Gather students together on the first or second day of class. It's important to create a list of rules with students so they understand them. Having a part in creating the rules may also make children feel obliged to follow them. Explain that since everyone wants to be safe and have a good school year, everyone should get to contribute to the rules.
Ask students for suggestions. Write down everything the children say on a blackboard or large sheet of paper that's taped to the wall.
Read every item out loud once the board is full. If several rules all relate to one topic, write one rule that encompasses them on a second board or paper. For instance, if your list includes "No running" and "Walk slowly," write "Use walking feet" on your second board.
Continue transferring rules from the kindergartners' suggestions onto your rule board, choosing the ones that you believe to be essential to running an effective classroom. Too many rules will be overwhelming, so choose only five or six.
Read each of the final rules out loud. Ask for volunteers to suggest why it's an important rule to follow and why it would be unsafe or unkind not to follow it.
Explain what the consequences will be when a child breaks a rule. For example, every time a child disobeys a rule she must sit out for the first five minutes of recess.
Ask children to draw illustrations to accompany each rule. Children who are visual learners may be able to process and understand each item better once they can draw it and look at it. Once each child has finished his drawings, staple them together to make his own rule book.
Review the rules at the beginning of every day for the first week of school. After this week, children should have the rules memorized. Hang the rules poster in the classroom so they can refer to it when they forget.