Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Tree Map for Classroom Rules

During the first week of school, I had students create a tree map for the class rules. I provided the tree branch headings of Work--Respect--Belong. (Thanks KC for those headings.) Students then decided what those concepts looked like regarding specific classroom behaviors. Classifying classroom behavior details in this manner allowed students to see what types of activities they should engage in to be successful in my classroom.

This process allowed me as the teacher to give some direction as to the general code of conduct while allowing students to take ownership in how the general rules would play out specifically in the classroom.

Those tree maps are posted in the classroom, and I refer to them when a student needs a reminder.

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