I posted earlier about our classroom hopes and dreams. After discussing all our dreams, we brainstormed rules that would help us accomplish these dreams. We brainstormed over a hundred rules, but we decided that would be too many. We decided to narrow our rules down to our top four or five. We began by categorizing our rules into four main groups: How We Treat Ourselves, How We Treat Others, How We Treat Property, and How We Do Our Best. It was a fun classifying activity, and each group looked at our set of rules a little bit differently. It led to a lot of interesting conversation among our groups. After even more discussion, each group chose their most important rule from each category. I'm currently in the process of compiling these rules to our top four or five. Here are some pictures of the small groups categorizing and discussing our classroom rules.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Categorizing Our Rules
Hopes and Dreams
I used to start off the school year explaining my rules to the class. But for the past two years, I've tried something different. Instead of charging ahead with rules, I ask students to think about their hopes and dreams for the school year. What do they want to accomplish this year? It has to be a goal that is realistic, achievable, and school related. Our kids brainstormed LOTS of dreams, and then each one selected one important goal. We then studied these goals and asked ourselves, "What rules do we need to have in order to help us reach our dreams?" This brought about a great discussion about the rules we want for our room - not rules for rules' sake - but rules that help us achieve our goals. I think there's a big difference there. Below you'll find each student's hope or dream. We have big goals for this year!
