Six Basic Classroom Rules For New Teachers

Title with paper airplane

Sitting down to write your classroom rules seems like it should be simple. But for a new teacher on information overload SUPER-IMPORTANT-INFORMATION overload at the beginning of the school year, nothing feels simple. Here are a few common classroom expectations that serve as a good starting point. 

  1. Come on time and fully prepared to learn every day.
  2. Leave food, drinks and gum outside the classroom.
  3. Keep cell phones and any other electronics off and out of sight.
  4. Only one person should be talking at a time.
  5. All students should be in their seats when the teacher is speaking.
  6. Respect yourself by dressing appropriately for school, conducting yourself as a professional student, and taking your education seriously.

If you like these rules, there is no reason you can’t just copy and paste them into a word document, make any changes you want to, blow it up to 24-point font, and hit print.*

*Of course, you probably already knew this, but a rules poster does very little by itself. The only real rules in your classroom are the ones you consistently enforce. Still, it’s a good idea to have a rules (or classroom expectations) poster in your classroom.

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