How to Organize Your Classroom

Depending on the grade level and subject areas you teach, the amount of teaching aids, classroom supplies and student materials that fill your classroom can be staggering. Because of the massive amount of "stuff" that is necessary to properly impart knowledge to your students, having a well organized classroom is important. Unfortunately, most universities don't offer a course on proper classroom design--new teachers are left to wing it when it comes to setting up their rooms. Though you'll probably be winging it too, you can have a highly organized classroom when you take time to think it through.

Instructions

1. Start with the basics. Where will you put your desk? In today's classrooms, teachers do not spend much time behind their desks. The classroom is a much more dynamic place than the classrooms of generations gone by. Ideally, your desk will be located somewhere in the room that allows you to have full view of your students as they work at their own desks. However, because you will not likely be spending a great deal of time simply sitting at your own desk as your students work, the desk should not be placed in a position that seems to suggest your desk is where the students should focus their attention.

2. Arrange the student desks. If your students will be working primarily in small groups, many teachers find it beneficial to organize the desks in groups of four. If you think you will spend more time encouraging individual study, you may prefer to organize your classroom so that student desks are in the traditional configuration of long rows.

3. Keep in mind what tools you will be relying on most heavily for your daily lessons. Will you use the chalkboard or whiteboard? Do you plan to use an overhead projector or computer presentations? You'll want to be sure to organize the room so that these tools will be viewable by all students easily.

4. Decide what areas of the room are "off limits" to the students. You'll need to have a section of the room in which you can store all of your supplemental and seasonal supplies and you'll want it to be clear to the students that these materials are not for their own perusing. Choose an area (ideally one with shelving) and claim it as your own.

5. Designate a section of the room that can house extra supplies, text books and supplemental materials that your students are welcome to access. In contrast to your "off-limits" area, this will be the place students can visit when they forget supplies, finish their work early or need a resource.

6. Set up a station to manage all of the incoming and outgoing assignments between you and your students. Some teachers assign separate mail baskets to each class and some have one general basket for all incoming assignments and another for everything to be returned to the students. Use whatever system seems to make the most sense for your subject area and grade level.

Tips & Warnings

• When it comes to organizing their classrooms, many teachers find it helpful to use one large, clear plastic storage container for each month of the school year. Inside of each container you can keep everything you'll need for the specific lessons you plan to teach that month, supplemental materials for the lessons and even room decor.