Classroom Set-Up Ideas For The New School Year!

Introduction

It’s that time again for classroom set-up ideas for the new school year! How will you be arranging your classroom for this school year? Will you keep it the same all school year or will you mix it up a bit at the end of each quarter or semester? How your classroom is arranged does play a key role in how your classroom will function throughout the school year. In this blog post, you will read about some classroom set-up ideas I have used throughout the years. While other classroom ideas I have seen other teachers use in their classrooms.

Primary Classroom

Desks vs. Tables

When I taught in grades first through third it varied from year to year with me having desks or tables. Both have pros and cons. For me, I enjoyed having tables over desks when it came to the primary students. Mainly because when I had desks somehow the desks would constantly move around throughout the day. They would largely stay in the area I placed them but they would not be as neat as I originally arranged them. They almost always crept up to the front of the classroom! Also with desks, they seemed to take up a lot of room if I had placed them individually and not in clusters.

In the primary classroom, I needed as much space as I could possibly have. I wanted seating for students, a small group table and chairs, my desk area, and a large reading carpet area. I also needed room to set up centers. So my space for students’ desks was at a minimum but I made it work!

Tables take up a lot of space in the classroom. However, tables mainly stay in the place you put them. With tables, you can use them as centers by just putting a crate of materials on top of the tables.

Intermediate Classroom

Desks vs. Tables

When I taught fourth and fifth grade and currently for 6th grade. I prefer to have desks. At this age, students just enjoy having their own personal space. This way students are not crowded at a table but they have their own designated area at their desks. Even better I actually have mini table desks. They are like desks but they do not have the actual desk area where students can put things in the desk. Which I love because having students clean out desks is such a chore! At my school students are allowed to carry clear bookbags or clear containers to keep their belongings in that they need for class.

My Current Classroom Arrangement

Picture of the mini student tables in my current classroom.

Over the years I have had a variety of arrangements for desks. I mostly like having students’ desks pushed together the majority of the year. But I do separate them when state testing comes. Having student desks in clusters or pushed together in lines allows for more space in the classroom. I personally don’t like to have them separate in rows in single file lines. This takes up way too much space!

Using tables in the intermediate classroom can sometimes be a challenge but certainly not impossible. You really need to make sure each student has adequate space at the table. That you are not putting too many students at one table. You also need to consider where will the students put their belongings since there is no desk space.

Example Seating Arrangements

Pictures of desks in rows with two desks next to each other

Pictures of desks in rows with three desks next to each other

Example of desks in rows. With two desk next to each other than a single desk and the pattern repeats itself.

Seating arrangement were the desk are in a horseshoe shape with a small group table in the center.

Seating arrangement with a double horseshoe and a classroom rug in the middle of the horseshoe.

Table seating arrangement with three tables in one row. Two tables in another row. Three tables in the last row.

Same table arrangement as the previous. Bookcases are at the end of each table for students to put their belongings in during class time.

Seating arrangement where groups of two tables are pushed together for 4 table clusters made up of 8 seats.

Conclusion

When it comes to classroom set-up ideas for the new school year knowing where you will place everything is important! Remember to consider what you have to work with in your classroom. Do you have desks or tables? What age group will you work with in your classroom? If using tables, where will students put their things when they are in the classroom? And most of all don’t forget to experiment with different ways that may work in your classroom. You can always rearrange things if what you tried out did not work. I have done this many times and just explained to my students that I was trying out things but prefer desks/tables the current way it is set up.