Student Contributor: C. Betts
The golden rule web is a preventative strategy in which students are able to voice what they believe to be golden rules, or exceptional ways to behave with and around peers.
The golden rule web is an activity that you can do in your classroom’s community circle, community time in which all students and teacher sit in a big circle and take turns talking. This specific activity would be one of the first community circles in the quarter. To accomplish this you need a large spool of yarn and you start with 1 student stating something they believe to be important or a “golden rule.” After the first student goes, they are to gently toss the yarn to another student across the circle, while still holding onto the string, and they will answer. This continues until all students have spoken, tossed the yarn, and are currently holding a part of string. The end result in the circle ends up being a large yarn web and you have a classrooms worth of ideas for your classroom rules.
This activity falls into the preventative phase because you use it so early in the class, it sets the bar for how students are to behave. When the students are able to voice and hear how they and others want to be treated, without being told by the teacher, they are more likely to abide by these golden rules. I would generally say this would be a completely student centered influence activity, however with the activity so early in the year, students will need more guidance and an example or two to get them started. Therefore I classify this as a student centered-collaborative theory of influence.
More Information –
Tool Source: G. Nollmeyer
