Class Contracts

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TESL 0160
Transitioning to the Classroom
Something that I have often done in elementary and middle school classrooms is work together with the students to create a class contract or list of classroom expectations. I think that this would also work well in an ESL classroom with children or adults. Basically what we do is come up with a list of norms to be put in place regarding the way we should act/behave in the classroom. The teacher does not create a list of rules and tell the students what they are. Instead, the students and the teacher have a discussion about what is okay and what is not okay and will ensure that everyone is treated with dignity and respect. The basic questions I would discuss include: How do you want to be treated by your peers? How do you think your peers should be treated by you? How do you want to be treated by your teacher? How do you think your teacher wants to be treated by you? After discussing these questions and creating a list on the whiteboard, students decide and agree on which ones should be included in the classroom contract and the teacher creates a poster of the statements. Then everyone, students and teacher, sign the contract to acknowledge that it is what they believe and agree on.
For this activity I imagined that I had followed this procedure for a CLB 5/6 Adul ESL class and I created a poster of Our Classroom Contract. Most of the statements listed apply to both the students and the teacher.

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