Shifting from transactional to relational teaching empowers students and creates a more engaging classroom environment. This essential guide explores the why behind this shift and shares immediately applicable strategies for K-12 teachers. When you shift to relational pedagogy, you establish connections that help students feel valued, respected, and heard, which leads to enhanced student engagement. Author Anthony R. Reibel explores this approach, offering strategies and activities to make everyday interactions, such as instruction, assessment, reflection, and grading, more meaningful through student-teacher relationships. The result is higher levels of social-emotional and academic learning. This book will help K-12 teachers and administrators: (1) Understand the meaning of relational pedagogy; (2) Gain the ability to organize curriculum to focus on student-centered learning; (3) Utilize reflection tools to better build relational assessments; (4) Learn to implement observational learning and avoid transactional instructional models; and (5) Develop deeper relationships with students.