Classroom Layout

My Dream Classroom, via the classroom builder at classroom.4teachers.org

 While some aspects of the elementary grades classroom look as they always have, there are several key changes that I will implement as a teacher. Less focus is spent on teacher lecture time, therefore the classroom is not wholly positioned to point to the front of the classroom. I would like small group work to occur frequently and without transition time, therefore desks that have been placed into blocks of four desks conveniently form a group. Checking in with each table to ensure that they are understanding a concept moves much faster than moving desk by desk. This arrangement also allows for peer scaffolding.

The after classroom allows students to focus on the educational material, such as the globe. 

One of the key components of classroom layout is making the area feel productive yet warm and inviting. Loud colors, posters on every wall, and glaring fluorescent lighting caused me to have headaches and become easily distracted in my own education. It is interesting to note that we choose not to decorate our homes, offices, restaurants, or other buildings in the way that we see many elementary classrooms. My goal as a teacher is to create a bright, inviting, and comfortable classroom that cuts down on distractions and visual overstimulation. Natural colors and fibers, plants, and covered organizers can create an atmosphere that is exciting and enthusiastic, not anxious and hectic. Bulletin boards and word walls will consist of information that is created and utilized by students. To enhance the 'classroom community' environment I plan to take pictures of the students reading, working in groups, giving presentations, etc, and display them in frames around the classroom. At the end of each year I will have an album of my students, as well as a great way for students to see how much they have progressed!

This is a very organized and accessible classroom library.

The classroom library and read aloud area is going to be an area that is used often and I would like for it to be the highlight of the classroom. Children can choose from hundreds of titles, each color coded according to reading level. Children will get to choose their 'book of the month' and write a short review of the book to go in our 'Book of the month' bookcase that will display their selections on bookstands to build interest and tell others of the books they enjoyed the most. The library/read aloud area offers many places for students to sit comfortably while they read or listen and the students can choose what lighting works best for them with the window over the sofa providing lots of light and the smaller lamps in the corner providing softer lighting.

Guided reading area area via Reading Resource

The guided reading area will feature six seats for the students and a seat for myself. Each group will have a storage area for their differentiated readings and lessons. This will make guided reading transitions smoother than if these materials were left at the students desks. The guided reading area is set away from the computer area and classroom library to avoid disruptions from students at other literacy centers as well as to provide the students at guided reading with a sense of privacy. The teacher's chair at the guided reading table is set slightly higher and faces the rest of the class to allow for an unblocked view of the entire classroom to ensure students are on task. The teacher desk provides an area for grading and lesson planning before and after school as well as during planning time. Two accordion files labeled 'To be graded' and 'To pass back' allow me to easily slip students completed work folders into the files to grade at my desk or at home. 

My layout puts the focus less on the teacher and more on small group work. Several theorists such as Vygotsky, Bronfenbrenner, Bandura, and Chomsky consider much of the learning process a social process (Tracy & Morrow, 2006). Creating opportunities for students to synthesize and discuss ideas, share opinions, and teach other will further their learning process more than a teacher ever could by lecturing for that same amount of time. By properly balancing whole class instruction, small group instruction, and individual work and consistently monitoring the needs and wants of the class, instruction can meet all students instead of the student having to meet the instruction.

References

Tompkins, G. (2010). Literacy for the 21st century: A balanced approach. (5 ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Tracy, D., & Morrow, L. (2006). Lenses on reading: An introduction to theories and models. New York, NY: Guilford Press.