The following is a description of "The Responsive Classroom" from their guideline book published by the Northeast Foundation for Children, the creators of this curriculum.

"A clear social curriculum can help build a classroom or school into a learning community where high social and academic goals are both attained. Our approach, known as "The Responsive Classroom", is built around six central components that integrate teaching, learning, and caring in the daily program. These components are set in the context of commonly shared values, such as honesty, fairness, and respect, and are implemented through the development and strengthening of social skills, such as cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy, and self-control."

The Six Key Components are:

1. classroom organization
2. morning meeting
3. rules and logical consequences
4. academic choice
5. guided discovery
6. assessment and reporting

Any of these six components can be implemented independently and enhance any classroom or school.