I’m horrible at keeping track of lists. Just horrible. So instead of having a notebook or something where I keep track of everything I think of to try in my classroom, I’m going to have a webpage. Maybe then either, you’ll say, “That’s brilliant, Abigail! I’m going to take all your ideas and implement them immediately!” or more likely, “Umm… Abigail, that won’t work. Haven’t you read this and this and this and this?” To which I respond, “No…. that’s why I thought it was a brilliant idea.” If this gets long, which it probably will, I’ll break it into sub pages.
With that said, let’s begin. Oh, and I’m numbering them just in case I end up coming up with more ideas than what I have right now. So if you don’t see a follow-up 2, that’s because there isn’t.
Classroom layout
1) Desks are needed as a place to have good penmanship and a place to keep kids still. However, i can’t imagine that desks promote good posture or help with preventing soreness. (I sat in one today and my neck hurt after sitting in it for a couple hours.) As such, I propose desks line the wall and are used when they are needing a hard surface. In the center of the classroom is sections marked off as designated “seats.” Kids can move inside these seats as much as they want but they can’t leave them without permission. Also, clipboards if they want to work inside the squares, so long as they can write neatly. I need to keep in mind storage spaces when arranging this though.
Management
1) Hand raising: I hate that kids can’t sometimes blurt out answers. It stops discussion. So, there’s the hand rising statue or something. Whenever it is on, hands must go up. Whenever it’s off, answers can be said without being called on.
2) Questions: Questions during in-seat work will be brought to my throne/desk/seat/wherever I am. Why? Because otherwise I might miss the person raising their hand or I don’t know who rose theirs first. Also, kids get tired of rising hands and eventually give up.
3) Falling asleep: When kids seem tired, obviously, have them get up and do some jumping jacks or something.
Decorations
1) Hanging decorations: Ceilings are blank canvases just waiting for decorations. So, how about picking something we might or might not be studying, say, summer goals or favorite book, write it on a cutout and then hang them from the ceiling.
2) Streamers: Okay, maybe classes aren’t a party, but streamers would be an easy way to add color to an otherwise dull classroom.
3) Educations aids: Timelines that we build throughout the year and maps, so I can easily point to the place while we talk about it.
4) Have kids make their own strong word list, if we discuss that. Then, they might get better at coming up with ideas and it would be better than the pre-made one I saw in the classroom.
5) Put stuff on the ceiling: This might be something as simple as putting up phrases that you repeat a lot to other “fun” things.
6) Reusable bulletin boards: Make bulletin boards that can be used again for several years in a row. However, throw them out after a bit and come up with another design. Not only do they get old, they also get boring and out of date.
Homework
1) Keep track of homework by writing it on a white board in the room. Also, have homework sheets that kids can bring home.
2) Send home newsletters so parents know what the child has due next week.
3) Get some kind of sticker or something that you use to mark that the pages are graded. That way, if anyone helps you grade, you know what they graded and what they didn’t.
