Ask your students what they think the classroom rules should be. Write them all down on a whiteboard or chart paper, no matter how outlandish they seem. Later, give the students white construction paper with a cloud outline drawn on it for them to cut out. Have the students write what they'd like to accomplish that school year -- they can draw it if they don't yet have the writing skills. Hang those dreams on a bulletin board. Narrow everyone's rules ideas to four or five general rules for the class and talk about how those rules will get the students reach their goals for the year.
Write several specific rules and "not" rules on slips of paper and place in a jar. During the first weeks of school, pull slips out and ask the students to demonstrate those rules, such as "Show me how to stand together in line," and "not" rules, such as "Show me how NOT to ask a question."
Ask your students what they think the classroom rules should be. Write them all down on a whiteboard or chart paper, no matter how outlandish they seem. Give each student a piece of paper that, when positioned horizontally, has a speech bubble outlined on the upper left above a place for the student's photo and a box outlined on the right half of the paper. Assign each student a rule to illustrate in the box. Depending on their age -- kindergarten or first grade -- and skill level, the students can copy the rule from the board or you can help them write it. Assemble the pages into a class rules book.
Mary Cox, a children's literature consultant in Ontario, Canada, suggests using the book's speech bubbles as a starting point for writing exercises. "Teachers can point this out to the children as a technique for writing conversations," she told the website Education World. Students can create a short story and illustrate it, having their characters talk to each other using speech bubbles to express what they say.
Besides lessons on class rules, "Never Spit on Your Shoes" is a showcase for reliving the first day of school, in all its fun and chaos. Read the book toward the end of the day, instead of the beginning. Give the students a piece of white construction paper, crayons and/or markers and ask them to draw their own memories of their first day of school. Send the drawing home for the parents to get a glimpse into their child's day.