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Through their
participation in Open Circle, students in grades K-5
master the fundamentals of becoming socially competent
learners. They learn to listen to one another, to work
cooperatively, to communicate clearly, to express their
feelings, and to identify and solve problems to deal
with conflicts peacefully. They become members of a classroom
community. Many American classrooms encourage and require
children to engage in "cooperative learning," to
carry out a science experiment as a team, to act out
a piece of history, to compare and contrast two characters
in a novel, or to solve a math problem and explain a
solution. Much of the language and skills involved in
cooperative learning are taught in the Open Circle Curriculum. Less
evident are the explicit connections between the Open
Circle Curriculum and the Massachusetts
Curriculum Frameworks.
The purpose of this project is to make these connections. The Open Circle
Curriculum creates the foundation and environment for cooperative learning.
Students learn skills such as good listening, problem solving, and validating
others' opinions. They learn to set classroom guidelines and rules that set the
standards for a safe, respectful learning environment. Finally, students learn
the language and vocabulary to express their feelings and opinions and to solve
problems in an independent manner. These fundamental skills directly and indirectly
impact their learning in social studies, science, math, language arts and health
education.
Click here to download a .pdf document
describing these links.
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