# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
When a team of researchers led by University of Salford professor Peter Barrett analyzed the design of 153 classrooms across 27 elementary schools in the United Kingdom, they went all in and kept it real, taking measurements and making observations of seating arrangements, wall decorations, and often-overlooked ambient factors such as lighting, temperature, acoustics, and air quality-all inside real classrooms.

Good classrooms should be "designed to make attending school an interesting and pleasurable experience," the researchers enthused, balancing visual stimulation with comfort and a sense of ownership. Combined, these classroom design elements accounted for 16 percent of the variation in students' academic progress.

We tried to take a similar approach, getting beyond the more obvious classroom design factors to survey the science of learning environments more comprehensively. Not everything in this list is within a teacher's purview-you can't very well open your walls and let in more sunlight, at least not without a good saw and the district's permission-but we tried to identify factors that might be addressed within classrooms immediately, or within school or district budgets over a longer term.

"Lighting is one of the most critical physical characteristics in a learning space," researchers explain in a 2020 review of 130 studies. Poor lighting not only makes it harder to see materials clearly but also can dampen engagement, especially for students with developmental disabilities. Good lighting, on the other hand, has a significant impact across many dimensions of successful learning, including "attention rates, working speed, productivity, and accuracy, among other reported effects."

If you have outside-facing windows, try to allow as much natural sunlight into your room as possible, researchers suggest in a 2021 study. After analyzing over two dozen variables, from lighting type (artificial, sunlight, or a mix) to window size and window shades in 53 European schools, they concluded that lighting is "a strong enabler of performance, which is crucial for child development."

There was one notable wrinkle: Too much direct sunlight impaired test scores, the researchers found. You might consider using shades or window decorations to prevent glare from entering the classroom, especially when students are focused on screens or paper for longer periods of time.

VENTILATION AND AIR QUALITY

When three coal-fired power plants closed at about the same time in Chicago, Illinois, the downwind effects in schools were significant. "For the typical elementary school in our sample," researchers studying the shutdowns reported, there was a 7 percent reduction in student absences, translating "into around 372 fewer absence-days per year." Students in classrooms with poor air-conditioning saw outsized improvements after the plants closed, indicating that school ventilation and air-purifying systems had been keeping kids healthier and in school more often. Two years later, a study analyzing pollution data from over 10,000 U.S. school districts found a direct link to academic performance, concluding that elevated levels of particulate matter in the air-dust or soot, for instance-lead to reduced test scores.

Installing air-conditioning, better HVAC systems, or new windows is the responsibility of administrators and district leaders, but there are simpler measures teachers can take. Researchers, for example, found that carbon dioxide, a by-product of human breathing, steadily accumulated in classrooms over the course of the day-readings were often six times higher than the level that a 2015 Harvard study linked to substantial declines in higher-order thinking.

"If air quality is OK at the start of the class, it won't be by the end unless you do something," according to Barrett, whose team recorded the gas levels, when we interviewed him in 2018. The fix is easy enough: "You have to open a window or a door," he suggested.

COMPLEXITY AND COLOR

There's a difference between cluttered walls and visually stimulating ones. In a landmark 2015 study that was largely confirmed by two studies we recently reviewed ( here and here), researchers found that students are more frequently off task when visual clutter overwhelms "their still-developing and fragile ability to actively maintain task goals and ignore distractions."

The good news, as we recently reported, is that the studies tend to point to a commonsensical middle ground, where classrooms are neither too cluttered nor too austere: "Classroom decoration can alter academic trajectories, the research suggests, but the task shouldn't stress teachers out," we wrote. "The rules appear to be relatively straightforward: Hang academically relevant work on the walls, and avoid the extremes-working within the broad constraints suggested by common sense and moderation."

Color palettes make a difference, too, according to a 2022 study. The same principle of moderation applies: Avoid extreme wall colors such as black or neon green, and opt for a pleasant mix of color across your walls, floor, and wall displays. Use a simple scheme, such as a single neutral color that's accompanied by splashes of brightness, for example.

