Classroom Organization (Seating Arrangements, Floors, Walls etc.)

Organizing your classroom is the starting point for classroom management because it is a task that all teachers face before school begins. Remember that while good room arrangement is not a guarantee of good behavior, poor planning in this area is a guarantee of misbehavior.

Arrangement of Student Desks
Generally, there are three ways for classroom arrangements. Rows, Clusters and U-Shape.

Rows:
Disadvantages:
Boring, minimum student interaction
Uncreative, Highly structured, and Traditional
Only front seats & down the middle aisles gets attention
Advantages:
Perfect for first day and test taking (Prevent cliques from forming; assert in-charge image)
Provides students their own space (great for messy art projects)
Keeps students facing forward for instruction.
Row seating does result in kids staying on task a higher percentage of the time than others.
Convenient for ESOL and ESE students who like to do things in their own way.
Yes, students need to learn to work in groups, but not all the time.
As adults, few of us work side-by-side, with our desks touching our coworkers.

Clusters:
Disadvantages
Hard to control
Advantages
Great for group work, activities
Great for Social Interaction
Promotes Cooperative Learning

U-Shape:
Disadvantages
Traffic
Advantages
Perfect for demonstration / discussion, guest speakers

Remember that choosing a desk arrangement is never set in stone.
Be flexible when it comes to desk arrangement
Try and practice arranging desks to match the activity and instructional style for that lesson
If you plan to conduct this transitioning of seating, you'll want to practice those routines with your students.

Regardless of your classroom seating style, there are four keys to room arrangement.
1-Student View:Be certain students can easily see whole-class presentations and displaysHow? Do so by sitting in their seats (and slouching down to their height).
2-Easy Traffic: Keep high-traffic areas free of congestion by separating them widelyHow? Student desks, teacher's desk, computer stations, group work areas, pencil sharpeners, garbage cans, water fountains…
3-Access to Materials:Keep frequently used teaching materials and student supplies readily accessibleHow? Surface storage on shelves (versus deep closet storage), baskets on tables, placed on your desk or special table
4-Teacher View:Be sure students can be seen easily by the teacherHow? Stand in different parts of the room to be sure that you can see all of your students

Floor Space:
Teacher's Desk
Keep your desk away from instructional area
Keep your desk private because you might have student information/data, grades, personal computer etc.

Learning Center(s)
Examples: Listening center, writing center, science center, math center, art center
It is OK, if you prefer more informal areas like an area rug, small table, special seating area.
Remember, centers require space therefore analyze the advantages and disadvantages

Computer Workstations
Location is limited since they require wall outlets
You should be able to see computer screens to scan students if they are on task
Design a schedule so that you do not end up with large number of students waiting for computers causing noise, disturbance etc.

Bookcases
Always place mostly used items (dictionaries, classroom text etc.)
Seldom used items should be in storage


Walls
In addition to chalkboard-whiteboard-smart board, you must have the followings on your classroom walls
A clock
Classroom Rules
Daily Schedule / Assignments
Message board "Welcome Back to School", "Happy … day" etc.
A Calendar
Emergency escape routes
Others can be added (student work, decorative items etc.)


Storage Space and Supplies

Textbooks and Other Instructional materials
Identify textbooks and other instructional materials (dictionaries, magazines, newspapers, maps etc) to be used in class.
Make sure you have sufficient quantities for everyone
Rest goes in the storage

Student Work
If students have tables with enough room, place baskets (hanging binder with a folder for each student) at the center of the table.
Otherwise, please baskets around the room
If students are building portfolios, place them in a big binder a folder for each student arranged alphabetically

Others
Check any other classroom elements for appropriate place such as student belongings, TV, VCR etc.