Several years ago I attended a training on Capturing Kids' Hearts. It is all about creating a caring, welcoming, and nurturing classroom environment to build positive relationships. The results are increased attendance rates, a decrease in disruptive behaviors, and students developing empathy for diverse cultures and backgrounds. I learned several strategies that I continued to use in my classroom because I have had great success with them. 

The first strategy that I use is creating a social contract with the class. The social contract is based on the following questions:

1. How should I treat you?
2. How should you treat me?
3. How should you treat each other?
4. How do we solve conflict?

We created the social contract, discussed what their ideas meant, and what it would and wouldn't look like in the classroom. Once we agreed that we could follow the social contract, we signed it.

In addition to the social contract, I taught a lesson on using respectful words with each other. We read the story Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes. After discussing the story, I showed the class a paper heart. We described the heart as a smooth, red heart. We sat in a circle and everyone shared a time when someone said something hurtful to us. After each student shared, he or she folded the heart. When everyone was done sharing, we unfolded the heart and described it. They said it was wrinkled. They tried and tried and tried to smooth it but they couldn't. I wrote, "Before you speak, think and be smart. It's hard to fix a wrinkled heart." I feel this sent a powerful message to the students because I saw the "ah-ha" look in their eyes. One student even had watery eyes.

For the rest of the year, I will refer to the social contract and the heart as a reminder of the expectations in our classroom.