Some schools believe that data walls motivate students to try harder. The research casts doubt on that conclusion, especially at the margins-where struggling students need the most help.

Students in "the red zone" of public data walls are "often mocked or derided by other students for their poor performance," researchers who reviewed 30 empirical studies on the topic explain in a 2020 review, dampening enthusiasm and confidence for kids who need it the most. Data walls can trigger "positive emotions such as pride, hopefulness, and joy, as well as negative feelings of stress, anxiety, or disappointment," depending on where a student ranks in the list, the researchers asserted.

"The idea behind 'data-driven decision-making' is a good one," explains assessment expert Lorrie Shepard. But even data walls that use an "anonymous ID number" are harmful to many students because kids "know what it means if they see themselves as a red or a yellow learner."

The takeaway: Using data to inform instruction is good practice, but public displays or public ranking are neutral or beneficial for only a subset of higher-performing students.

NATURE, PLANTS, AND GREENERY

A classroom space that is conducive to learning should feel natural and fresh, not cramped and stuffy, researchers explain in a 2021 study. Views of nature and green spaces from windows appear to make a difference: "Students reported less stress and were more focused on a task in classrooms with more natural window views." If you don't have open spaces outside your window, you can bring in plants and other natural decorations-"students displayed stronger feelings of friendliness and comfort in the presence of these plants," the researchers note.

When researchers added potted plants to high school classrooms, the older students also expressed more satisfaction in their surroundings, paid more attention in class, and rated the lessons and their teachers higher, a 2020 study found. "Incorporating indoor nature can thus improve students' satisfaction with their study environment, which may positively influence retention and students' beliefs about their academic performance," the researchers concluded, though you can expect improvements to be modest.

REPRESENTATION

Students can experience representation in classrooms by seeing their own or peers' artifacts on walls and in shared virtual spaces, or by being exposed to images and references that mirror their interests, passions, and backgrounds.

In a 2015 study, researchers explain that "intimate and personalized spaces are better for absorbing, memorizing and recalling information." To help students see the classroom as a space they belong in, "you can use your walls to showcase your students' nonacademic talents and activities," writes special education math teacher Rachel Fuhrman. "It's incredibly empowering for students... to see something they did or something they created on display in the space."

Exposure to resonant cultural imagery on walls and in materials-what researchers often call the "symbolic classroom"-also appears to improve a sense of belonging and has positive effects on engagement and academic outcomes. In a 2014 review and a 2019 study, for example, researchers discovered that making culturally relevant adjustments to lessons-and displaying inspiring, inclusive posters and other visuals that mirrored student interests-helped students feel a greater sense of connection to their classroom learning and could boost final course performance by nearly a full letter grade.

FLEXIBILITY

Teachers sometimes chafe at so-called flexible classrooms that look like they were designed by the House of Dior. Beautiful classrooms, the teachers argue persuasively, are not necessarily successful learning environments, and flexibility as a standard of classroom design should be judged by factors like versatility (they support multiple uses) and modifiability (they allow for "active manipulation and appropriation"), according to one review of modern classrooms.

The research on flexible classroom design, meanwhile, is scarce but promising, we reported a few years back, with Peter Barrett's team concluding that flexible classrooms were about as important as air quality, light, and temperature in boosting academic outcomes. Taken together, flexibility and a student's "sense of ownership" account for just over a quarter of the academic improvements attributed to classroom design.

In the end, flexible classroom design contributes modestly to daily academic outcomes but has the benefit of durability: It works behind the scenes to improve learning for the entirety of the school year. If you're interested in trying the approach, consider cheap options like rugs, standing desks, and reading nooks with pillows, and use the full range of seating alternatives to support independent and group learning, as the educational tasks demand.

Learning Differences and Neurodivergence

Out of the 7.3 million students with a disability in the U.S., about one in three has a learning disability or neurodevelopmental condition such as autism. For these students, who often have sensory or executive function issues, colorful, richly decorated environments may be perceived as a cacophony of visual noise, according to a 2021 study.

