Arrange your classroom for success.
Creating a positive learning environment is critical for 5th grade students. Children in 5th grade study all varieties of subjects and learn innovative skills in note taking, studying and working together in groups. Arranging a 5th grade classroom for success is a top priority for teachers. Creating a design that keeps students engaged and inspired -- while maintaining order and control -- is always ideal. You may wish to share and compare thoughts and ideas with other teachers for an added boost to your design schemes.
Instructions
1. Create a variety of seating schemes. Change the seating arrangements and design every 60 days to boost aesthetic stimulation. Situate chairs in small clusters -- three to four chairs and desks per cluster -- throughout the room at the start of the year. Arrange chairs in traditional rows in the middle of the year. Position chairs and desks in a large circle -- if the room is large enough -- facing each other for the remaining 60 days. Breaking seating schemes up into three 60-day trials equally covers the entire 180-day school year.
2. Establish homework displays -- or bulletin boards -- specifically for exemplary papers and worksheets. Set up a card system discipline display with green, yellow and red cards. Green cards mean students have had no behavioral problems during the day. Red cards indicate the worst possible behavior. Have students turn their own cards if necessary. Keep this display in clear view for students as a constant reminder of behavior.
3. Arrange large or complicated project displays dealing with 5th grade subject matter -- geography, class pets or science projects, for example -- in the back of the room. Keep project displays out of direct line of vision, so the students are not overtly distracted by projects during the instruction time. Make banners for all displays and bulletin boards with colorful lettering.
4. Situate an area of the classroom devoted to reading and quiet time. Position book cases filled with 5th grade reading material, rocking chairs and blankets in this area. Call the area the "Reading Corner," for example, and allow students the opportunity to "visit" the reading corner during recess or breaks during class.
Tags: bulletin boards, chairs desks, classroom success, displays bulletin, displays bulletin boards