| Inspired Teaching Alumni Conference |
 RSVP TODAY!!!Alumni of the Inspired Teaching Institute (formerly the Workshop in the Art of Teaching) are invited to join us August 18, 2008 for a day of rejuvenation before the 2008-09 school year begins. This year's conference will be held at the Washington Ethical Society · 7750 16th St. NW Washington, DC 20012. The conference runs from 8:30 am to 3 pm and breakfast and lunch will be served. RSVP to Jenna Fournel 202.462.1956
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What message will my classroom send?
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Listen closely and you can almost hear the engines of the new school year beginning to rev. Even if you haven't made that first bold step into your classroom, you're undoubtedly beginning to turn your thoughts away from sunscreen and sweet tea and toward bulletin boards and seating charts.
There's something bittersweet about that first week back before the kids come pouring in. The dust of summer hangs heavy on blinds and tabletops, but there's also the strong scent of potential mingling with the odors of newly waxed floors.
This is the week of ritual beginnings. You put up new posters and move the desks into fresh positions. You sharpen pencils and neatly arrange fresh boxes of crayons. Your board bears no chalky residue, save your name - which you take the time to write perfectly. Across the nation, teachers will "set up" their classrooms almost automatically, according to some ancient formula for what classrooms are "supposed to" look like on the first day of school.
But what message is that classroom going to send when kids enter and form their first impressions? Imagine stepping into this room for the first time - knowing it will be your home away from home for the next year. Consider the following:
- What does your say about you as a teacher? (Have you included any personal elements in your decor? Where is your desk / what does its position suggest about how you'll run the class?)
- What does your room say about the community you'll build? (Are desks in groups, in a circle or in rows? Are rules already posted or will they be created by the class? Is there a carpet or central meeting area?)
- What does your room say about the role of the student? (Is any of the artwork around the room student-generated? Are there places where kids can "help themselves" to supplies? Will students have any input in where they sit/how the room is configured?)
- What does your room say about the learning experience students can expect? (Do you have centers filled with "hands on" materials? Do you have a classroom library? Is your room filled with words or images? Is it colorful? Do the decorations tap into students' curiosity?)
Though much of the art of teaching is also the art of spontaneity, every element of your practice should be filled with purpose. It's easy to write off the set-up of your room as unimportant compared to the learning you hope to see when it's filled with students. But first impressions speak volumes and whether you teach 3-year-olds or seniors in high school, the message your room sends on the first day of school can set the tone for the rest of the year.
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Teacher Resources
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Classroom Set Up Tool
This free online tool from Scholastic actually lets you move around objects in a "virtual classroom" so you can get a picture of how you might want to set things up with furniture, a seating chart, even the windows and doors in your particular room!
ELL Classroom Set Up
This article presents some specific things to consider when setting up a classroom for English Language Learners.
Kids in Need Grants
Get up to $500 to fund a project in your class with a Kids in Need Grant. The purpose of the grants is to provide funds for classroom teachers
who have innovative ideas. Your project may qualify for
funding if it makes creative use of common teaching aids, approaches
the curriculum from an imaginative angle, or ties nontraditional
concepts together for the purpose of illustrating commonalities.
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