Choice Lit Topic: Classroom Design
There’s been a remarkable amount of brain research demonstrating how crucial environments are for learning. Cozy, well-lit and well-organized spaces are essential for literacy learners of any age. The constraints teachers face in designing and organizing their classrooms are enormous — from irritated fire marshals to fear of lice infestations, with limited budgets always at the forefront. You’ll be inspired by these beautiful classrooms, created by teachers who manage to design spaces any reader or writer would love.
Results
Tight Spaces Part I: Maximizing Room for Literacy Learning (PHOTO ESSAY)
When we first began teaching, our students all sat in desks, row by row. The constant sound of chairs and desks scraping together, and the continually jostling of students against...
Tight Spaces Part II: Design Photo Essay Series
Is there ever enough room for all the materials our students must access and use to learn hour after hour, day after day in our classrooms? We bet if we...
Warm It Up: Lighting a Classroom for Literacy (PHOTO ESSAY)
Lighting is our favorite aspect of classroom design. The whole tone of thelearning environment is shaped by the lamps we place throughout the room. We can have a lovely arrangement...
Meeting Areas (Design Photo Essay Series)
We never used to have meeting areas in our classrooms, because students spent most of their time at desks, facing us as we taught lessons using an overhead or blackboard....
Wall Displays (PHOTO ESSAY)
When we were new teachers, we used to have a different background colorfor each bulletin board or wall display, as well as numerous borders. We would even change those...
Makeover for the Teacher Desk Area
"The Sisters" (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) work with Sarah Thibault and friends in Maine to makeover the teacher desk area in her 4th grade classroom.
3rd Grade Meeting Area Makeover
Are your meeting area wall displays too cluttered? "The Sisters" (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) help a 3rd grade teacher rethink her wall displays and meeting area in this ten-minute...
Organizing Book Bins: Letting Kids Help and Plan
I happily spend my days with first graders . . . I love to guide them as they discover, read, and tell stories. I am curious about kids. What does...
Got Space?
As a literacy coach in grades 3-5, one of my most important roles is that of a resource provider. I am continually on the hunt for good new reading and...
Bookroom Tours Part III
In this six-minute video, The Sisters (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) give a tour of a "choice" bookroom. Unlike many bookrooms organized by level and maintained by teachers, this room...
Middle School Classroom Makeover Part I
In this first of a three-part video series, "The Sisters" (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) help 7th grade teacher Erin declutter and rearrange her classroom.
Morning Meeting in Kindergarten
Danielle French leads her kindergarten students in Waterville, Maine, during morning meeting. After the meeting, Danielle talks with "The Sisters" (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) about the value of this...
Organizing for Independence: From Cubbies to Social Groups
In this brief video, Joan Moser talks about how she organizes student materials in "social groups" to avoid the use of desks or cubbies in her classroom.
Big Books and Charts Organizer
In this two-minute video, Joan Moser shares a simple tool teachers can create for their classrooms to keep Big Books, charts, and laminated large materials organized.
Middle School Library Makeover Part I
In this first of a two-part video series, "The Sisters" (Joan Moser and Gail Boushey) work with students, a librarian, and a principal to makeover a middle-school library. This first...
Middle School Library Makeover Part II: Stacks and Recap
The Sisters (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) collaborate with a middle school librarian, principal, and team of students to makeover the school library. In this final segment of the series,...
1st Grade Room Tour with Katie DiCesare
In this video tour of her 1st grade classroom, Katie DiCesare highlights the many areas of the room used to support literacy, including the classroom library and wall displays.
5th Grade Room Tour
Karen Terlecky's classroom tour focuses on the anchor charts and wall displays she uses to promote literacy with her 5th grade students. Two of the books Karen discusses that have...
Kindergarten Room Tour
In this room tour, Maureen Knostman of Dublin, Ohio shares literacy areas in her kindergarten classroom.
Managing Book Boxes
In this first video in our "Organizing Book Boxes" series, Joan Moser (of "The Sisters") explains three strategies she uses to help students pick books for their book boxes.
Differentiating Book Boxes
In this second video in our "Organizing Book Boxes" series, Joan Moser (of "The Sisters") explains how she differentiates the content of book boxes for students with different skills and...
