First, they brainstormed ideas about what it means to be a 5th grader. They started off by writing their own thoughts and then worked with a partner to share and grow their list. We shared as a class and created the chart above. They did a great job capturing the spirit of what being a 5th grader really means. (I especially liked “We are mature.” That one got a smile from me for sure!)

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Once we had our extensive list of ideas, they worked with partners to narrow the list down to what they thought was most important. They used the discussion questions above to help them decide.

After their discussion with partners, students advocated for what they thought should be included in the classroom “Pledge.” (They came up with the idea of having a classroom pledge after we discussed an essay contest where they wrote about what the Pledge of Allegiance meant to them.)

My favorite quote from this part of the discussion? “I really like the idea of calling it a Pledge, because that means that people are making the choice about how they behave.” YES! I love fifth graders!

We recorded the top 5 ideas and slept on it…just in case they wanted to add or change anything.

Once everyone agreed – each kid took their choice of Sharpie and signed their name. We hung this class pledge on the door so we would pass it every time we left or came back to the room.

After we finished the classroom pledge, we used the freebie below to make a copy of the classroom pledge for each student AND to create their own Personal Pledge. I can’t wait!! To grab your own copy, click the picture below…

I hope that this will save you some time and give your class a great way to take ownership of their classroom! Click here to find more ideas for creating a positive classroom community!

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