The study provides several research-based recommendations to guide teachers, which actually align nicely with the best research on general education environments:

Align wall displays with the current topic so that "if students focus on the visual displays rather than the teacher, they will still be focusing on relevant information."

Use the front wall for daily materials such as a calendar and word walls.

Create distinct activity areas-circle time, reading space, and desk work, for example-to help students transition between tasks.

Be mindful of excessive brightness and glare. A partially shaded window can still allow natural light to enter the room, and carpets can block the glare from vinyl floors.

Sweltering classrooms can have profound academic effects. In a 2018 study, researchers analyzed 10 million PSAT scores and found that a one-degree Fahrenheit rise in local temperature resulted in a corresponding 1 percent drop in test scores. While air-conditioning helped mitigate the impact, the researchers observed stark differences in the school infrastructure and funding: "We estimate that between three and seven percent of the gap in PSAT scores between White students and Black and Hispanic students can be explained by differences in the temperature environment," the researchers concluded.

In a popular Reddit thread, teachers share their own ideas for dealing with hot classrooms. While it may seem counterintuitive, you can use fans to direct air into the hallway to regulate the air pressure in your own classroom-pulling cooler air from outside into your room, suggests a physics teacher. If you're looking for fun art project ideas, you can replace some of your window shades with stained glass art to soften sun glare. Other teachers suggest turning off heat-generating electronic devices, such as computers and projectors.

ACOUSTICS/NOISE

Five decades ago, progressive schools began experimenting with open classrooms. In an attempt to create "a less authoritarian environment," the classroom walls came down, ushering in an era that promised "a greater range of learning methodologies and group sizes," according to a 2023 study. But the results fell far short. Students in the open classrooms read half as fast as their peers in the traditional classrooms, largely because the open layouts were acoustical chaos and probably "require a significantly higher degree of listening effort."

When deep focus is needed for independent learning, there's really no substitute for quiet spaces-and conveying information orally only works when kids can discern who is speaking and what they're saying. "Effective listening is a linchpin of school learning," researchers assert in a 2013 study.

SEATING ARRANGEMENTS

Should you assign seats or let kids choose? Several recent studies arrived at what appear, superficially, to be conflicting conclusions. One 2021 study found that assigned seating can forge new friendships between students who would otherwise never bond. Another, published in 2013, suggests that intentionally separating close friends can reduce classroom disruptions by as much as 70 percent.

The contradiction is easily reconciled in light of other research that finds that it's best to think of classroom seating arrangements within the context of learning goals. While there's some evidence that elementary school children are most attentive when they are arranged in semicircles-as opposed to rows or clusters-the best arrangements should match the learning task. For more collaborative work, small clusters of desks or standing arrangements are best, the researchers suggest, while for independent work the oft-demonized row arrangements work well. Likewise, friends can be seated together or apart, depending on the teacher's immediate objectives.

Finally, consider the space between desks and configurations carefully, or find other ways to allow for movement during the day. Dozens of studies reveal that brain breaks and movement breaks are underestimated as methods to improve engagement, behavior, and learning outcomes.

LEARNING ZONES

In a 2019 study, researchers made the case for creating multiple learning zones in your classroom-a main space for teacher-centered instruction and several smaller areas that can be rotated throughout the school year that involve "students actively working on learning tasks and reflecting on their work, apart from watching, listening, and taking notes."

Such classrooms often resulted in "improved measurable student learning outcomes, whether those outcomes are traditional quantitative measures such as exams and course grades or measures of '21st century skills.'"

Using learning zones can be a low-cost approach to tailoring instruction to meet the needs of students, according to a 2020 study that encompassed 610 elementary and middle school classrooms. The researchers point to a growing body of research suggesting that learning zones have a wide range of benefits, allowing teachers to improve transitions, facilitate differentiated instruction, and motivate and engage students more effectively.

