Classroom Spaces That Work - Chapters 1 & 2 by Kayla Stanek

Chapter 1 

"This room was made for you and me." 

3 Goals of Setting up a Classroom for Students' Needs: 

1. The classroom should fit the range of physical sizes of the group. 
2. The classroom should accommodate children with special needs. 
3. The classroom should support students' developmental needs: emotional, social, cognitive, and physical (Clayton, 2001). 

Before teachers can set up their classrooms, they need to learn as much as they can about their students and their needs, including special and developmental needs. Teachers can do this by gathering information from families and former teachers. I believe keeping students in mind is an essential part of setting up a classroom. I also believe students should feel welcomed, comfortable, significant, and at home in their classrooms. If they do not, little can be taught and learned. 

Classroom Design

Teachers should involve students because it...

• enlivens the process
• gives students a sense of ownership
• increases their cooperation and investment in making the design work (Clayton, 2001). 

Students can also resolve space problems that arise in the classroom. I think this is a great way for students to play an active role in their own classrooms and to develop problem solving skills. 

Example in the Classroom 

• The Birthday Cluster Exercise, which organizes the birthdays of students, allows teachers to anticipate the changes that will occur in their student's development throughout the school year (Clayton, 2001). I found this beneficial because teachers can organize their classroom to meet the needs of their students and know when to make any necessary adjustments.

Technology

• Birthday Calendar + is a free app that includes a calendar, birthday reminders, and countdowns. This app could help teachers using the birthday cluster exercise. Teachers can put the students' birthdays in the calendar and receive a reminder on their phone or iPad about an upcoming birthday. They can also use the countdown on the app and make a countdown in the classroom. 

Resources 

• Clayton, M. (2001). Classroom Spaces That Work. Turner Falls, MA: Northeast Foundation for Children, Inc. 

Chapter 2

"Cluttered rooms lead to cluttered minds." 

Goals of an Orderly Classroom

An orderly classroom will:

• have the teacher as a facilitator classroom management
• promote students' sense of independence and self-reliance
• help students make purposeful choices and maintain focus
• encourage respect for the classroom 
• create a safe environment in which students can take risks in learning (Clayton, 2001). 

It is also important for classrooms to be predictable. Within the first weeks of school, teachers should go over the classroom routines and show the students where items are located. Teachers should also keep the classroom design the same, besides minor adjustments, so students stay comfortable with their environment. 

Furniture, Materials, and Storage in the Classroom

All furniture and materials should:

• have a clear purpose that is relevant to children's development and the curriculum
• be actively used for most of each day (furniture)
• be used at least every two years (materials)
• be easy to clean
• be in good condition and safe for children to use (Clayton, 2001). 

Furniture and materials are essential parts of the classroom. However, unnecessary furniture and materials can lead to a cluttered classroom. I think teachers should get rid of furniture that has no clear purpose and create pathways so children can move safely and easily around any furniture in the room. I also think teachers should organize materials as often as they can and have students help. This will help students become familiar with the materials in their classroom. 

Every student should have two spaces for:

1. learning materials
2. personal belongings (Clayton, 2001). 

In my classroom, I would have a work pocket on the back of each student's chair to hold learning materials, such as academic folders, notebooks, and texts. I like how work pockets provide students with individual storage for their learning materials and how they allow for more storage area in the classroom. 

Examples in the Classroom

• The Traffic Flow Exercise helps teachers anticipate the natural traffic patterns that will occur in the classroom (Clayton, 2001). I would use this exercise to look at my classroom design and make any adjustments to the traffic pathways so my students can move around the classroom safely, easily, and responsibly. 

• Teachers can switch from having a list of supplies for parents to buy to having a community supply system where all supplies are shared by everyone. A community supply system makes for a more peaceful classroom since children do not argue or feel inferior about their supplies (Anderson, 2010). This can also lead to more storage for students' learning materials and personal belongings since the supplies would be kept in an area that all students can access. 

Technology

• Classroom Set-Up Tool from Scholastics is an easy-to-use, virtual layout tool that helps teachers design classrooms. Teachers include room shape, furniture, desks, and students in their design. They can also use the traffic flow exercise and include arrows of the most heavily-travelled paths in the classroom once they print out the layout. 

Classroom Set-Up Tool 

Resources 

• Anderson, M. (2010). Community Supplies [Web log post]. Retrieved from https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/blog/every-teacher-tips-community-supplies
• Clayton, M. (2001). Classroom Spaces That Work. Turner Falls, MA: Northeast Foundation for Children, Inc.