Module 1- Key Assessment Classroom Environment (Layout) by

Teacher's Desk

alexishalenkirby — 2024-09-01 14:30:16 UTC

My desk is located directly to your right when you walk into the room, with a clear path between the teacher's chair and the front door. Directly behind me the classroom phone hangs on the wall alongside our television. Beside the phone I've hung a small whiteboard so that I may quickly right down messages as I receive them.

Traditional Student Seating (3 Groups of 6 Students)

alexishalenkirby — 2024-09-01 14:31:04 UTC

Normally I would begin the school year with a seating chart grouped by behavior. After researching Vygotsky's theory of constructivist learning, I was inspired to group by academic standing instead. I analyzed the ELA and Math data taken on the student's staggered entry day, and placed two low, two medium, and two high students at each seating group. I believe, like Vygotsky that children flourish when being challenged, so having a mix of academic proficiencies at each table group should encourage productive dialogue and active participation. Also, since there are two of each "type" of student it means that there should always be a peer on your level to interact with!

White Board/Carpet

alexishalenkirby — 2024-09-01 14:32:55 UTC

Flexible seating lines the wall underneath the whiteboard. After eating breakfast and completing their morning work students can free play on this carpet before our morning meeting. This board and carpet combo are also used for our afternoon meeting. I like beginning and ending the day in this area of the room as it is free from technology and hallway distractions.

ClearTouch/Carpet

alexishalenkirby — 2024-09-01 14:37:13 UTC

This large carpet and interactive ClearTouch is where the students meet for whole group instruction in our four main content areas: ELA, Math, Science, and Social Studies! We also use this space for brain breaks. There is plenty of open space for the kiddos to sprawl out and run around. Flexible seating also lines this wall - students are encouraged to sit where and how they learn best!

Front Door

alexishalenkirby — 2024-09-01 14:39:38 UTC

Every day I begin by greeting my students in the doorway/hallway. Before they enter the room they answer a question about the prior day's learning target! The questions are differentiated so each student "gets a win" before even entering the room; this might look like a clip-up, sticker, or other reward specific to the child's interests. As they come into the room, there is a clear path leading them to the cubbies! This is the first year the cubbies are located here. Poole expects us to relocate items, equipment, or individuals as needed to minimize distractions (Poole, 2019). I hope this set up will encourage students to walk straight in and directly to their cubbies to begin their routine, and cut down on interruptions and increase focus.

*Poole, I , Evertson, C , & the IRIS Center (2019) Effective room
arrangement: Elementary. Retrieved from https://iris peabody
vanderbilt edu/wp-content/uploads/pdf_case_studies/ics_
effrmarr_elementary pdf

Cubbies

alexishalenkirby — 2024-09-01 14:39:50 UTC

Students stop here first to retrieve their bin which includes fidgets, school supplies, water bottles, etc. In place of their bin, they leave their backpack, lunchbox, coat, and any other personals. Before putting away their backpacks, they put their homework folder in the bucket atop the cubbies! This one stop shop should cut down on traffic as they quickly take their bin and breakfast to their desk so that they may begin their morning routine.

Back Door

alexishalenkirby — 2024-09-01 14:49:25 UTC

This door stays locked and is only used as an exit for fire drills or in case of an actual emergency. There is a bell attached to the doorframe so that I can hear if it opens.

Bathroom Door

alexishalenkirby — 2024-09-01 14:50:19 UTC

This bathroom door connects to a hallway with two restrooms. The end of the hall leads you into the conjoining kindergarten classroom!

Classroom Sink

alexishalenkirby — 2024-09-01 14:52:50 UTC

Storage Closets

alexishalenkirby — 2024-09-01 14:53:18 UTC

These locked closets hold everything from crafting supplies to cleaning products!

Calm Down Corner

alexishalenkirby — 2024-09-01 14:54:22 UTC

This space used to be a storage closet but I removed the closest doors so that the space could serve as an extra, small "room." Students can enter the calming corner whenever they need to be removed from a stimulating situation.

Kidney Table

alexishalenkirby — 2024-09-01 15:02:14 UTC

Directly behind my kidney table I have two shelves dedicated to small group instruction; one for math and the other for reading. I can clearly see the front and back door, as well as the door to our bathroom from this location. Students come to this removed area for one-on-four instruction, while other groups are rotating around the room to different centers. This space in the corner is perfect for accommodating small group instruction.

Celebration Wall

alexishalenkirby — 2024-09-01 15:19:03 UTC

Here is the Celebration Wall where students go to interact with the clip chart, and view student work and progress. Every child has their photo taken on the first day of school so that they may see themselves and their accomplishments grow over the course of the year.

Reading Corner

alexishalenkirby — 2024-09-01 15:31:15 UTC

In our Module 1 Case Study: "Effective Room Arrangement" we are reminded to think of students who use wheelchairs and the like that may benefit from additional
space for movement (Poole, 2019). Usually, I would use this space to house another table for instruction and/or for a TA to utilize while they are in the room. This year I chose to leave it open for extra space/storage for the kids. It simply holds a small carpet and a few accessible books that line the wall.