Rules Photostory Lesson

I was recently having a discussion with a future teacher about what you do during the first few weeks of school. It reminded me of one of my favorite beginning of the year lessons. After we have started getting to know our rules and routines - the class helps create a project. We give it as a 'gift' to our principals to show them we know the rules and will follow them. The students seem very enthusiastic to have a real audience in the principals and a reason for making the Rules Photostory.



If you have never used Photostory - do not be scared. It is very simple if you are used to playing around on the computer. It is a free download so that is nice! You will also need a digital camera (or scanner, but it's easier to just take pics and download into the computer) and a microphone for this project.



So here is the lesson - I assign each table group an area of our day: blue table gets lunch, green table gets classroom, etc. Then I remind the students of the rules for those various areas and assign one rule to each student. This is a great time to pick students who you have noticed are not following a particular rule and have them illustrate that rule. Also, if you have a student who doesn't seem to be interested in much (usually a boy - for me anyway) the bathroom rule of flush the toilet is a favorite among these kids...



I begin the project by talking about wanting to let the principal's know that we are aware of the rules and really want to follow them. So we discuss how to make a project that we can make as a class and send to them as a 'gift.' The students are pretty much engaged from this point on!



Hallway –

No talking in the halls

Face forward

Keeps hands at your side

Walk in the light blue


Recess –

Be nice to others

Stay away from the fence and street

No climbing trees or fences

Line up when you hear the whistle

Share the equipment


Classroom –

Walk inside

Listen when someone is talking

Keep hands, feet, and objects to yourself

Show respect

Do your best


Bathroom –

No talking in the bathrooms

Flush the toilet

Wash your hands

Throw your trash away


Lunch –

Stay in your seat

Raise your hand if you need something

Push in your chair

Throw away your trash



After each student has illustrated his/her rule you will take a picture of the illustration and load into Photostory. This probably goes without saying...but just in case...you do this slightly time consuming part when the students are not in the room. Once everything is loaded into Photostory you do the next part with the kids in the room.



It takes a while, but the students are genuinely engaged so I usually make it through the whole thing without stopping. If you notice your students getting squirmy then it is easy to save and go back to at a later point. Have each student come up one at a time - remind him / her of their rule and then have him / her record it with the microphone. Then play it back so the student see and hear the progress - they LOVE hearing their own voices and seeing their illustrations on the screen as you do this.



Here is what the final product can be like:

The beginning of the year can be tedious because you have to go over the rules and routines so much - but if you find creative ways to cover the same things: class books, Photostory, etc. then it can be fun.