Classroom Rules

Drama classes are chaotic by design. A good drama class should be an active and energetic environment where students are exploring and creating with their peers. That means groups of students spending a lot of time out of their seats and speaking loudly. In other words… chaos! With that in mind, how are you supposed to control a drama class? Here are three classroom management rules you need to follow to keep the chaos to a minimum: 1. Have clear rules and expectations.Even the most chaotic classroom should have rules and expectations. But where do these rules come from? They come from YOU! You are in charge and you need to be able to envision and articulate how you expect YOUR classroom to function. You decide the level of activity and noise you are willing to tolerate, and then create the specific rules, guidelines, and expectations that students need to follow to achieve your vision. Once you have defined your rules and expectations, share them with your students at the beginning of each new semester — both verbally and in writing. That way students will know what is expected in your class from day one. 2. Have appropriate consequences.Rules without consequence are tigers without teeth. In order for students to take your rules and expectations seriously, there need to be consequences in place for when rules are broken and expectations are not met. These consequences do not need to be harsh to be effective; sometimes a quick, private word with a wayward student is enough to get them back on track. What is most important is that the consequences are appropriate to the offense. Minor offences can be handled with smaller consequences, whereas completely unacceptable behaviour requires more severe consequences. However, keep in mind that your consequences cannot supersede school or district rules, and more importantly, must respect local laws. Again, make sure your students know both the rules AND consequences for their behaviour in your classes. Repeat this information early and often! 3. Be consistent.The most important rule of classroom control is consistency. That means that you need to call out infractions every time you see them and apply the appropriate consequences to the student, or students, in error. You cannot turn a blind eye or practise favoritism, or your students will quickly realize that your rules aren’t fair, and therefore they do not need to follow them. Consistency is the foundation of a well-managed classroom and allows students to fully participate knowing that rules and boundaries exist, and apply equally to everyone. Additional Reading: Round-up: All About Classroom Management Ordered Chaos: Balancing structure and creative activity in the drama classroom Establishing Boundaries With Your Students

Community agreements are a great tool to use at the start of a new term or semester, or at the beginning of the rehearsal process for your school show. Also known as learning or classroom agreements, community agreements are a collection of guidelines produced by both students and educators for how everyone agrees to work together in class or rehearsal. The difference between community agreements and rules is that rules are made and enforced from a position of authority (usually teachers, but also principals and/or school boards), while community agreements are created and maintained by everyone in the classroom. Community agreements are a good way to build trust with your students, as they are given a voice about how the classroom should be run. It helps you get to know your students better and learn about what they value in the drama classroom. Students adhering to the community agreements can also help to create a respectful and compassionate learning environment. Community agreements should be phrased positively rather than in the negative, for example, “Actively listen to others while they’re speaking” rather than “Don’t talk while others are talking.” Here are a few examples of community agreements you might use in your drama classroom (you’ll find more in the giveaway below): • Treat others the way you wish to be treated. • Approach new topics with a beginner mindset: it’s safe to explore, make mistakes, and try again. • Arrive on time, with all your equipment (scripts, scores, pencils, water, etc.), ready to work. • If you don’t understand something, ask! (And be patient when someone asks a question; something might be obvious to you but new to them.) • Be aware of time. Know the difference between a question and a comment, and decide if this is the right time to share. • Be open to feedback. • Cheer each other on. • Celebrate our successes. To make your community agreements, you’ll need a large poster board, some colourful Post-it Notes, and writing utensils. Write your class title or show title at the top or in the centre of the board in large letters, as well as “Community Agreements” (for example: “ADA201 Community Agreements” or “Fiddler on the Roof Community Agreements”). Have your students sit in a circle and give them each one Post-it and a pencil, place the board in the centre of the circle, and spread additional blank Post-its around the board. Take some time to brainstorm agreements, and have each student write one agreement per Post-it Note. If students have more ideas, they can take more Post-its, but each student should have the opportunity to share one Post-it before suggesting another one — this way, everyone has the opportunity to contribute. One at a time, have students share their community agreement and add it to the board. Some agreements might be similar, and that’s ok. Place similar agreements together on the board, and once everyone has shared their agreements, as a group you can determine the best phrasing. If students are having trouble phrasing their agreements in a positive way, allow them to suggest alternate phrasings for the statement. If students have a question about a suggested agreement or disagree with a suggested agreement, allow time for them to voice these in a respectful manner. Revisions are allowed, but students must clearly explain their sides on the matter. Community agreements are “living documents,” meaning they can be periodically updated to better serve the needs of the class. Once students have come up with their agreements, display the board in the classroom so you can refer back to it when needed. If you wish, have students sign the board to acknowledge that they have contributed to and will abide by the community agreements. In the future, if a student is behaving in a way that doesn’t align with the community agreements, you can gently guide them back to the board and remind them that these are the agreements that everyone in the class contributed to. If you teach more than one drama class, it would be interesting to compare and contrast different classes’ community agreements. There will likely be overlap in suggestions but each class might have different priorities. Make note of common themes and make those your priority to adhere to, because your students' insights are invaluable and they’ll be putting their individual marks on your classroom environment, helping everyone to grow and shine.