"Don't let a small classroom be your kryptonite," writes former teacher and principal Veronica Lopez. "You can set up a learning zone in a bookcase, on a shelf, on one bulletin board, or on a small desk or table."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Our comprehensive, all-in, research-based look at the design of effective learning spaces.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
10 Tips for Setting Up Your Classroom | Teach For America

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The composition of your classroom can set the tone immediately. Here are 10 essential points for putting it all together.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
What you put on your classroom walls can affect your students' ability to learn.

The walls in Kenita Sutherland's classroom are lively but not overwhelming.

Heavily decorated classrooms can bombard students with too much visual information, interfering with their memory and ability to focus, a new study finds.

This is just the latest study to examine the relationship between classroom environment and students' executive functions, which include skills like memory, attention, and self-regulation. While teachers have good intentions when decorating, many classrooms end up being "sensory-rich" in a way that "could hamper children's learning gains rather than help," according to psychologists Pedro Rodrigues and Josefa Pandeirada, who coauthored the study.

To understand how decorations affect learning, Rodrigues and Pandeirada recruited 64 children between 8 and 12 years old to perform attention and memory tasks in two groups. For the high-decoration group, the walls of the room were covered with numerous pictures of ordinary objects and scenes, such as cars, musical instruments, and trees. Walls in the control group's room, on the other hand, were bare.
© Kendra Caralis
The children performed a series of tasks designed to test their attention and memory. In one attention test, for example, they observed a laptop screen, pressing a button if an X appeared and doing nothing if a K appeared. In a memory test reminiscent of the electronic game Simon Says, the children observed nine blue squares that changed to yellow in varying sequences, which the children attempted to repeat. A total of four tests were given-two for memory and two for attention.

Compared to children in the bare-wall room, children in the high-decoration room performed worse on all tests, which suggests that too much visual stimulus can be a distraction.

"Overall, the results from these studies indicate that children could have difficulty in ignoring visual distractors when these are embedded in the surrounding environment," the study authors explain.

Classrooms Should Be Engaging, Not Distracting

That's not to say that every wall must be bare. In 2015, a team of researchers in the U.K. analyzed 153 classrooms and found that students benefited most when the walls had some decorations. "The displays on the walls should be designed to provide a lively sense to the classroom, but without becoming chaotic in feel. As a rule of thumb, 20 to 50 percent of the available wall space should be kept clear," the researchers wrote.

Display student work. Students not only feel a greater sense of responsibility for their learning but are also more likely to remember the material (Barrett et al., 2015).

Feature inspiring role models. Putting up images-and short stories or quotes-featuring heroes and leaders can help students gain a greater sense of belonging and aspiration, especially when their backgrounds and interests are represented. Strive for inclusion, but avoid token or stereotypical representations-they can be damaging to students' self-esteem (Cheryan et al., 2014).

Avoid clutter. Keep at least 20 percent of your wall space clear, and leave ample space between displays so they don't look disorganized. Resist the temptation to keep adding decorations-it's better to swap them out than to keep adding more (Barrett et al., 2015).

Visual aids-like anchor charts, maps, and diagrams-are OK. Posters that reinforce a lesson, rather than distract from it, can boost student learning. But don't forget to take down ones that are no longer helpful (Carney & Levin, 2002; Bui & McDaniel, 2015).

Avoid displays of student scores or grades. Many teachers use data walls to motivate students, and while they can work for high performers, they can backfire for struggling students, leading to feelings of shame and demoralization (Marsh et al., 2014).

Let in natural light. Don't cover up your windows with decorations unless you have a problem with glare or outside distractions. Students who are exposed to more natural light in their classrooms outperform peers who get less natural light in math and reading (Cheryan et al., 2014). If you don't have windows, making sure the room is well lit can boost achievement (Barrett et al., 2015).

Balance wall colors. You don't have to stick with four white walls-try having a single feature wall painted a bright color, with the rest being muted (Barrett et al., 2015).

So what do researchers say teachers should do?

