Our classrooms are a reflection of ourselves. This makes sense - as we spend a lot of time there! We want to feel comfortable and surround ourselves with those things that we like, hold a fond memory, or just make us smile. And, for the most part, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. In fact, one way of increasing the likelihood of creating a positive relationship with our students is to show things we like - as that may very well make an easy connection. However, when sharing who we are, we need to keep in mind that students respond to the physical environment in many different ways.

Physical Environment

Walk into your classroom.  How does it feel? How does it look? How do you see the class working together and where? What kinds of desks do you have? Where are materials going to be stored? Is there a place designated where students can take a break? How will students get from one place to another?

Okay, that’s a lot of questions. However, reflecting on the answers will help you to design your classroom in a way that will help to promote engagement with learning and, hopefully, decrease the negative behavior that can sometimes be seen in the classroom. For instance, there are some strategies that can be applied to the creation of your classroom’s physical environment that can help students with anxiety, depression, or attentional challenges!

Seating/Flow Patterns

How you choose to set up your classroom will depend on the grade level, available space, the type of desks you have, and the personalities of the students in your class.  Here are some specific questions that will help in creating an environment that will work for the majority of your students and you.

• Where are the materials going to be located in your classroom?

• How will students move to access them?

• Will you have stations?

• Are there spaces for group work?

• Do you have a designated space for students to take breaks?

• Are you able to see the students in the classroom from multiple angles?

• Will students be facing those areas that might be distracting like the door or the pencil sharpener?

• Where will the students be receiving the majority of their direct instruction? Is there enough space to seat them comfortably for the length of the lesson? Are they able to easily switch from group spaces to individual or group workspaces?

• Where is your space?

Reference Materials/Decorations

Who doesn’t love an anchor chart? However, when an anchor chart is no longer being used as a direct reference, it can become background wall noise. Reference materials that aren’t used as a part of a daily routine or provide information frequently no longer serve a functional purpose, providing constant background sensory stimulation. It’s important to keep the information that we have available to our students organized in a way that directly relates to the concepts we are teaching. When they have served their purpose and the students are not directly using them for reference, change it up!

When posting material in the classroom ask yourself: is this something that my students will use as a part of a routine or serves an informational function?

Materials and Organization

We all have those things that we hold on to because we'll need them at some point in the future and won’t have it. Or, we have a great idea for a project to do with our students and want to hold onto the materials for that. Having been in this position myself I can attest to the fact that, one day, you will look around, and realize that you are being swallowed by things that could be, rather than leaving room for what is.  

It’s okay to have a stockpile of materials as any educator does. But, we have to organize them in a way that doesn’t add to the stimulus in the room and can be easily found and utilized by ourselves and the students. 

When going through materials to organize, ask yourself: have I used this in a year or two? If not, donate to someone else or toss it. Should you need it in a couple of years, it will most likely be donated right back!

Routines/Procedures

As teachers, we hope to help our students to become as self-sufficient as possible. One way of doing that is by having all of the routines and procedures for your class taught and reinforced daily.  Here are just a few ideas to get you started:

• Sharpening pencils

• Retrieving materials

• Organizing their desks

• Entering the classroom in the morning

• Leaving at the end of the day

• Getting the materials they will need for each class/activity/part of the day

• Expected behavior for each area of the classroom

• Expected behavior for each area of the building

• Class-wide reinforcement system

• Using the restroom (during class)

• Ordering lunch choice

• Getting your attention

• Taking a break

• Seating options for individual work

Try to anticipate any reason that students will need to gain your attention, and create and teach a procedure or routine. 

Putting thought into the function of your space, how you want things to flow and the organization of your materials may be a lot of work in the beginning. But, by the end of the year, hopefully, you’ll have more time for teaching and less time managing behavior in the classroom.