Organisation and Accessibility:
- Having room for pupils to sit on the carpet in front of the interactive whiteboard can be effective as it gives a teacher the opportunity to join the pupils together and manage their behaviour as they are closer together so easier to see/ control. Having a clear carpet space is important as if there are tables in the way it may create barriers to pupil’s sight or may influence their behaviour if they are being hidden by an obstacle.
- Having smaller groups of 4 or 6 to avoid big groups talking and a lot of noise. Additionally, I would have mixed groups to avoid bad behaviour and would have a plan in mind which avoided sitting groups of friends together. This is so that behaviour management can be controlled. In relation to the seating plan, I think it would be good to change it every term so pupils get to sit with other children and develop their communication skills. This would also be a good indication of how certain pupils work together.
Use of Resources:
- Resources such as; paper, pens, pencils, sharpeners, rulers etc can be located next to the jotters and textbooks. These should be accessible to all pupils and pupils should be encouraged to help themselves to these.
- Having set places for jotters and finished work means that pupils can access these themselves and there would be no confusion about where to find these. It also encourages them to clean up after themselves and avoids work being lost.
Effective Class Rules and Routines:
- The basic rules of the class can be located next to the teacher’s desk. This is beneficial to have as it limits confusion over what is acceptable in the classroom.
- There should be clear routines in terms of going to the toilet at lunch or break and not straight after said times. Additionally, when leaving the class as a group, they should line up quietly in pairs at the door to avoid chaos.
- Having a morning routine such as having a daily challenge each day whilst the register is being taken can be beneficial as it settles the pupils in the morning and stops them being restless. At this point, the class noise level should be almost silent to make hearing everyone easier. The curriculum is brought into this as each daily challenge can focus on a certain aspect of the curriculum or consolidating previous learning. At my placement school, the class take lunch orders at the same time as the register and choices are identified by colours which they say in French to practice their languages.
- On the other hand, it is equally important to have an end of the day routine to ensure all resources are put away and that the classroom is left tidy and ready for the following day.
By having routines and rules, the process of delivering the curriculum is much easier as behaviour will be better and there will be less time spent explaining basic expectations for activities to pupils.
Allocating Activities:
- I believe it is beneficial to have certain jobs for pupils which change weekly giving them opportunities to be responsible for specific things – this may also help with managing social development.
Display and Presentation:
- Having photos of the class/ pupils on the door could be a good thing to have in a class as it gives each pupil an identity and supports everyone being the same. It also introduces the class to any new visitors.
- Current topic displays can be beneficial as they allow pupils to refer back to the basics throughout the course of the topic if they ever need to. It also shows off the skills and abilities of the class which could encourage them to continue to work well – Ethos of Achievement.
- Having VCOP, French words and timetables throughout the class is good as it gives pupils ideas for words and reminders. Having French words encourages language communication between pupils and works on developing their language ability.
Overall it is extremely clear how important planning and organisation in the classroom is good organisation provides a good foundation for effective lessons and good behaviour management.
Rough Classroom Layout