Developing Brains

While decorating walls is a favorite pastime for many teachers, young children may not respond as teachers hope.
Courtesy of Amy Mileham
"Our findings could be related to the fact that children's cognitive capacities are still under development, including executive functions responsible for the filtering of irrelevant information for a given task," explain the study authors. A teacher may have little difficulty ignoring a wall full of decorations, but young students may find themselves unable to look away and focus on a lesson.

Children aren't born with fully developed executive functions-they have to develop these skills over time, according to Harvard's Center on the Developing Child. Children who have adverse experiences-such as neglect, abuse, or violence-or learning disabilities are at greater risk of impaired attention and self-regulation skills. So classroom distractions may be harming the students who need the most help.

The Third Teacher
© Nichole Murray
This study is the latest in an emerging field looking at classrooms as the third teacher-after parents and the teacher-which views the environment as essential to supporting learning. The idea is hardly new; approaches such as Reggio Emilia and Montessori put it at the forefront of pedagogy, giving classrooms a prominent role in shaping how students learn. Recent studies have shown evidence for the role that classrooms play in learning: A 2014 study, for example, found that young students spent more time off-task when classroom walls were highly decorated, while research on flexible classrooms shows that optimizing physical characteristics of classrooms such as light, color, and seating options can improve academic performance by as much as 16 percent.

The takeaway: Classroom walls should feel warm and lively but not overcrowded-keep 20 to 50 percent of the wall space clear, and fill the rest with student work, inspiring pictures, and learning aids.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
What you put on your classroom walls can affect your students' ability to learn.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How to Set Up a Learner-Centered Classroom

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A quick primer on how to think about the decorations in your classroom, with five research-backed tips for getting it right.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
By dedicating space to pictures of students learning in your classroom, you help ensure that everyone feels like a part of the group.

Frazao Studio Latino / Getty

As educators, we know how important it is that students feel seen, valued, and welcomed in our classrooms. There are many ways to create these kinds of spaces within the walls of our schools, but one strategy I have always relied on is "family" photos. Not only do these photos help students explicitly see that they belong, but they can help you solidify some of your favorite memories from the school year.

By family photos I mean intentionally curating and posting photos of the classroom family you've created. We often talk about our students as "our kids" and our classrooms as "families," so, in the same way that you would post photos around your own home, you can post photos in the classroom.

When students enter the space, you want them to see a visual reminder that not only do they belong, but they are part of something bigger; they are a critical part of the classroom community you've created and have an opportunity and responsibility each day to positively impact that environment.

Getting Started

In my first classroom, I was a resource teacher who conducted small group sessions for students with exceptionalities. Because I had only a small group of students, it was easy to dedicate a full bulletin board to student photos. I started by bringing my Polaroid camera into the classroom and allowing students to capture moments throughout the school day that meant something to them: earning a particularly high mark on an assignment, completing a difficult project, or giving a presentation.

Teachers with a single group of students, whether a small group or more than 30 students, can apply a similar approach of dedicating one single space to photos. This might be a bulletin board in the classroom or a full wall that you tape photos to throughout the year.

In my next classroom, I was teaching multiple classes of more than 30 students, so my approach had to change. I used colorful tape to create four quadrants on one large bulletin board and dedicated one to each of my classes. I found it important to keep the family photos separated by class in order to reinforce the sense of close-knit community in each separate set of students.

Those who teach multiple classes will likely be able to adapt that same approach to create space for family photos in their classrooms. Depending on the amount of wall space, teachers may be able to use a full bulletin board for each class, so it's important to consider what are the most critical visual components to display in the classroom when getting started.

For your family photos to have the greatest positive impact on your classroom, there are three key considerations to keep in mind: promoting community values, ensuring that every student is seen, and keeping yourself consistent all year long.

The photos you choose to display should serve a specific purpose; they should reinforce the community values you want to emphasize in your classroom. Rather than just posting randomly selected pictures of students, you can instead be purposeful in selecting photos that best exhibit values like collaboration, persistence, or kindness.

