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How to Teach Respect in the Classroom

How do you introduce the rule of respect and then get students to demonstrate it toward each other?

By Tierraney Richardson

April 3, 2017

One of the rules in my third grade classroom is: Respect your school, classmates, and others. When I introduce this concept in the beginning of the school year, I do not simply state the rule and then expect my students to follow through automatically. There is work between introducing the rule of respect in my classroom and actually seeing students demonstrate that respect.

When it comes to classroom management, I always say never assume. Never assume that your students know what you mean when you say, "show respect." You must always be clear and specific. It starts with you clearly defining what respect is to you. Next, work with your students to discuss what respect looks like and sounds like in your classroom.

Compile thoughts from your discussion and post an anchor chart in your classroom that you can reference as needed throughout the year. It is also important that you, as the teacher, are modeling the character trait of respect in your classroom. Lastly, make time to acknowledge students in your classroom who are doing a great job of showing respect.

You’ve now learned practical steps you can take to teach respect to your students. However, what happens when a student chooses to show disrespect in the classroom? Check out my video below on how to quickly and effectively handle disrespect in the classroom.

How to Get Respect From Students // Miss Tierraney