Thriving Teacher in the Classroom – Thrive Beyond Teaching

I’ve been a classroom teacher for 15 years. Throughout that time, I’ve had to change classrooms several times. This includes twice in one month when I got hired as a long-term sub for a pregnant teacher. I set up her classroom. Then I got hired permanently. This was great news, but I had to turn around another classroom in three days. Setting up a classroom is an exciting and daunting challenge. It’s not unlike moving to a new apartment. The possibilities are exhilarating, but the workload is not lost on you. But what if somebody just told you what to do? Well that’s what I’m here for! As always, take what works for you and lose the rest. But I hope this classroom setup guide takes some of the guesswork out of preparing your new space for a successful school year! Declutter From the Year Before (As Needed) If you’re lucky, you will walk into a classroom that is empty and clean. But this is highly unlikely. Sory to burst your bubble! Most times I’ve had to set up a new classroom I’ve had to start with getting rid of all the junk that was left in there. I think the most efficient way to do this is to put every single thing on the student desks in the middle of the room. Seriously, EVERYTHING! Take everything out of closets, drawers, bookshelves, etc. Leave no space occupied! Then purge anything you do not want or need. Beware of keeping things “just in case”. You’d be surprised how much clutter you can accumulate even in one school year. If you end up with a lot to get rid of, find out what the procedures are at your school for taking care of these items. Or you can use your best judgment and ask forgiveness instead of permission. Sometimes time is of the essence and that’s just how it is! Don’t put back the things you’re keeping just yet! This will come after the next step. Plan Where Large Furniture Will Go Next take a look at what furniture is in your room. Find out the procedure for getting rid of anything you do not want or need. Every inch of space counts, so you won’t want to hold onto large furniture unnecessarily. Usually, the custodians will be the ones to take care of this for you. Make sure you show your appreciation. You want to stay on their good side for sure! If there is furniture you want but do not have, find out if the school can provide it for you. Teachers sometimes like to bring some of their own furniture items if allowed. Check with your administrators. Before you reach into your pockets, you might have look getting free classroom furniture on Facebook Marketplace or your local Buy Nothing group. Once you know what furniture you’ll be working with, draw out a tentative plan of how you want to organize it for the school year. You might rearrange desks during the year but you probably won’t want to rearrange large furniture for a while. You might not have many options when it comes to things like the teacher desk or student computer cart because of where cords are etc. but plan out the lay of the land as much as possible. This drawing definitely doesn’t have to be fancy. I usually do it on a sheet of scratch paper. You tech savvy folk might have some brighter ideas! General Tips for Classroom Layout Don’t have any areas where you can’t see students clearly from anywhere in the room. Keep your desk facing the students’ desks and the door. You’ll want to be able to see who’s coming and going. Keep your small group table near your teacher desk if possible. You’ll be able to toggle between small groups and other teacher tasks more easily. Plus, it will save you time grabbing or printing things for small groups on the fly. Have an extra table or desk plus filing cabinets and shelving in your work area within arms’ reach of your desk. The same goes for your printer. It will make planning and working so much easier if you don’t have to keep getting up every time you need something. Finally, you can arrange your furniture and put away anything you decided to keep after decluttering. Your classroom is coming along already! Arrange Student Desks This step is not super important as you will probably rearrange student desks several times throughout the school year. My favorite way to arrange student seating is modeled after the Kagan seating plan. This plan seats students in groups of four heterogeneously based on academics. For example, one group may contain one above grade level student, two on grade level students, and one student who typically performs below grade level. While you may not have this data available when you first make your seating arrangement, I’d just try to make it as heterogeneous as possible based on factors you do know. For now, you can just arrange your student desks in groups of four or any way you’d like to start the school year. Groups of four allow for: Ready made teams for groupwork A great size for collaboration Student interaction without being overwhelming I like to go this route from the beginning of the school year. Some people like to start in a semicircle. There really is no wrong answer. Experiment and have fun finding what works for you! Add In Practical Touches and Systems Now that you have all the furniture laid out, it’s time to think of other touches and systems you’ll need for your classroom to function smoothly throughout the school year. Are there things that need to be labeled with student names or numbers? Backpack hooks? Desks? I’d wait as close as possible to the start of the school before writing names on anything or giving each student a number. Class changes are likely in the days before school begins. Once you do assign each student a number, I’d also recommend going with numbers instead of names whenever possible. That way you can keep the same labels year after year. Where will students store their backpacks, water bottles, lunchboxes, headphones, etc? What type of filing system will you use? Will you have student mailboxes and folders for sending work home? Where will these go? How will students hand in work? Don’t get overwhelmed trying to think of every single system. However, the more of these you have organized before the school year starts, the less you’ll have to worry about once the mad rush of the school year begins. Decorate Your Classroom Now for the fun part! But a word of warning- Don’t feel like you have to go crazy filling your room with decor or spending all your money doing so. The longer I’ve been teaching the less I spend each year and the simpler I start off each school year. More importantly, please don’t fill the walls with content students haven’t learned yet. It's meaningless. Throughout the year, you will gradually fill your learning space with student-created content, co-created anchor charts, and resources they know how to use. This is far more meaningful and far less expensive. For now, focus on basics, classroom management, and SEL instead of academic content. You may want to organize where each content area will go and create bulletin board headings for these, but it is really not necessary. Do NOT feel pressured to fill up space and fill up the walls. Just have a bright, safe, and cozy environment that you and students can enjoy all year long! You got this! And you can always make changes at any time. Your first time setting up a classroom will be the hardest. Each year, you'll get a better sense for what you want and need to start the school year. While each school district has its own set of expectations, the most important thing is that it works for you and your students. You are the expert in what makes you and your scholars shine!