Structure

"Begin at the beginning!" shouts Imogene Herdman in one of my all-time favorite books, PageThe Best Christmas Pageant Ever. It's a voice I hear often, a reminder to approach work as a process, which is, unfortunately, not a skill I naturally possess. I'm much more wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey, which, of course, ends with a bunch of useless, half-done bits and pieces.

So, on with a bit of self-discipline.

All of which ties in with where my brain is today: what physical and organizational structure would work best in a minds-on, hands-on, do-something classroom? Since I'm elementary, and set up for a workshop format anyway, I've got desks in pods. The room's a decent size; the only adult furniture in the room is my one (disaster of a) desk and my rocking chair. The rest is low bookshelves and rug space. We've got a big ol' rug with dots that I snagged from The Infamous Year in Kindergarten that lies in front of the Promethean board. Desk pods are worked around that rug. It's comfortable this year, since I've only got 19, but that's unusual - and about 5 short of the norm.

It's fine for a reasonably-traditional fourth grade room. It will have to work better for the transformation I want to become reality. I'm a Montessori chick, so I get the importance of The Environment.

It will require:

• Group space (done.)
• Small team working space - okay, I've got 4 additional rugs that delineate team space. They make physical space obvious, but since they're not walled-in at all, noise 'bleeds' from one to the other, if you take my meaning. I'd also like to add some drawing space - whiteboard dividers, I'm thinking - Stanford's dschool published a DIY plan for a rolling whiteboard: Adult-sized Z-rack. I'm wondering if it couldn't be child-sized - 3' by 3' (?) and suspended from an adjustable shower-curtain rod between two low bookcases. 
• Leave-me-the-hell-alone-I'm-working individual hidey-space that will be used and not abused. Probably three-sided carrells on a pod of desks? On that note, should desks become community real estate, as opposed to individual? Maybe with common basic supplies loaded into each?
• Movable seating. Preferably that which is inexpensive, cleans up easily, and won't require quarantine if someone shows up with lice.

So, my goals for the next few days include:

 

Find a cheap copy of Make Space , which look really interesting. Unfortunately, it's also wicked-expensive. I'll see what I can do. :)

Play around with a classroom design site, like Classroom Architect, to give me an idea of what I might could do.

Keep reading ROLE reversal, with a mind to adapting for fourth-graders.

 Begin reading Making Thinking Visible, which should arrive Monday, in my never-ending hunt for effective, non-worksheet strategies. Training vs. Understanding. I like the concept.

Are you, "Been there, done that!"? I need your help! What's worked for you? Please comment! 

As always, thanks for your time and expertise,

Elizabeth