On the board draw a very large contract. Give it a heading like ‘My English classroom contract’ or ‘English rules’. Write down the numbers 1-10 and at number 1 write down ‘Speak English.’
Say ‘You decide the other rules’. Simultaneously point to the space on the board for the remaining 9 rules, and point to the class as a whole.
Put the class into groups of four. Do this by saying starting at one end of the class and counting the students ‘1, 2, 3, 4 and with your hands demonstrate they should come together. Say ‘Talk together’ Do the same for the rest of the class.
They will no doubt speak in their mother tongue which at this stage is ok. You want them to be thinking independently ie not with you, so that the rules actually come from them.
If they are old enough to write then one person in the group can take notes.
Before feeding back as a class they can compare their ideas with the groups sitting next to them. For this say ‘Talk together’ pointing to two groups.
When they feed back as a class you can choose someone to write the ideas up on the board. This you do by holding out the board pen and saying ‘Who wants to write on the board?’
This is good for their autonomy and it also frees you up to copy their ideas down onto the paper contract that will be signed by the children and displayed.
As they probably have their ideas in French when they say ‘faire nos devoirs’ you simply say ‘Do our homework’ and indicate to the volunteer to write this up on the board. You will probably have to help to spelling.
Once this is done, show them the paper copy and put it in a space that is easily accessible to everyone. Show them that you’re signing your name and say ‘Come and sign your name’. You might want to do this table by table