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CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
The Best Classroom Rules For Students
04 August 2023/ By Zineb DJOUB
The social environment of the classroom requires norms that guide interactions and support creating a positive and productive learning community. So, certain classroom rules for students are necessary. These describe explicitly the kind of behaviours teachers want in the class and what is allowed and what is not allowed. In this post, I am listing the most important classroom rules you need to set for your students. You will also learn about the necessary tips to establish your classroom rules and maintain them in the long run.
Classroom rules for every teacher
The classroom rules described below are put into two categories: 1) Social classroom rules which concern how teachers and students relate to each other, and 2) Procedural classroom rules, that is how students do things in the classroom.
You can use this list, change it, or add other classroom rules depending on your teaching context. Yet, you’d better keep it simple and focus more on behaviours.
Social classroom rules for students
- Be attentive. Listen to your teacher and follow his/her instructions.
- Do not behave rudely to your teacher and other students.
- Listen when others talk.
- Be nice to people in class: Do not make racist, sexist, homophobic, or other discriminatory comments and use violence or threatening behaviour.
- Respect yourself and each other in everything you do.
- Tell the truth!
- Be supportive of the efforts and initiatives of others (encourage and help others).
- In group work, do not dominate, be patient and take turns.
Procedural classroom rules for students
- Come to school on time.
- Attend lessons.
- Bring your equipment to class.
- Do not leave your seat without permission.
- Ask questions and participate in the activities.
- Ask for help if you need it.
- Do homework and come prepared.
- Share ideas, and be receptive to different viewpoints.
- Work hard and try your best. Never give up.
- It is good to take appropriate risks.
- It is OK to make mistakes.
- Do not cheat in tests/exams.
- Do not use mobile phones, music players, headphones, etc., unless permitted.
- Do not smoke or do any banned activities (possessing drugs, weapons, or alcohol).
- Do not steal school supplies or others’ property.
- Do not vandalize or write grafitti.
- Do not pack up until you hear the bell.
- Do not leave rubbish or litter in class.
Other classroom rules for students you may consider
If these make up a problem for the whole class, use the following rules:
- No toilet visits during certain stages of the lesson (for instance, during key input, or during the first ten minutes or last ten minutes of the lesson).
- Do not charge your phones in class unless they are used for instructional purposes.
- Do not steal, damage or cause a loss of the school-owned technological devices.
- Do not use repeatedly your mother tongue language in class, use the target language.
How to set your classroom rules?
To create classroom rules that promote learning, think of your teaching objectives and your school/institution regulations then decide on the appropriate rules for your class.
For your classroom rules to be successful and to avoid any conflict, you should not set rules that hinder or interfere with those regulations.
You can also discuss your classroom rules with your students and agree on mutually accepted ones. This will help make them more constructive and long-lasting.
Be sure to explain your classroom rules, model them, and justify their purpose. In addition, to help students take them seriously clarify the consequences for violating them.
Using ‘learning contracts’ that are ratified and signed by the whole class will make your classroom rules formalized and motivate students to follow them.
How to maintain your classroom rules in the long run?
Having established classroom rules, the next concern is to maintain them over the course of time. There are various ways you can do so. Here are some ideas:
- Having classroom rules on a wall chart or bulletin board can be an effective visual reminder. Make them bigger and bolder.
- Being patient is required. You need to spend more time going through the process (explaining, modeling, and reminding students of the classroom rules). You can send those rules via newsletters to students and create communication opportunities to know more about how they getting along with them.
- Showing your interest in enforcing and maintaining the rules will encourage students to follow them. So, be consistent and provide positive praise or reward for students who are behaving well.
- Reviewing the classroom rules from time to time is necessary to bring any change in response to students’ concerns or learning needs.
- Creating regular routines, for example, always collecting homework in the same way at the start of the lesson, can enforce your classroom rules and help students regulate more their behaviours.
- Creating a positive learning environment from the first day of school where students feel safe, supported, and valued will make those rules more long-lasting. Because in such a learning environment, you get real student engagement rather than mere compliance.
Classroom rules for students are necessary to make students more productive and engaged in learning. So, include an explicit rules-building procedure from the beginning of the year and use the suggested tips above to maintain and protect your rules in the long run. Yet, remember always that your relationship with your students is of utmost importance since you cannot teach students to behave better by making them feel worse.
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