills, and suggest the importance of classroom interactions in children's acquisition of social and emotional competence. Discussion focuses on plausible mechanisms and implications for interventions. (Contains 4 tables.)

Research Findings: Data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999, were used to examine the relation between parenting, sociodemographic characteristics, and school readiness among (N = 1,136) African American boys in kindergarten. Parenting was defined as parenting style (i.e., warmth and control), home learning stimulation, and culturally relevant parenting. Two child outcomes previously linked to school readiness were examined: kindergarten reading and approaches to learning. Hierarchical regression analyses were performed to address 2 research questions. First, does parenting predict kindergarten reading above and beyond the contribution of sociodemographic characteristics? Second, does parenting predict kindergarten approaches to learning above and beyond the contribution of sociodemographic characteristics? Practice or Policy: Children with parents who set consistent bedtimes, provided more books in their homes, and read to them more frequently had better kindergarten reading scores after socioeconomic status, environmental safety, and maternal education were controlled. Similarly, children with parents who provided more books in their home and read to their children more frequently had more positive teacher-rated approaches to learning scores in kindergarten. Implications for future research are discussed. (Contains 4 tables.)

This observational study examined kindergarteners' (n=170) exposure to literacy instruction in their classrooms (n=36), child-by-instruction interactions, and behavioral engagement in relation to literacy skills. Time spent in four instructional contexts was coded according to who managed children's attention (teacher-managed, TM or child-managed, CM), and the content focus (basic skills such as teaching letters and their sounds, or meaning-focused such as discussing a book); children's behavioral engagement and off-task behavior were also coded live five times over the year. Word-reading and phonological awareness skills were assessed in fall and spring. Hierarchical Linear Modeling results indicated that kindergarteners with lower initial skills gained more in word-reading, but not phonological awareness, when they were exposed to relatively more time in TM basic skills instruction. In contrast, more time in CM meaning-focused instruction did not interact with initial skills to predict either outcome. Engagement analyses indicated that students were more likely to be off-task in CM than in TM contexts. Children who spent more time off-task during TM contexts had lower spring scores on both outcomes. Discussion explores the implications of this work for both literacy learning and behavioral engagement in the transition year of kindergarten.

This article describes a social and emotional learning intervention, the "Responsive Classroom"[R] (RC) approach, which is designed to produce classroom environments conducive to learning. It summarizes a new body of research describing the efficacy of the RC approach. One component of the RC approach is the Morning Meeting. This article describes a set of Morning Meeting practices (and their rationale) that have been tailored toward promoting literacy skills. The goal of presenting the lesson plans for Morning Meeting practices is to help teachers see how literacy learning and socioemotional development can be intertwined creatively rather than viewed as 2 discrete sets of objectives requiring separate instructional practices. The new findings point to the contribution of the RC approach to improving reading and math test scores, enhancing social skills, and helping teachers to feel more positive and effective in the classroom. (Contains 1 figure and 5 tables.)