Creating Classroom Rules, part 3 ~ Rule Read-alouds

 Happy Friday, folks! Can you believe that tomorrow is August 1st? Oh my word, where did the summer go?! Today I'm finishing up my blog series on Creating Classroom Rules.  You can see part 1 {HERE} and part 2 {HERE}. (And be sure to read all the way to the bottom of this post - there's a giveaway for you to enter!)

Anyone who knows anything about me knows I LOVE books! I have a book for just about everything I teach in my classroom and if I don't have it, I know a title so you can look for it! Talking about rules is an important part of any classroom. And as teachers, we know that everything is better with a book! Do you have any of these titles?

 

These are my four "go to" books for the beginning of the year when we talk about rules.  Here's a sneak peek into each one of them.

This is my absolute favorite book to read when talking about rules.  This book appeals to every second grader who likes weird and sometimes gross things.  The book is written in fun rhyming phrases that talk about all the rules a poor kid has to deal with all day long - not just at school. We read this book and the I often ask my kiddos to share with me one rule they really hate to follow. And as a follow-up - if you were in charge of the rules, what are 3 rules you would make? This leads to some fun discussions and it's a great way to get to know your students at the beginning of the year.

 

Another book that primary kids find hysterical.  Sammy the Shark is sooo excited about his first day! But his propensity to bite things when he's excited can make it hard to have a successful day at school! This is a great book to use not only for rules, but also for learning a little self-control. We use this book to introduce a little about character traits, as well as how characters solve problems.



This adorable book focuses on Arnie and his Mom talking about what went on at school. Arnie is pretty nonchalant about the day's events, but looking at the illustrations and reading the speech bubbles gives a great insight into an elementary classroom! A great book to think about different perspectives, as well as talking about how speech bubbles and the details in the illustrations really help tell the story. Make sure you read those speech bubbles when you read aloud - they really are the funniest parts of the story!



I also want to share just one more set of books! I found these in the Scholastic book club last year and my kiddos really liked them!

 

I have the two shown in the picture, but there are a couple others with Clark, too. Clark is a lot like Sammy the Shark (in Don't Eat the Teacher!) - he's a little excitable and that excitement can get him into trouble! (Can you see a character comparison here? :-) We look at the things Clark did and how he could have done them differently - and we do compare to Sammy.

 

So, what do you think? Has this blog post series given you ideas for some new ways to introduce and talk about the rules in your classroom? I thought it would be fun to end this series with a little giveaway!  I'll be giving away a copy of favorite rules read-aloud, the rules, by Marty Kelley and a copy of my "Rock the Rules" resource (you can see that in my TpT store {HERE}  to one lucky winner. You can enter by leaving a comment on this post telling me one way you introduce, practice, model, etc. the rules at the beginning of the year.  Favorite activity? Another great read-aloud? Share an idea and I'll randomly choose a winner next Friday Aug. 7. Good luck!

UPDATE: Congratulations to Melanie! Check your email for more information.