Mind Maps: Thinking about Class Rules

This is a great activity for the beginning of the year. It gets the students involved in critically thinking about classroom rules and expectations. The circular map can be used individually- allowing each student to consider what they think are good class rules to have. As a whole group the students can share what they think are the most important rules that they came up with. Then, in their table groups the students can sort out the behaviors on the tree-like map. They will sort the various examples of good behavior under the categories: Be Safe, Be Respectful and Be Responsible. This is a great discussion starter and allows the students to communicate the type of classroom environment that they want to have.