Wondering about how to teach classroom rules to set up your student for success? This is one of the most decisions to address right away each school year. And no, this doesn’t have to be a boring lecture or a wall of dos and don’ts. In fact, it can be one of the best ways to kick off a fun, productive learning environment. Believe it or not, there are LOTS of great ideas for how to teach classroom rules that can be an engaging and even fun experience for both you and your little learners.
This guide is here to help you turn those rules into something exciting that your students will not only remember but actually want to follow. From using creative visuals to positive reinforcement, we’re going to explore a variety of ideas for how to teach classroom rules and make them an integral and enjoyable part of your teaching strategy.
I’ve created a guide for how to teach classroom rules to set you and your students up for success! Read on to get started!
Looking for lessons and activities for teaching rules and routines? These are ready to print and go!
Click to jump to:
- Your Guide To Classroom Rules
- How To Teach Classroom Rules
- Build a Strong Classroom Community
- Teaching Classroom Rules
Your Guide to Classroom Rules
Teaching classroom rules isn’t just about keeping things in order. It’s about creating a safe space where kids feel confident, supported, and ready to learn. Done well, it sets the foundation for your classroom culture, your teaching style, and your students’ ability to thrive.
So, how do you actually do it?
Let’s break it down.
Before diving into how to teach classroom rules, you need a plan. Think of this as your personal guidebook to kicking off your classroom procedures with clarity and confidence.
Start by deciding on a reasonable number of core classroom rules. For younger students, keep it simple—three to five specific rules is usually just right. You want your entire class to understand them, remember them, and use them. For example:
- Be kind.
- Listen when others are speaking.
- Take care of our things.
- Try your best.
Next, think through your procedures and routines. Each of these have lots of mini expectations that you will have to teach and practice when you think about how to teach classroom rules. For example:
- Walk, don’t run to get in line.
- Keep your hands to yourself in line.
- No talking when we walk through the hall in our line.
Once you have your rules decided on and your routines thought through, then you’re ready to teach them! Let’s walk through the best way to break it down for students in a fun and engaging way that they won’t forget!
How to Teach Classroom Rules
Teaching class rules isn’t just reading a list aloud and hoping it sticks. It takes planning, modeling, and practice. When we’re thinking about how to teach classroom rules, we have to remember that it’s not a “one and done” process. It takes consistent review and practice, especially at the beginning of the year for students to learn all their classroom rules, and then be able to follow them.
It’s a good idea to break up your rules and procedures over the first couple of weeks of school, in order to help students absorb it all. Here is how I recommend you go about teaching your rules and routines:
1. Introducing Your Core Rules
When thinking of how to teach classroom rules, it’s best to start by introducing your main set of rules. These are core values that apply no matter what time of day it is.
You can do this with an anchor chart (which doubles as a great visual to leave in the classroom all year round). This anchor chart template is available here.
Another great way to introduce these classroom rules is with a classroom promise. In this activity, students brainstorm what they think the rules should be. Then you reveal your rules, connecting them to the ideas that they shared. Finally, each student decorates a handprint or makes a signature to add around the rules, showing that they promise to try their best to follow the rules of the classroom.
Class promises are a great way to start a conversation about what the classroom should look like and feel like, and to help students feel like they are part of their new classroom. You can get this class promise template right here for free.
You can then use a fun craft to review these rules after you’ve taught them. Remember – it’s all about repetition, repetition, repetition! This craft template is available here.
2. Getting to Know the Classroom
The first week of school is a great time for a classroom tour. Students need to feel comfortable and welcome in their new classroom before we can start teaching them a bunch of new expectations. We want to help them learn where everything lives: pencils, tissues, turn-in bins, classroom library. They also need to learn which parts of the classroom are used for daily classroom routines.
A fun way to do this is to create a large map of the classroom. After giving students a tour, invite them to label the map with sticky notes to show where different items are stored and what different parts of the room are used for. You can get this anchor chart template right here.
Another fun activity to learn the classroom layout is to do a scavenger hunt. Give students a list of items to check off as they find. This is an interactive and engaging way to review after a classroom tour. You can get this editable scavenger hunt template right here.
3. Introducing Classroom Materials
Introducing classroom materials is an important part of how to teach classroom rules. Start right away, and don’t be afraid to take time with this. Teaching students how to care for classroom materials is a worthwhile investment of your time at the beginning of the school year. You’ll want to make expectations clear and review them often.
Here’s how you can teach these expectations: Every time you give students a new classroom item, give them a chance to explore it and talk together about how it should be used.