In my own classroom, I strove to get photos of students working in groups to reflect our focus on communication and collaboration. Additionally, a major focus in my classroom was on independent reading, a task that many of my students found quite challenging. To help highlight their persistence and determination to finish challenging texts, I would take photos of students with their books once they were done. My students loved to have these photos taken and posted as reminders that they could find and finish books they truly enjoyed.

Depending on the values you hope to promote, and the specific activities you prioritize in your classroom, the photos you seek out may be different. Whatever photos you hope to capture, remember to consider the message they promote, as you will likely have to get selective as you begin to fill up your dedicated space.

Ensuring That Every Student Is Seen

Family photos as a classroom-decor concept only works if every student is represented and seen as part of the family.

One way to make sure no one is left out is by starting with a class photo. I would either use the official class photos taken at school, or take one myself of the entire class and post that in the middle of the bulletin board as a starting point for family photos. Not only did this quickly ensure that every student was seen, but it centered our class as a whole, reinforcing the sense of family.

Throughout the year, you'll need to continually monitor your family photos display to make sure it feels balanced and represents all of your students, especially if new students join your classroom later in the year.

Keeping Consistent

Lastly, you'll need to stay consistent with maintaining and updating your family photos display for it to continually add value to your space. I dedicated one day per quarter to update my own display, during which I would replace older photos with new ones to reflect the most up-to-date version of my students and our classroom community values.

As I took photos down, I would move them into a box in my desk to save. Some students wanted to take photos home, and others were happy to just look through them as the year progressed. Not only were students excited to look back on their school year in photos, but I had students return just to look through the photo box even after they'd moved on from my classroom.

While family photos can take a bit of initial planning and the whole process requires consistency, it's an incredibly effective way to help every student see that the classroom is a space for them to show up authentically each day. You might be surprised to see the positive difference it can make in your classroom and how students feel about the community you create.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Using Photos to Create a More Welcoming Classroom

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
By dedicating space to pictures of students learning in your classroom, you help ensure that everyone feels like a part of the group.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Classroom walls don't have to be Instagram-worthy so long as they display the right information and allow students to shine.

The "Pinterest teacher": We can all picture the perfectly decorated classroom, seasonally aligned themes, expertly crafted posters-a classroom any child would be excited to spend time in. I, however, am no Pinterest teacher. I have never had the artistic skill or creative ability to make my classroom look anything like the pictures I see online.

If you're like me, you might be ready to come to terms with the fact that your classroom will never be worthy of thousands of Instagram likes, but that doesn't mean you can't create an incredibly rich, informative, and welcoming space for your students. Below, I outline four things that help me make the most of my classroom walls in a way that feels authentic and reflects my students.

4 Essentials for Classroom Walls

1. Content anchor charts: While my anchor charts aren't always the prettiest, they are incredibly helpful for my students, and I make sure to have multiple anchor charts in their view during class. Anchor charts help consistently expose students to key concepts, vocabulary, and important notes.

To make the most of your anchor charts, create them with your students and update them as needed. When I first started teaching, I would make a ton of math-related anchor charts and just throw them up on the walls for the whole year. My students barely took note of them and didn't connect the individual anchor charts to the units we were actively learning.

Now, I make my anchor charts during the individual lesson they align with best so students are involved in making the anchor chart and posting it in the room. I have seen my students be far more invested in referencing the anchor charts they had a hand in creating.

Additionally, by rotating my anchor charts during each unit, my walls are far less crowded, and my students can quickly recognize what the most important information is for them to focus on during the lesson. If certain anchor charts are always important, feel free to keep those on the walls all year, but consider putting them to the side or up higher on your walls to give the current topic's anchor charts the prime space.

2. Reminders of the rules: A second type of poster to keep on your walls is reminders of specific classroom rules and policies. This is helpful to continually ground students in the classroom expectations and how to demonstrate excellence.

Depending on the age of the students and your specific classroom policies, this might look like a consequence ladder, a description of how to hand in work, an explanation of what students should do when they need something during class, or sentence starters for engaging in classroom conversation. In my own space, I have a poster with the classroom expectations as well as a poster of our school's values visible for students.

