• Sample Content/Concepts
  • Rules: classroom, library, playground, home, park, store
  • Consequences: disciplinary action, increased or revoked privileges, rewards

SS.K.1.8.2 Determine ways that people can work together effectively to make decisions

• Sample Content/Concepts
  • Working Together: active listening, cooperation, equal access to resources, group rules, inclusion of all voices

English Language Arts

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.K.2 Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative/explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing about and supply some information about the topic.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.1.A Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to others and taking turns speaking about the topics and texts under discussion).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.2 Confirm understanding of a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media by asking and answering questions about key details and requesting clarification if something is not understood.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.3 Ask and answer questions in order to seek help, get information, or clarify something that is not understood.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.5 Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions as desired to provide additional detail.

*If you are making adjustments to the unit, use your teacher expertise to adjust standards by adding/deleting standards.

• Nā Hopena Aʻo Cards
• Sense of Responsibility: See self  and others as active participants in the learning process, question ideas and listen generously, make good decisions with moral courage and integrity in every action, reflect on the quality of relevancy of the learning
• Sense of Aloha: Appreciate the gifts and abilities of others, make others feel comfortable and welcome, communicate effectively with diverse audiences, share the responsibility of collective work

*If you are making adjustments to the unit, use your teacher expertise to adjust Nā Hopena Aʻo.

• Explain shared democratic values of various communities on the island they live
• Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions and listen attentively to others
• Use maps and map features to describe places in their community
• Enhanced collaboration and communication skills through interactions with community members and classmates

Milestones & Key Questions

• How can we create a set of rules that promote a safe and positive classroom community?

Overview
Students work together to create a set of rules and guidelines for their classroom. They will learn about the importance of rules and how they can promote a safe and positive learning environment. This project will involve collaboration with the teacher, as well as discussions and negotiations among the students and community members. Students will have a holistic understanding of rules and be able to contribute to the creation of the classroom constitution. Students will share their classroom constitution with school administrators, staff, and community members.

*Note:  This unit is meant for the beginning of the school year when you go over classroom rules. Students may not come in with all of the skills needed, so you may need to make adjustments to the lessons. Since it is the beginning of the school year, much of this unit is more teacher led than student led.

Public Product
Classroom constitution that serves as a guide for the class. The constitution can be shared on the  class website, shared in the class newsletter, and/or posted in the classroom.

Vocabulary
consequences, constitution, negotiation. positive, rules, safe, vote

Technology

iPads for students (optional)

Teaching Pro Tips

Build out the Project Wall as you move through the project. Refer to the Project Wall and leverage the wall as a learning tool

If students are limited in writing sight words and/or letters, you can have students use premade pictures that they can glue on worksheets and/or anchor charts

You may need to use additional classroom time outside of the 45 minutes if you need to dictate for some students on their writing and/or responses

Extension

This unit is for the beginning of the school year. To address the entire Content Standard SS.K.1.8.1 use the next unit where students will take what they learned about classroom rules and compare rules that apply in different settings (i.e. library, playground, cafeteria, etc.).

1. To get students engaged in the project, you will take students on an observational walk around the school to find examples of rules they see (e.g., playground rules, signs on how to walk on campus, visitor rules, etc.).  (Time: 10 minutes + 5 minutes transition)
   1. Have students use an observational chart to write/draw the rules they see around the school or have students use an iPad to take pictures of rules they see.
2. Share our learning. Gather students together to discuss their findings, share their observations, and reflect on the significance of these rules.
   1. Partner Share (2 minutes)
      1. Have students partner with another student to share some of their observations.
   2. Whole-class discussion (8 minutes)
      1. What did you see?
      2. What do you think?
      3. What do you wonder?
3. Introduce the compelling question (write on board or project wall)- How can we create a set of rules to promote a safe and positive classroom community? Tell students that this is the question they are trying to answer. (Time: 2 minutes)
4. Share with students that they will be creating a classroom constitution that will be put up in the classroom. (Time 2 minutes)
5. Have students brainstorm a list of need to know questions about the topic and the project and add them to an anchor chart (notate name of student who asked question). (10 minutes)
   1. Possible “Need to Know” Questions (Suggestion: you may need to lead students to ask these questions or use sentence starters)
      1. What are rules?
      2. Why are rules important?
      3. What is a community?
      4. What is a constitution?
      5. How many rules are there?
      6. What do we do with rules?
      7. What happens when we do not follow rules?
6. Review milestones with students
   1. Tell students today we “Launched” our project. 
7. Using their Reflection Journal, have students reflect on their experience. (Time: 6 minutes)
   1. Possible Questions: (Suggestion: pick 1 question for students to reflect on)
      1. I liked…
      2. I wonder…
      3. I learned…

*If students are unable to write, you could chart students responses

1. Review Day 1 experience with students. Use your Project Wall to recap the experience.  (Time: 5 minutes)
   1. Tell students the Compelling Question- How can we create a set of rules that promote a safe and positive classroom community?
   2. Provide students with a recap of Day 1
      1. Launch: Observational Walk
      2. Need to Knows
      3. Reflection
2. Students will explore the concept of rules using a Community web to create a collaborative definition of “rules”. Tell students that they are going to start to find answers to their Need to Know Questions. (Time: 5 minutes)
   1. Start a whole class community web- it is ok if there are only a few words. Students will revisit the Community web after reading aloud. 
   2. Optional: If you use individual white boards in your class, students could create their own community web that they could then share during the class discussion
3. Read aloud- Read a book about rules and the importance of rules (teacher choice on book). (Time: 10 minutes)
   1. Suggested Books:
      1. Howard B. Wigglebottom Learns to Listen- teaching the importance of following rules at school
4. Engage students in a group discussion on why rules are necessary for a safe and positive environment. (10 minutes)
   1. Possible Questions to ask students: (Suggestion: ask questions from students Need to Know questions, make connections to the story you read, have students make connections to their own lived experiences)
      1. What is a rule?
      2. Why are rules important? 
      3. Why do we need rules?
      4. Who are the rules for?
      5. What happens if we do not follow rules?
5. Have students brainstorm and list potential rules for the classroom and add them to an anchor chart. (Time: 5 minutes)
   1. Examples
      1. We will keep our hands and feet to ourselves
      2. We will share
      3. We will be kind to each other
      4. We will have fun
6. Revisit Need to Know Anchor Chart and annotate  (Time: 5 minutes)
   1. What questions were answered? Put a checkmark ✅
   2. What questions do we not need? Put a question mark ❓
   3. What new questions do we have? Write a new question 
7. Review Milestones with Students
   1. Tell students today we “Launched” our project. 
8. Using their Reflection Journal, have students reflect on their experience. (Time: 5 minutes)
   1. Possible Questions: (Suggestion: pick 1 questions for students to reflect on)
      1. I liked…
      2. I wonder…
      3. I learned…

*If students are unable to write, you could chart students responses