Create a visual and have students help fill in the correct way to use an item. Add each new item to the chart as more are introduced. Make sure to give lots of reminders every time a material is used during these first few weeks. Students won’t remember it all the first time! You can get these anchor chart templates right here.
A great way to review these expectations for caring for materials is to create a flipbook. This is a fun craft that helps students take ownership for the correct way to handle their classroom materials. You can get this flipbook template right here!
4. Procedures and Routines
Procedures and routines account for most of our rules, so they are an important part of how to teach classroom rules. You’ll also want to start teaching a few procedures and routines each day. Make a schedule so you know which routines you’re going to teach on each day. Go over all the steps of the routine, and then have your students practice. Some other fun ways to practice are:
- Demonstrate the routine, but do some things incorrectly. Invite your students to correct you.
- After you explain the steps, ask for a few volunteers to demonstrate for the class – students love getting up and being the example!
- Have the whole class practice and then rate themselves, giving feedback on how they could improve the routine.
- If it’s a transitioning routine, you can time the class. Challenge them to beat their time and get faster and smoother at transitioning (Just make sure they know not to run!)
For a routine or procedure that is especially tricky or that students need to do independently, consider creating a visual for them to refer to in the classroom. This anchor chart is a great example of a helpful chart that students can use during the school day. You can get this anchor chart template right here!
To help students get used to their new routines, you can have them create a daily schedule. This is a fun way for them to remember the parts of the day and feel more comfortable with their new daily rhythm. You can get the template for this schedule booklet right here!
5. Practicing A Listening Body
Let’s talk about how to teach classroom rules for when you’re teaching and students are learning. You will want to spend extra time going over expectations during lessons. A great way to do this is to talk about using our “listening body”.
A “listening body” is a visual and physical cue for what active listening looks like, and it covers most of the rules you would need to teach for lesson times:
- Eyes on the lesson
- Ears listening
- Mouth quiet
- Hands to yourself
- Body quiet and comfortable
Now, I like to make this more inclusive by teaching multiple choices for what this might look like. You can talk about how some students may need a fidget to keep their hands to themselves. Some students might sit criss-cross, others might need a chair, or to sit on their knees.
You can decide what options work for your classroom, but it’s important to emphasize that not everyone’s listening body will look the same.
This anchor chart visual is a great way to teach what a listening body should look like. Show the image to your students and then label each part with them to get them thinking about what their bodies need to do their best listening. You can get this anchor chart template right here!
Then you can have students reflect on what their bodies need with this independent craft. This activity encourages students to take ownership of being able to pay attention during lesson times. You can get this craft template right here!
Build a Strong Classroom Community
Teaching rules isn’t just about avoiding disruptive behaviors. It’s about building a classroom where students feel like they belong.
We do this by making our rules clear and consistent, with plenty of opportunities for practice and review.
You can use children’s books to emphasize many of your classroom rules, or to help review them for students. I’ve compiled a complete list in this blog post: Classroom Rules and Routines: The Ultimate List of Children’s Books.
Also, don’t underestimate the power of positive reinforcement. Notice and name the good behavior you see: “You lined up so quietly, good job following our hallway rule!” The more students see that you will give your energy and attention to following the rules, the less likely they’ll be tempted to act out.
Emphasizing teamwork can also go a long way in helping students follow rules consistently. When students feel like they’re part of a team, it motivates them to do their personal best.
If you want more ideas on building classroom community, you can read my blog post on The Best Activities To Build Classroom Community To Try Now.
Teaching Classroom Rules
How to teach classroom rules isn’t just a box to check off during your first day of school lesson plans. It’s an ongoing, evolving part of the school year.
When you take time to set clear guidelines, model effective classroom rules, and build in lots of practice, you create a productive learning environment where classroom behavior improves and disruptive behaviors fade.
And the best part? Your classroom becomes a place where students know what to expect, how to succeed, and how to support each other. You build not just rule-followers, but community members.
So whether you’re teaching your first grade level or you’re a seasoned pro, remember this: clear, consistent, and kind wins every time.
How to teach classroom rules doesn’t have to be perfect—it just has to be intentional. Start strong, revisit often, and make it a fun way to grow together.
Here’s to fewer interruptions, more smiles, and a classroom that runs like a dream.
Which rules ideas are you going excited try this year? Let me know in the comments! xoxo Laura
Resources For You:
Articles For You:
The Best Ways To Review Classroom Daily Routines After A Break
Classroom Rules and Routines: The Ultimate List of Children’s Books
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