Help your students understand that rules are what make great games possible with the Play By The Rules Poster! This printable poster breaks rules down into four Fs (friendly, flowing, fair, and fun) to give you an anchor for talking about rules with your students.
Rules aren't the boring part before the fun starts. They're the agreements we make with each other so that the fun can actually happen.
I made this poster while teaching my Grade Primary games unit. As we got into it, I realized that a lot of my students didn't really see the point of rules beyond "the teacher said so". Rules felt like restrictions to them, not something that actually made games possible.
So I started using this language with them: rules help keep games friendly, flowing, fair, and fun. Once I had the four Fs, I knew I wanted a visual on the wall so I could point at it in the moment, especially during debriefs when a game had gone sideways.
Here's how the four Fs break down:
😀 Friendly: Rules help everyone feel included, keep our bodies and feelings safe, and make us want to play again.
🌊 Flowing: Rules help everyone know what to do, make arguments easy to settle, and keep the game going.
⚖️ Fair: Rules help make sure the game is challenging, give everyone a chance to win, and prevent cheating.
🎉 Fun: Rules help keep the game fun for everyone, which is the whole reason why we play.
The big idea I want students to walk away with is that sharing the rules is how we invite people into the game.
I use this poster as an anchor for how we talk about rules across every unit, not just games.
Happy Teaching!
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