3. Academic Hall of Fame: The next way to make the most of classroom space is through the creation of an Academic Hall of Fame. This is a space dedicated to showing off exceptional student work and should be consistently updated to ensure all students have the opportunity to be recognized. In the past, I have had a bulletin board on which I stapled sheet protectors so I could easily slip pieces of student work in and remove them without potentially ripping the work.

To further build on this, you can even post a photo of the student next to their work or keep a separate space dedicated to pictures of students who have been honored as classroom MVPs (or whatever other positive behavioral interventions and supports incentives you have).

The key to investing students in your Academic Hall of Fame is not only to ensure everyone has an opportunity to be showcased but to consistently reference it and make a point of sharing it with families. I will award students for academic growth as well as academic excellence and do my best to update families when their students have been recognized.

4. Student showcase: Lastly, and maybe my favorite way to help students see the classroom as a space they belong in, you can use your walls to showcase your students' nonacademic talents and activities.

In my class, I have multiple students who are talented artists and writers. Anytime they complete a piece and show it to me, I offer to hang it on the bulletin board I have dedicated to showing off nonmathematical class content. Almost every time, my students are so excited to have me hang up their work.

It's incredibly empowering for students, especially those who may struggle with your specific content, to see something they did or something they created on display in the space.

Beyond drawings, song lyrics, and short stories, I also do my best to photograph special moments throughout the school year and hang those photos on my walls as well. Whether it's in photos of a twin day at school, the basketball team after a win, or my students marching in the most recent Mardi Gras parade, my students love to see themselves reflected on the walls of our room.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Classroom walls don't have to be Instagram-worthy so long as they display the right information and allow students to shine.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
CLASSROOM SETUP 2024-2025 // FIRST GRADE CLASSROOM (PT. 1)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
When working on your classroom layout, it's important to make sure it helps children feel welcome, inspired, and understood.

What do you see when you walk into your classroom or other spaces in your school? Look objectively. Look at the walls, the floor, and everywhere in between. The classroom environment, hallways, and more are full of possibilities to show and share children's work and voices.

In the Reggio Emilia approach, educators say the learning environment is the third teacher (after parents or guardians and the classroom teacher). This means that the learning environment is a crucial space to show wonder, curiosity, ideas, values, pictures, stories, etc., that are being told on a daily basis in the school setting.

As educator Mary Ann Biermeier has written, "The third teacher is the environment-a setting designed to be not only functional but also beautiful and reflective of the child's learning. It is the child's relationship with parent, teacher, and environment that ignites learning."

Learning Can Happen Anywhere

After you see and notice what's on the walls and how the space is presenting itself, ask how does your space feel? Does it feel cluttered? Does it feel empty? Does it feel reflective of the learners in your school? Does it feel safe? Your goal is not just decorating a beautiful space but also creating a space that fosters wonder, safety, structure, children's voices, and joy.

Another aspect to consider when thinking about the learning environment as the third teacher is using other spaces that aren't your classroom. Ideally, your classroom isn't the only learning space-the hallways, outside spaces, and field trips also help students construct understandings around the questions that you're wondering about together. There are moments when you can step outside, even for five minutes, and get an answer that ignites deeper learning and understanding compared to looking in a book or tablet.

6 Things to Consider About Your Environment

1. Clear clutter: Children want to be in a space that they can navigate and that has purpose. When working in your room, think about the piles, the baskets, and the toys that aren't being played with, and remove them or organize them to create a clean and purposeful space.

2. Hang it up: When it comes to what's on the walls, it's important to feature the children's work, their pictures, and stories that involve them because that tells them those things are important enough to be up there and that you want to share their work with others.

3. Inspire wonder and inquiry: How does your space show the values that are important to you and your school? If inquiry is important, make sure your space has some things that cause your students to stop and wonder-maybe a bird's nest if you're studying habitats, or maybe an X-ray of an animal, or water and shells if you're studying water.

