A quick Pinterest or YouTube search for “classroom setup” will show you how to put together a beautiful classroom. I’m all about having a cute classroom that you enjoy being in all day long, but it’s also important for your classroom to be set up with function in mind. This is especially important when it comes to setting up a classroom for math.
When students walk into your classroom, it should feel like a place where they are mathematicians! They should be able to access the tools they need, be encouraged to try new strategies, and feel organized. Keeping this in mind while setting up your classroom will make a huge difference in how your students respond to math this year!
Want to know some simple things you can do to set your classroom up for math this year? Keep reading for 4 tips to keep math at the forefront of your classroom!
1. Think About Manipulative Storage
Manipulatives are one of the most important things to think about during classroom setup. A lot of times, math manipulatives are shoved into a cabinet and only occasionally pulled out… or are covered by so many things, they can’t even be accessed.
I want you to stop and think about it–who are the manipulatives for? Your students, of course! If they are not easily accessible for students, then what’s the point in having them? As you’re setting up your classroom, make sure that you are dedicating a space where students can find manipulatives when they need them.
As you’re setting up this space, choose whether to organize it by manipulative type or into manipulative “toolkits” for students. In my own classroom, I use shelves that have bins labeled by manipulative type, and it works well for my students. During lessons, a student helper could easily grab the bin and pass it out to their classmates. If a student wants to use them during independent work, they can also access the bin to get what they need!
2. Use Your Wall Space Wisely
In my opinion, classroom walls are precious real estate for learning tools. You don’t want to take up much of your wall space with anything that is purely decorative. During your classroom setup, think about how you can make every inch of your wall space count.
When you’re planning how to use your walls, set aside a dedicated space where you can display anchor charts that you make with students. You can design a focus wall, or dedicate each wall to a different subject if you teach multiple content areas. As you create more anchor charts throughout the year, you may also want to switch them out. Leaving up all of the anchor charts can lead to cluttered walls–have a place to store them. I store them in a basket to reuse each year and put photos of each chart in a binder for students to access.
Another thing to think about when planning how to use your walls: How will you display student work? Displaying student work isn’t just about showing off pretty arts and crafts–it’s about showing off examples of students’ thinking. This is important because it creates a math mindset in your classroom! It shows students strategies they may not have thought of, and encourages them to take chances in math!
3. Organize Student Whiteboards
Individual student whiteboards are a must have in any math classroom. They are a great tool for students to use to quickly show their work while learning (without using so much paper). It’s important to think about how you’ll organize your students’ whiteboard and dry erase markers during classroom setup.
Your students need a quick way to access their whiteboards! You can store them in a bin and have student helpers pass them out. Or, if you want to save a little time, have students keep them in their desks!
The most annoying thing about whiteboards is keeping up with dry erase markers. I don’t know what it is, but students seem to go through dry erase markers at the speed of light. The first few years I had students use dry erase markers, I wanted to rip my hair out… we’d pass out markers and half of them would be dried out, and we never knew who was responsible. I knew we needed some accountability, so I started giving students one dry erase marker per semester and labeled it with their name. If they lost it or it dried out, their parents could buy them a new one or they had to use paper and pencil from then on. After winter break, it was a big deal when students got their new markers!
4. Make a Space for Early Finisher Activities
One of my biggest pet peeves is when students come up to me and say, “I’m done, what do I do now?” Having a procedure in place for early finishers is important, and you need to plan for it during classroom setup. Will you have specific activities for early finishers to complete? If so, where will they be kept, so that they don’t have to ask for them?
At the beginning of the year, it’s important to go over your procedures for early finisher activities. Model how to select an activity, and display an anchor chart or poster with the choices that students have. Some choices I give my students are:
- Independent reading
- Math escape rooms
- Math riddles
- Word searches
- Coloring pages
- Sudoku puzzles
In my classroom, all of these activities (except independent reading) are located in paper-sized drawers and labeled. I change out the activities each month and store the extra copies in file folders for the following years. My students know that they are allowed to do any of these activities if their work is complete!
Setting up your classroom for a new school year can be exciting! As you’re scrolling through ideas on Pinterest or watching classroom set up videos on YouTube, don’t forget to think about the function of your classroom. A classroom is for learning–looking pretty is a bonus!
Want more tips on setting up your classroom? Check out these other blog posts:
