Desks In The Classroom

Good morning!

I'm trying to post more often so here I am! 2nd post of 2015!

I want to talk about desk arrangements in your classroom. My room is a bungalow with a promethean board. Additionally, I teach deaf/hard-of-hearing students, with some general education students coming in for 1/2 of the day. Also, we have speech come in as well as our para-professional do small work. Therefore, the desks must be fashioned to face forward and still be flexible with small groups.

In Deaf Ed, it is very common to have a U-shape desk arrangement. However, when you toss in general ed, I found this to be a bit difficult. I asked around and decided this is what works for me!

[My lovely significant other was kind enough to come and move all the desks for me.]

[Please excuse the depressing looking room. We have state testing]

Literacy

 This is the literacy corner of our room. I use this table for my DHH students. I have the sentence strips ready to go as well as the "I Can" statements posted. The students all face me so we are focused on the task at hand.

The Front of the Classroom

 This is the view of the entire classroom from the literacy center. I have twin-desks facing in a  U-Shape. I use these desks only when General Education students are here or when my DHH students need space.

Also, the student's shelf that is under the desk is actually facing the other way. This way, I don't have students making messy desks, playing with this in their desk, nor being off task. Plus, it makes cleaning up the classroom much easier when the students don't have a messy desk at all!

 Front & Center

Here is the very front of the room. Again, I like to have the DHH students sit here. This is especially important when we use the Smart Board. Additionally, the kid I need to watch carefully always has a seat near me :)

 Math

Last but not least, we have our math table. Our Para-professional uses this circle-table for her small group work. Additionally, this works for small group mathematics games.

That's all for desks today! My next post will include how I control pencils. Yes, even in 4th/5th grade we have a pencil problem.

Setting up desks to where each student is successful takes trial and error. However, taking the time to find the right match is well worth it!

Crystal The Teacher

Organizing Your Classroom

Good morning!

It has been too long since I have written here. So much has happened but I shall not bore you with that!

I wanted to talk about the importance of setting up the classroom environment. Yes, behavior management is key. However, you cannot control your kiddos with chaos around.

I find that organizing the classroom with defined areas has made a huge difference. Yes this might not be the most innovative news. Sometimes, you need an outsiders perspective to make that "ah-ha!" moment happen.

Our principal did a walk around to each classroom to make suggestions. With her new eyes, I was able to make small changes that have profoundly changed the flow and energy in my classroom.

Some veteran teachers feel that when a principal comes and asks to make some changes that its a bad thing. As teachers, we need to remember that suggestions do not mean we are failing as teachers. It simply is a way to freshen up and give new life to our rooms. After all, we spend so much time in our own room that we become accustomed to how to looks!

Literacy

Here is our Literacy Center. I have cork board to easily display kids' work. I also have my Common Core "I Can" statements. [I have a 4th/5th Combo so I have 2 statements up]

Here is our reading area with our Literacy notebooks and writing prompts. I display their work so they know others will read it! They have to try their best!

Math

Another area I wanted to share was our Math Corner. Whiteboard and the wall above it is where I hang the anchor charts WITH the "I Can" underneath it. Another teacher gave me that idea and our principal LOVED it!

We also have a bookcase with our math materials. It includes manipulatives, the textbooks, and the students' math notebook. I love having everything together. It makes it so easy to clean up!





That's all for now! My next post, I will share the classroom arrangement! I love the way the tables are set up!

Sincerely,

Crystal The Teacher