Whether you’re a brand-new teacher or an established teacher with a couple of years of teaching under your belt, completing these five tasks will be the key to getting your school year off to a successful start: 1. Set up your classroom. 2. Prepare your curriculum. 3. Establish classroom rules and expectations. 4. Plan ensemble-building activities. 5. Rest and reflect. 1. Set up your classroom.Making sure your classroom is ready is job one. If you’re a new teacher, this will be your first chance to see your assigned classroom space. This will also be true if you have recently transferred schools or been assigned to a new classroom. No matter the circumstances, it’s crucial that you prepare your classroom space so it’s ready for students: organize your teaching areas, arrange the student seating, and make sure you have all the supplies you need, from furniture to extra pencils. Creating a well-thought-out and organized classroom space will set the tone for your entire year, so take the time now to make your space as efficient and effective as possible. For more information about how to set up your classroom, check out the Classroom Setup Toolkit. 2. Prepare your curriculum.The first few weeks of any school year comes hard and fast, and it’s easy to get lost in the weeds with respect to curriculum and lesson planning. There’s no worse feeling than being unprepared in front of a group of students, and the last thing you want to do is fall behind in the first month of school. That’s why it’s a good idea to prepare a number of lessons for each of your classes prior to the first day of school. Plan out your curriculum ahead of time (identifying the subjects you want to cover throughout the year), and have those first lesson plans ready when students come through the door. Being prepared for the first month of teaching buys you time to write the lessons you’ll need in the second month, which prepares you for the third month, and so on. If you need information on how to properly write a lesson plan, take a look at the Lesson Planning Toolkit. 3. Establish classroom rules and expectations.It’s important to have your classroom management plan in place before you begin to interact with students. Things move quickly in the drama classroom, and once you have students in front of you you won’t have the time or mental capacity to create your classroom rules or expectations. That’s why you need to have those rules and expectations ready to go on day one. When you have rules and expectations in place on the first day of school, you can spend the first month enforcing the rules instead of creating them. If you need some guidance on setting up your classroom rules, you can find the top five discipline mistakes teachers make here. 4. Plan ensemble-building activities.Building ensemble in the drama classroom is vital. Our classes require students to engage in creative problem solving and unconventional thinking, as well as physical and emotional risk taking. This demands vulnerability from our students, and that vulnerability cannot exist without trust. Theatre games and activities are a fantastic way to build trust in the drama classroom. These low-stakes activities allow students to work together and have fun. Through games, students work together to build ensemble and establish trust. That sense of ensemble is crucial for the more complex and challenging assignments to come, such as performing monologues and scenes. Building ensemble is an investment that will pay off over the course of the school year, so put together a list of your favorite ensemble-building activities and be ready to execute them in the first few days of school. You can find some useful ensemble-building activities here. 5. Rest and reflect.If you have never been a full-time teacher before, or if you’re teaching theatre for the first time, you may not be prepared for how physically demanding this subject is. New theatre teachers are often exhausted in the first few weeks of school, and that exhaustion can affect every aspect of your teaching. That’s why it’s important to take time in the first few days of school to rest and reflect. Pace yourself and make sure you practice self-care as often as necessary. Do what you need to do to disengage from your teaching duties and recharge your batteries. Give yourself the headspace to reflect on successes and challenges you encountered during those first few weeks of school, and allow those reflections to positively influence your teaching. The school year is a marathon, not a sprint, and small investments in your mental and physical well-being now will pay dividends throughout the school year. Take some time now to develop simple strategies to take care of yourself.

