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Creating
and Enforcing Classroom Rules Kathy
Granas
There is a significant
difference between rules and procedures. You
should have between three and six overriding
classroom rules. For example:
- BE POLITE
- BE PROMPT
- BE PREPARED
- BE PRODUCTIVE
You will have
many procedures for your classroom. Procedures
provide students and teachers with a framework
for handling basic classroom routines such as
sharpening pencils, turning in homework, etc.
Whether you
decide the rules for your classroom or you include
your students in creating the rules, the following
suggestions might be helpful:
- Be clear
about your rules and the rationale behind them.
- State the
rules early and often in a positive way.
- Focus on
rules and procedures during the first three
weeks of school to ensure a comfortable, safe
learning environment for the rest of the year.
- Be consistent
and fair in enforcing the rules.
- Be prepared
to restudy rules and procedures if they don't
work.
Posting your classroom
rules in an obvious place is helpful to everyone, including
substitute teachers. You will be surprised by the power
that a few basic classroom rules can have:
A university
observer was in my classroom recently and remarked
on how polite the students seemed to be to
me and to each other. "Of course," I
responded with a smile. "They have to
be polite because that is one of our classroom
rules!"
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