Collaborative Procedures

1.) Gather students on the carpet and explain that the class needs to agree on what the expectations for the class will be during the school year. 

2.) Read "Back to School Rules." This is a great read-aloud to help set the tone for the class.

3.) Break students into groups of 3-4. They will have certain areas to focus on. Each classroom will have different areas to focus on. Some ideas include:

• Gathering supplies
• bathroom procedures
• how to ask questions
• how to get books from the classroom library
• how to sharpen a pencils

4.) Have students write down what they think each procedure should sound like, feel like, and look like.

5.) Give students 10-15 minutes to work on their posters. Students will make posters with images and words to show each procedure. 

6.) Students will participate in a gallery walk and look at other posters. They will look for similar ideas and words.

7.) Gather students back together and have them discuss what ideas were similar. Based on what the groups said, create a universal procedure that everyone agrees on. Create a poster with all the different procedures and expectations. Have students sign their work. 

Having students be a part of making procedures helps with student buy-in rather than them just hearing expectations that the teacher created without their input. This also helps teachers see how the students learn and what type of classroom they hope to see.