4. What's the story? I consider myself a storyteller when communicating our work to others, so I often ask myself, "What story is my environment or documentation telling? How is it inviting children to become inspired and add to, deepen, or change the story?"

For example, one year I did a project on loose parts with my students. On a board in my room, I put the work up as we went along so it showed the process of the project. We placed a web of our thoughts, and a quote from a students when she said that loose parts were everywhere, and then I put pictures of the students creating new things with old loose parts. This "story" gave the students a tangible way to see their work and ideas and to get an idea of the timeline of our project, as well as stay inspired and engaged with it.

5. Offer real experiences: Children want to be taken seriously, and they want opportunities to do real things. What tools do you have out for children to discover meaning and purpose in the world around them? Keeping high-quality materials in the classroom shows that we believe the children will take care of them and use them to answer their questions.

For example, having glass jars filled with different materials (beads, paint, markers, etc.) creates a message that you believe children can take care of fragile items. You are communicating that you trust them and believe in them.

6. Make sure all children are seen: How will all of your students feel seen and valued in your space? It's not about having 18 cat crafts hanging up on the wall, but rather the story being told about the experiences you have had together as a class. You might have pictures of some students, quotes from others, and work of others-together all that tells students why and how you are deepening the learning. Make sure each student is being seen in some way so they feel valued and inspired.

Children spend a lot of time in school, so it's important for them to be in a space that's inviting and welcoming, and that says, "I see you." You can create a space that excites them and changes based on their interests and current thinking. The room is also a space for you as well, so think about what kind of space you and your colleagues want to work in. Reflect on your and your students' story-what do you want to share and why do you want to share it?

In the end, this work is about sharing children's voices and empowering them so that they see themselves as important, heard, capable, competent, and creative.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Designing Your Pre-K Classroom for Deeper Learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
When working on your classroom layout, it's important to make sure it helps children feel welcome, inspired, and understood.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Low-Stakes Writing: Writing to Learn, Not Learning to Write

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Getting to Know Your Students as Writers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Oracy in the Classroom: Strategies for Effective Talk

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Dr. Anita Archer - Vocabulary Instruction

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
60 Second-Strategy: Cooperative Learning Roles

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
60-Second Strategy: Respond, Reflect, and Review

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Scaffolding Discussion Skills With a Socratic Circle

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Inviting Participation With Thumbs-Up Responses

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Encouraging Academic Conversations With Talk Moves

# data[].attributes.headline
GO TO STRATEGIES- Look specifically at WRITING ones.

# data[].attributes.subject
GO TO STRATEGIES- Look specifically at WRITING ones.

# data[].attributes.headline
Sesame Street, Season 54, Episode 3, PROUD OF MY NAME- Find on MAX, Apple TV, or PRIME VIDEO.

# data[].attributes.subject
Sesame Street, Season 54, Episode 3, PROUD OF MY NAME- Find on MAX, Apple TV, or PRIME VIDEO.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Proud of My Name - Sesame Street (Season 54, Episode 3) - Apple TV

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Elmo, Gabrielle, and Rosita join a basketball team! When Coach Jones start calling Rosita, “Rosie,” her friends encourage her to tell the coach that h…

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Daniel Tiger FULL EPISODE | Daniel Asks What Friends Like/Miss Elaina's Space Restaurant | PBS KIDS

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Grade 2: Vocabulary Lists | IL Classroom

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Access a list of vocabulary words to use when preparing resources for each module.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Grade 1: Vocabulary Lists | IL Classroom

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Access a list of vocabulary words to use when preparing resources for each module.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Designed to provide quick access to essential tools for organizing and preparing grade-level instruction.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Grade 3: Vocabulary Lists | IL Classroom

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Access a list of vocabulary words to use when preparing resources for each module.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Grade 4: Vocabulary Lists | IL Classroom

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Access a list of vocabulary words to use when preparing resources for each module.

# data[].attributes.body
This document isn't updated for this year, and the last section isn't complete, but there's some good information in it.