Tonight is a short post, because I am tired from first day with kids (went great!) and first day of grad school class (I have to read 35 chapters of Moby-Dick by next Wednesday...). I thought a lot about my classroom environment this summer, and how I wanted to change things to make them flow smoothly. After reading some Nancie Atwell, I decided I wanted to make "conference corners" kids could go to for peer conferences, so the inner part of the classroom remained quiet for kids who need that. So... the tall shelf at the front of the room and the file cabinets at the back of the room are not for "naughty corners," even though they look like it. I actually love how organized and neat my room looks right now. It won't be that way for long, so I have to enjoy it.
The top image is taken from the front opposite corner, where you can see my (clean) teacher desk in one corner and the other makeshift conference area of file cabinets in the other. Our school is not the prettiest (we're beginning remodeling right now), but I look forward to having the kids help decorate.
The next image is taken from the back corner of the room by the door. I like to start students out in rows so the environment feels pretty structured at first. I'm a fourth-year teacher, so I think my youth means that I must start out friendly but strict, and I need the classroom structure to support that. You can see the conference corner at the front of the room. I am always interested in how a physical classroom environment plays a role in kids' attitudes toward learning, and I'm dying to know if these conference corners will really help with volume in my writer's workshop. Time will tell.
Grad school and teaching at the same time? You're incredible. I hope you have a really awesome group of kids this year.
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