Teachers are special people. Yes, you are! You do so much for your students and wear so many different hats. But teachers are human as well. You may feel frustrated with your students’ apparent lack of interest or effort. You may feel that your students are not performing at their pre-pandemic level. You may notice that things are taking longer than they used to. And all of that is true. While things have changed drastically since March 2020, we are still dealing with the fallout of the pandemic. Students, teachers, and parents are still getting sick. Students are re-learning how to function in the real world. Their focus and stamina are low, and their coping skills have been stretched and tested. We’re all sick of pivoting. Thanks to social media, students are also acutely aware of current political issues and more in tune with their mental health. It’s a lot to deal with, on top of the regular problems of teenage existence. So it’s no wonder that students may not be living up to our previous expectations. It’s too much pressure. Rather than thinking that you have to lower your expectations of your students, look at it as adjusting your expectations. Sometimes we get caught up in the drama of drama class, and we need to pause and re-frame things. So take a deep breath and read the following five tips for adjusting your expectations — not only for your students, but also for yourself. 1. Find out what students need.Your students are likely trying their best. Remember that they are re-learning social and emotional skills and that their best may change from day to day. Observe your students during class and see where they’re struggling. Ask them what they need to succeed. Do they need more rehearsal time? More time to practice new skills? Do they need shorter scenes, or alternative lesson plans? For example, if you have a class of reluctant performers, could they focus on analysis, tech work, assistant directing, or playwriting? The Drama Teacher Academy (please include link) has over 1000 lesson plans to help you mix it up. 2. Simplify.If you’re working on a production, what can you simplify? Before you begin, can you choose a shorter script or cast fewer actors? Does your set have to be entirely built from scratch, or can it be simple curtains or a few flats? Does every costume need to be hand-sewn, or can you rent or borrow from another school or a local theatre? If you’re directing a musical, could you reduce a four-part harmony to two or three parts? Can choreography be simplified (time permitting, of course)? Simplifying your show helps your students by reducing the extra “stuff” and allowing them to focus on their lines and character work. Be gentle with yourself and know that it is ok to simplify. Don’t hold yourself to impossible standards. On that note… 3. Adjust your expectations of yourself.You may also not be operating at full capacity at the moment. Teaching drama can be exhausting (especially if you’re doing additional work such as directing a show, organizing a fundraiser, or supervising the drama club) and you may be burnt out. Your students will likely pick up on how you’re feeling, and you don’t want to push yourself towards illness. Try to delegate or eliminate some tasks if possible — perhaps a student teacher, assistant director, or volunteer team member can help. Know that, like your students, your best will be different depending on the day. 4. Rebuild and restructure.It’s taking longer for students to learn right now. Accept it, and let it go. Look at this as a time to rebuild and restructure in your drama department. Curriculum evolves and changes over time. Go back to the basics and help your students build a solid foundation of skills they can develop. If you’re doing a class or school production, you may want to add a few more rehearsals to your schedule than you usually do. You can always cancel a couple rehearsals closer to showtime if you find that your students are doing better than you expected. 5. Remember that drama class is supposed to be fun!Yes, we have a lot to teach, work to be assigned, and grades to give out, but when it comes to creating theatrical pieces in the drama classroom, I don’t know about you, but I believe the point of drama is to be fun and entertaining! Don’t get bogged down in the details. A theatrical piece is called a “play,” so let yourselves play and enjoy the process.

