Once you start spending a lot of time in it, you begin to see what does and does not work for you and your students. Thanks. Thanks! 10. I was lucky that my school custodian was able to drill the pocket chart and chart paper into the cinder block so I could save space. I’ve been teaching elementary school for 5 years. Middle school students work best when presented with clear rules and expectations. I am going to color code each region’s splash because color can help some students with remembering word associations. By Rhonda Stewart. And know it’s totally OK to change up your room. It helps students figure out what lesson they missed when they were absent. This is my solution to being interrupted during small group instruction for materials. The best way to build vocabulary is by keeping a word wall in front of the classroom, and as the students progress throughout the … Wow! To Theme or Not to Theme in Special Education Classroom Setup. So, here we go with my classroom set up! Therefore, getting them out of their seats, particularly in subjects like language arts, is key to engaging students and reinforcing key concepts. Join our community of educators and Help students stay organized by keeping an up to date table of contents for each subject you teach. After all the time you spend decorating the area around it make sure to actually refer to it in your teaching. I have found the back area of the room to be wasted space so several years ago I moved my teacher desk and materials to the back corner. Since I am teaching social studies, I know my students will be working on a lot of projects. To find the best classroom seating arrangement for you, a little ingenuity and creativity may be necessary. Now I have 6 rectangular tables and 1 circle table for my students. I want my students to get on the floor and spread out and easily do group work. Set ground rules for center usage. Even though the set-up for the middle school reading activity might change, rules remain the same. When I taught ELA, I had a Greek and Latin roots/affixes word wall. It doesn't have to be, though. Have students manage the homework board so it becomes more meaningful to them. 12. Maximize space by having your desk do double-duty with the kidney desk, but maintain office space with shelves on the wall behind you. *You can check out this word wall by clicking {, When I taught ELA, I had a Greek and Latin roots/affixes word wall. Fight with the adjustable shelves until you break not only your nails but a finger or two! I need a place where I can display our INB table of contents so if students are absent or get behind, they can see what they missed and what they need to make up. Even though I teach middle school, I am going to have a word wall in my room. That’s why I have tubs of extras in my closet. Nothing is more frustrating than decorating most of my room, and then realizing that all I wanted to include won’t be possible because I have run out of space. These are the adjoined chair and desk, and they are so cumbersome! 19. Before you allow your middle school students to use learning centers, explain how the centers will run, when they are allowed to visit the centers and what they are expected to do while participating in the learning centers. “No more extra Gym or Art” said no kid ever! Looking for engaging activities for the first week of school? Until then, I have some tips on how to make classroom set-up efficient and stress free (or maybe just less stressful). It’s their home away from home, too :)**. But any content area can use ‘making’ as a primary teaching and learning strategy, and to do so, you’ll need to create the spaces for that to happen. 'S fun being invited in to see how other classrooms are set up classroom... 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