Back to school is all about establishing classroom rules and expectations, but… getting those classroom rules to stick is no easy feat, especially with our little learners! We know that establishing clear guidelines from the start is essential for both students and teachers. Teaching classroom rules and expectations effectively sets the tone for a productive and respectful learning environment. Make teaching classroom rules during the first week of school fun and engaging with these 5 easy steps!

How to Teach Classroom Rules and Expectations Step #1:

Introduce the classroom rules using interactive digital slides.

To introduce each classroom rule, I project the interactive digital slides and choose student volunteers to drag and drop the pieces.

These no prep, digital slides are interactive, meaning the students will need to complete a task to better internalize that particular rule.

I like to go over one or two rules each day, using the interactive slides and practice activities along the way.

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There are 20 classroom rules included, or easily customize these interactive slides with your own classroom rules and expectations!

How to Teach Classroom Rules and Expectations Step #2:

Internalize the classroom rules.

Once we have completed the interactive digital slides for a particular rule, we complete the matching classroom rules and expectations student pages.

There are 20 student pages, featuring kid-friendly “I can” statements and picture cues.

Choose the classroom rules that work best for your class, or add your own rules with the editable PowerPoint files!

To assist students in fully grasping each rule, the student pages are designed to be interactive. Just like the digital slides, the students will engage in tasks aimed at reinforcing their memory of each specific rule!

How to Teach Classroom Rules and Expectations Step #3:

Create a “Stick to the Rules” craft book.

After completing the interactive digital slides and student pages, I have the students create the front cover of their “Stick to the Rules” craft book.

For this craft, copy the glue bottle on white construction paper or card stock.

Then, copy the label for the glue bottle on blue construction paper or card stock.

Last, copy the glue cap on orange construction paper or card stock.

There is also a print and color option.

The students will need to cut out all three pieces of the glue bottle craft before gluing them together. This is a great activity for building those fine motor, gluing and scissor cutting skills during the first week of school.

After reviewing all of the rules and completing all of the student pages, the students will have a handy classroom rules book to help them better remember each rule!

How to Teach Classroom Rules and Expectations Step #4:

Customize the classroom rules posters with your own rules.

Every time we complete a new rule, I also like to display the corresponding poster in our classroom. This is a visual reminder for the students that can be referred to throughout the school year.

There are 20 classroom rules posters included, so you can choose the ones that work best for your class!

The best part? You can customize the interactive craft, digital slides, rule posters and songs with your own rules using the editable PowerPoint files!

These posters are especially helpful to revisit after long breaks or when you notice a refresher may be needed.

How to Teach Classroom Rules and Expectations Step #5:

Reinforce each classroom rule using a familiar song.

In addition to the student pages, digital slides, and posters, I also like to introduce a new poem/song with each new rule.

Research shows that the repetitive nature of songs/poems helps reinforce learning.

Each of the rule songs are sung to the tune of “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” You can also use hand motions with the songs to better remember each rule.

The songs come in both printable and digital format, including color and black and white.

I like to print the colored pages of the songs and bind them into a book that we can use all year long!

Classroom Rules and Expectations

Grab the editable classroom rules and expectations digital slides, posters, songs and craft here!

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