Hopes, Dreams, and Rules

This week we had many conversations about what we would like to see happen this school year in our classroom. First the students wrote about the hopes and dreams they have for first grade. Many students wrote about learning to read more books, doing math, or making friends.

After, we decided that to achieve our hopes and dreams, we needed classroom rules. We made a list of all the rules we thought were important to have. Then we narrowed them into 3 main ideas. These rules are posted in the class and on a sheet that travels with the students when they go other places in the school.

As a class we decided on these rules:

1. Take care of our things.

2. Be safe.

3. Be nice.

We also discussed what happens if we make a mistake and forget to follow a rule. I introduced the students to the Logical Consequences I learned about at my Responsive Classroom conference this summer.

1. You break it, you fix it. Example: If a student rips a book, they will tape it back together.

2. Loss of privilege. Example: If a student is playing during writing time, they will lose an equivalent amount of play time.

3. Take a Break. Example: If a student is still being disruptive after reminders and reinforcing language, they will be asked to sit in the green chair to take a break. We talked about how the green chair is a place to calm down and refocus on what you should be doing.

All these things are posted up on the wall in our classroom to remind us of our own goals, what is expected of us, and what might happen if we forget to make a good choice.