Finished Classroom

This might be a little delayed, but I finally have my classroom completely set up for this year!  Last June I had to pack up a lot of things because a Middle School program was using the room in the summer, so it took me a while to get things back the way I like them.

Here's the view from the doorway.  I prefer to arrange desks in rows vs in groups - it makes it easier to separate desks for quizzes, move around to form groups of various sizes, and doesn't leave some kids with awkward angles where they don't face the front of the room.

View of the board.  I love having a dry erase board vs a chalk board.  I don't even have to use the screen most of the time (unless there's a really bad glare).  I have the date and homework posted to the right side (side most easily viewed by most of the room), and on the top left you can see I support by boys in purple and red (go Ravens and Caps!).

Left side of the room.  I do unfortunately still have a chalkboard here instead of a dry erase board :(  But I mostly use it as a place to hang up student work or posters, so it's not that much of a loss.  I also have the agenda on this board (easy place for me to see it but still visible to the students).  Student supplies are under the TV.

Right side of the room. Bulletin board with lots of posters.  One bookshelf with my books, reference materials, and activities saved from previous years.  The other bookshelf has dictionaries, workbooks and textbooks for student reference.

My desk, to the right of the dry erase board.  Storage room and reference books behind me, my computer desk, and a smaller desk next to it because, let's face it, I need a lot of space.  I picked this spot for my desk because it gives me a view of all the students and lets them see me.  It's also close to the LCD projector, so I just have to pop over to grab my laptop if we're doing a Power Point or video.

Last but not least, the back of the room (as seen from my desk).  I'm lucky enough to have a lot of shelves in the back of the room for storage (even if they are unfortunately already taken up...).

My only concern is that the room has too much going on.  I worry that it might be too much for some students to take in since there's always something new to be a distraction or that the aids I've put up don't necessarily get used because they're hard to pick out.

- Frau Leonard