New Year, New Class, New Spaces

A teacher looks at a year in two ways. First, there is "The Standard Year".  This is the way everyone looks at a year. It begins in January and ends in December.  There is also "The School Year".  This year begins, (for teachers, anyway) in August and ends in June.  So, if we are following this rule of thumb, a new School Year has technically already started. 

There is a lot of preparation, as teachers know, to get ready for the new year. For me, a large chunk of time is spent on preparing our class space. This year, the time put into organizing the classroom was well worth it, and I hope that the grade 3 students who come into this space feel relaxed, welcome and inspired. 

For me, classroom set up is the key to all things.  It has everything to do with how I teach, the strategies I use and the skills and at activities that I intend students to focus on. When I put the teaching strategies I learned together with Daily 5 routines and procedures, I knew I was finally on the path to teaching in a way that benefits students, and matches my philosophy of education. 

Having a variety of spaces is a great way to help foster independence in students. They learn what works for them and, with guidance, learn strategies that will help keep them focused to optimize their learning. In our classroom, I have set up spaces that reference the Daily 5 procedures, and allow for student choice. Below is an example of one of these spaces.  This is the "Math Space". In it is the Math Daily 3 board, which acts like a Daily 5 board and a CAFE board in one.  Next to it is an information board. Students will find posters that reference strategies, number representations and other important Math information. 

You'll also notice there are some small plastic bins in this center.  These bins are for math manipulatives and math notebooks.  These bins aren't full because I only put materials out that students are using at the time. I've learned that putting out more than is needed at the time becomes visual noise.

There are also spaces for students to sit. A low coffee table provides seating for students that would like to work sitting on the floor or seated on small pillows...

and the taller end table is exactly the right size for students to pull up a chair and get to work. 

I call this area the "math space" loosely. This is not just a space where students will work on math. Clearly there aren't enough spaces for more than 20 students. Instead, they will practice any strategy in any subject here. It is, however, the space for students to access the majority of supplies they will use in Math. 

Just as students are required to find Good Fit Books, finding a Good Fit Space to work and stay focused is equally as important. This space is just one way to help students do that.