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
Book Boxes Nuts and Bolts
In this final video in our "Organizing Book Boxes" series, Joan Moser (of "The Sisters") tackles the issue of what types of books and what levels are appropriate for student...
6th Grade Classroom Room Tour
Katie Doherty shares how she has organized her 6th grade classroom to support students at her bustling middle school.
Animals for Literacy: 4th Grade Room Tour
In this five-minute video room tour, 4th grade teacher Andrea Smith from Dublin, Ohio shows how she builds a classroom community and much of her literacy curriculum from the care...
1st Grade Room Tour with Kelly Yahr
In this four-minute video, Kelly Yahr introduces viewers to her 1st grade classroom. Kelly emphasizes how much ownership students have of wall displays and the library, especially through their writing...
Fifth-Grade Room Tour
"The Sisters" (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) show the many creative and low-cost ways in which a colleague displays books and materials to build interest in literacy.
4th Grade Room Tour
In this video tour of her 4th grade classroom, Aimee Buckner highlights how she arranges books, charts, and other resources to support the reading and writing of her students.
Desk Area Reorganization
In this brief time-lapse video, The Sisters (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) help Carrie reorganize her desk and rug area for better access to literacy materials and teaching supplies. ...
Student Storage Areas: Tips for Reorganizing
"The Sisters" (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) talk with Kelly about strategies for reorganizing student storage areas, considering access, group supplies, and how the materials are used.
Decluttering a Storage Area
In this time-lapse video, "The Sisters" (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) help second-year teacher Carrie declutter a storage area in May, talking through decisions about what to keep and what...
Organizing Reading Area Supplies
We design our rooms to support students as they work independently. Often this means areas throughout the room house supplies for literacy - books for independent reading, guided reading, notebooks,...
Meeting Area Makeover
Meeting areas in classrooms serve many purposes: they are gathering places for students and teachers, and they also are key storage areas on the perimeter for student work, materials, and...
Tips for Displaying Student Work
In this six-minute video, "The Sisters" (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) help a colleague dress up her displays of student work. The common mistake teachers make is to display work...
Preparing Walls for Displays
In this four-minute video, The Sisters (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) help a new teacher "frame up" an area of the room for future displays of student work, in a...
Bookroom Tours – Part I
In this three-minute video, The Sisters (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) take viewers on a tour of an elementary bookroom. The books are arranged by levels, with Joan and Gail...
Bookroom Tours Part II
In this three-minute video, "The Sisters" (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) continue their tours of school bookrooms. The focus in this presentation is on the checkout system used to keep...
A Literacy “Playground”: Cheryl Cole’s Second Grade Classroom
Aimee Buckner hosts this video tour of Cheryl Cole's second grade classroom at Brookwood Elementary School in Gwinnett County, Georgia. Cheryl shares the many strategies she uses to promote literacy...
Middle School Classroom Makeover Part III
In this third of a three-part video series, "The Sisters" (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) help 7th grade teacher Erin declutter and rearrange her classroom. Have you ever been assigned...
Middle School Classroom Makeover Part II
In this second of a three-part video series, "The Sisters" (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) help seventh-grade teacher Erin declutter and rearrange the media area of the classroom, creating a...
Numbering and Arranging Classroom Library Bins
In this video, "The Sisters" (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) help experienced teacher Kelly create a numbering system for her classroom library. They talk together about strategies for teaching children...
Literacy Room for Teachers Tour
When Jennifer Allen became a literacy specialist ten years ago in Waterville, Maine, she inherited a dusty basement space, bare except for a large pile of ancient reading intervention materials...
Lighting Redesign from the Sisters
In this five-minute time-lapse video, Gail Boushey and Joan Moser redesign the lighting in their colleague Ahnsaly's literacy meeting area. In the process, they talk about the challenges of "black...
