As I furiously jotted the notes on a chart, my mentor-teacher piped up in the back and said "Why don't we turn some of those 'no' rules into something more positive?" For the next few years, the positive rules were the route I went, and we would parse it down to 5 or 6 positive expectations. Then suddenly one year, my colleagues and I decided we only needed one rule: RESPECT. It was the perfect rule, related to our IB Attitudes, and really, how easy is it for kids to remember ONE rule? (Side Note: We actually called it our one "Essential Agreement" since we are an IB school, and that is what we refer to such expectations as. For the general population's purpose, I'll refer to it as a rule.)
When we begin talking about our expectations, I ask the students to brainstorm a big list of rules. Any rule they can think of. We compile a great big list of rules (sometimes they get really crazy and have 20 or 30 rules and start to get borderline silly!) and then we sit back and look at them. Then, I get incredibly dramatic.
"BUT!!! How in the WORLD will I ever remember all of these rules!?" I groan.
The children stare at me, totally unsure of my dramatics. After all, it is only the first day of school, and these children barely know me.
I tell them that I have an idea...Let's categorize our rules to make it a little bit easier to remember. We put them into categories like "How we treat others" "How we treat supplies" "How we behave" etc.
To the children, I am still clearly overwhelmed by all of these rules. Obviously, they agree that this is a lot to keep track of. I ask the children to come up with just one word to describe all of these rules... We hem and we haw. Eventually, they come up with the word "Respect" and a lightbulb goes off, and there is peace in the world again.
Okay, maybe I got a little dramatic again, but truly, the students get it. They "get" that everything boils down to respecting others, ourselves, our learning, and our property.
Once we have come up with the rule, I write "RESPECT" in big bubble letters on a poster and have all the students sign it. We hang it up in our room and everyone who walks in can see what our one class rule is.
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Don't judge my bubble letters. They are absolutely not my forte. |
Of course, this doesn't work for every single child. Some children and some classes will need very specific rules, and I absolutely don't fault them for that. There are programs out there that I ADORE that can accompany this well, too, but it's a good starting point. If you're willing to give it a go, you will very likely be thrilled with the RESPECT you have in your classroom!
I love sharing with my teaching colleagues! Stop by my Facebook Page, my Teachers Pay Teachers Store, or my Pinterest Page to see even more ideas and resources!
For even more Bright Ideas, hop along to some of these other excellent posts!
This is my only classroom rule as well. It's all encompassing!
ReplyDeleteThank YOU for sharing this ONE rule that covers ALL! What a great idea! =)
ReplyDeleteTanya
A+ Firsties
So simple. Love this idea- and I love that since meeting you in Vegas, I can absolutely picture your dramatics and it makes me laugh! :) Hope back-to-school time is going well for you!
ReplyDeleteJenny
Always been my one class rule too. I love how you had the kids sign it. A great way to build class community! Thanks for sharing. Pinned so I remember to do this in a couple of weeks.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE this idea! I am focusing on positive rules with my 5th Grade L.S. group and this really is all-encompassing! Will definitely do this with them! Thanks for sharing!
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