Classroom Rules and Expectations

One of THE most important parts of back to school time is teaching rules and expectations in your room. If you think about it, Kindergarten teachers have it the hardest in this area. You have a whole host of students who have never experienced ‘school’ before. Now, you may have a subset of students who attended full-time Pre-K. Those students will have an easier time with stamina and attention span. But, many of your students likely attended school part-time, or not at all, before joining your class.

My favorite way to solidify teaching rules and expectations to kindergarten students is to create the rules *with* them. How do you do that? I’m sharing the steps with you below!

Start by Discussing Why Rules Matter

One of the best ways to create student buy-in with rules is to discuss why different rules are so important. Brainstorm a list of potential classroom rules together, and have a discussion about why we need them. Why is it important to walk to line up? Because someone could trip and fall if we run and push! Why does it matter that we make sure supplies are put in the right place? Because it’s not fair to misplace things that everyone in our room is using. Having this discussion helps solidify the importance of classroom rules.

Create an Anchor Chart with Rules

Select a handful of important classroom rules, and write them on chart paper. With each one you choose to write, read it aloud, and ask students to repeat it. I like to pair students up and have them discuss why each rule is important. This gives them the chance to work with students around the room, while further cementing the importance of each expectation!

Sign the Anchor Chart

After creating your rules and expectations poster, ask each student to sign it! Now, this is the beginning of kindergarten, and the level of name-writing ability in your room will vary. To create an even-playing field, I suggest having students stamp their handprint instead! As you have students ‘sign’ the chart, point out that by signing this, they are pledging to keep these rules all year long. Explain that a classroom is a happy place to be, when everyone works as a team to take care of the people and things in it! Your class is working as a team to make this year great, and keeping these rules is a great place to start.

Keep the Chart Visible, and Refer Back to It

Hang this chart in a spot that is easy for all students to see. Refer back to it anytime your students need a reminder of the pledge they took. Making a poster like this does not mean that your students will never make mistakes. They will forget to push in chairs, or get into arguments. They’re kids! But having this visual hung in your room will be an easy way for you to point and reinforce your expectations without having to do extra work on the fly.

Are you looking for more classroom management ideas for back to school? Check out my FREE 3-Day email series, all about classroom management in kindergarten! If you want to read more articles like this one, check THESE OUT.

Happy teaching, everyone!