It is almost the start of a new school year and for the eighth time in seven years I will be setting up a new classroom. I wish I were one of those lucky teachers who use the same room every year and only need to tweak it from time to time. Imagining what my classroom should look like is not easy for me. Here are some of the things I have to think about when trying to put my room together:
I start by thinking about my students and how they learn. I will be teaching four different groups of students. Three of the groups I have already had, so I know how they like to work. One class is self-contained special education where they all like to work as individuals. The second is also special education, but this one half the kids like to work as individuals, and the other half want to be in bigger groups. The room needs to accommodate both. The third class is general education with 30-student class of generally high achieving 7th graders, half boys and half girls. The girls work in three or four groups. Most of the boys like to work independently, but there are three pairs of boys who like to work only in those pairs.
Then there is the fourth class. This class is considered a VERY difficult to teach. There are six or eight motivated students, but there are also several VERY disruptive students among the 30 in the class. I don’t know their learning styles or how they like to work. I just know that after trying several different arrangements, all their teachers arranged the desks in a giant U-shape when teaching them.
Of course, in laying out the desks, I need to make sure to position the laptop and desktop computers so that their screens are shielded from the sun, so they are near the few electric outlets, and also in a way that I can readily monitor what the students are doing.
This used to be a science room so there is an immovable eight-foot-long marble-topped demo-table, complete with a sink that serves as teacher desk and obstacle to desk layout. There is an interactive white board in the room and I need a table stacked with a stable pile of books on which to put the projector. My nemesis will be the cables that will need to run around and across the floor to connect everything that needs power or communication.
But there are still more things to consider! Student work will need display places, as will the various fire escape paths and other required signage. I’ll also need to find prominent places for the class rules and procedures. Oh. Procedures. I’ll have to figure out how to collect homework (not that I give much) and forms, where to put textbooks (not that I use them much) and the class library. I also have to make the classroom work for me. I like to move around a lot when I teach. I like to be able to whisper a word of praise, encouragement or reprimand in each student’s ear should I want to. And I also want it to look warm, inspiring, interesting and inviting, not to mention organized and easy to clean.
Sounds easy, doesn’t it?
On August 30th I can get into the room and start trying to put it together. I’ll try to post pictures of what it looks like then, how it changes before the start of school on Sept. 8th, and how it continues to change throughout the year. I’m interested in hearing your ideas, criticisms, compliments and concerns. I need all the help I can get.
I’ve learnt that my youngest loves creating (with Legos) and makes a huge mess. Very much like me.