At the beginning of a new term of drama classes, you need to inform students about classroom rules and expectations to start on a positive note. However, when teaching drama via distance learning, it’s hard enough to keep students engaged through a computer screen, let alone while having them sit around and read yet another list of classroom rules. The “Act It Out” game was introduced on the Theatrefolk blog as an active means of introducing classroom rules or theatrical guidelines. Rather than passively listening, students can absorb the classroom rules by presenting them in an active, theatrical manner. This game can be adapted for use in the virtual classroom as well. 1. Brainstorm & discuss.Many virtual classroom rules are similar to the rules you’d have in a physical classroom, like: • Arrive to class on time. • Treat classmates and teachers the way you wish to be treated. • If you miss class, it is your responsibility to get caught up. • Participate in all group activities to the best of your ability. However, you must make some rule adaptations when working virtually, like: • Mute your microphone when you aren’t speaking. • Aim your video monitor at your face. • Video monitors must remain on unless you need to leave (and if you need to turn off your monitor, let the teacher know why). • Have students use a class signal to indicate that they would like to respond or ask a question. • Do your best to reduce background noise and outside distractions during class time. Have your students brainstorm a list of rules that they think are important for the virtual classroom, and identify which rules would also be appropriate for a physical classroom. Discuss how they think rules should be adjusted for the virtual classroom, why they are important, and what the consequence might be for ignoring or breaking a rule. Encourage students to phrase rules in positive terms: “Arrive on time” rather than “Don’t be late to class.” If students suggest negative rules, discuss how they can be rephrased as positive. 2. Get into groups.Divide students into small groups (3-4 students per group) and secretly give each group a classroom rule to act out. You’ll need to assign students to breakout rooms and drop in to each room to give them the rule. Alternatively, you may wish to have students attempt this game right away as an improv exercise, in which case, you don’t need to keep the rule a secret. 3. Rehearse.Groups can either act out the rule as stated OR act out the opposite of the rule and show the class what not to do. Alternatively, groups can do a two-scene performance: first, the group will act out breaking the rule and what happens (consequences); second, the group will act out following the rule and what happens (success!). Give the groups a time limit to plan and rehearse their scene, then have each group perform for the rest of the class. Students can make their scenes serious or comedic, as long as they appropriately demonstrate their assigned rule. 4. Perform & analyze.Once the group has performed, have the rest of the class guess which rule they acted out. Usually, it is just as helpful to talk about the guesses as the actual rule. This game can lead to interesting discussions about the rules of the classroom, as well as students’ thoughts and expectations. It’s a good way to gauge what students know and expect of themselves and their peers, and where your expectations and theirs agree or differ. Including students in the process of creating classroom rules helps them take ownership of their behaviour. It also allows you to observe how students work together in groups, and how adept they are with working with video conferencing technology in a classroom setting.

During the first week of class, it’s imperative to inform students about classroom rules and expectations in order to get started on a positive note. However, how boring is it to just stand and lecture students about rules, or hand out a sheet full of rules and read it out loud? This is drama class – let’s get students up on their feet and getting creative! This is a great active game to use if you have a list of classroom rules to learn, or if you are introducing or reviewing theatrical guidelines. Rather than sitting around and passively listening, students have the opportunity to absorb the classroom rules by presenting them in a theatrical manner! 1. Divide students into small groups (3-4 students per group) and give each group a classroom rule or theatrical guideline to act out. Classroom Rules Ideas: • Arrive on time to class. • Treat classmates & teacher the way you wish to be treated. • If you miss class, it is your responsibility to get caught up. • Participate in all group activities to the best of your ability. Theatrical Guideline Ideas: • Stay quiet backstage. • If you can see the audience, they can see you. • Get off book early.Practice lines/choreography/songs on your own time. 2. Groups can either act out the rule as it is stated OR act out the opposite of the rule and show the group what not to do! Variation : Students create two scenes. First, the group acts out breaking the rule and what happens (consequences). Next, the group acts out following the rule and what happens (success!). 3. Give the groups a time limit to plan and rehearse their scene(s), then have each group perform for the rest of the class. 4. Once the group has performed, the other groups have to guess what the rule is that was just acted out. Usually, it is just as helpful to talk about the guesses as the actual rule! This game can lead to interesting discussions about the rules of the classroom, as well as students’ thoughts and expectations. It’s a great way to gauge what students know and expect of themselves and their peers, and where your expectations and theirs either agree or differ. It’s also a good way to observe how students work together in groups!