Tips for Setting Up Your Classroom

Whether starting at a new school, changing grades, or switching classrooms, you will need time to set up your classroom. Although some teachers get into their classrooms a week or two early to set up, some schools don’t let teachers set up until preservice week (the week before the first day of school). So here are some tips to help you set up your classroom during the preservice week.

LINKS IN BLOG POST :

Visual Number Line – Numbers 0 – 120 using base ten blocks
Class Helpers – Students contribute to keeping the room clean, safe, and organized
A Visit from the Desk Fairy – A resource to help students keep the inside of their desks clean

#1 Create a Priority List

You will have a never-ending to-do list the week before school starts. You’ll have to meet with your team, staff meetings, and run errands, gather supplies, print worksheets, the list goes on. You won’t get it all done, and that’s okay. That’s why you should focus on the most critical tasks first. The goal is to prepare your classroom for your students. Concentrate on the tasks that prepare you for the first day of school. That means clearing the areas they will use the most such as the desks and cubby spaces.

What you don’t get done at school, I think you should do at home (I know, I know!) I don’t think teachers should work at home, but at the beginning of the school year, there’s so much to do that it may be best to do work that you can complete at home in your home while work that must get done at school is done at school.

#2 Plan your layout

Map out your classroom. You want to make sure you can see all students at all times, no matter where they are. Decide where you will put your centers and supply bins. I recommend you do this on paper first, so you don’t waste time moving desks around only to realize it won’t work.

Decide what you want to put on your bulletin boards and walls. I’m not a huge fan of colors or themes because I find them distracting. There’s also a lot of research to support heavily decorated classrooms distracting students from learning. I usually pick black and a few other solid colors in my class. It’s not distracting and inviting.

I would put up alphabet posters and number lines and create a space to display student work. You may also want room for a word or sound wall, schedule, class helpers, and emergency exit signs.

And don’t forget about your space. Make sure you know where you want to place your stuff!

#3 Label Everything

Visual aids will help your students navigate the classroom. Many children will be able to read the words on the label, and some will rely on the pictures, so it’s important to include both. Label supply bins, literacy, and math center directions.