Seating Charts in 18 easy steps!

Long gone are the days where I simply put my kids in rows based on their last names.  That was a simpler time.  

Instead, let's focus on the eighteen easy steps to creating the perfect seating arrangement.  While eighteen may be a slight exaggeration, it's sadly not too far off when I think about all the different factors that go into creating a seating chart.

First, accept that the perfect seating arrangement does not exist.  Kids have moods. They fight with friends.  Their needs change, often.  There will never, ever be a perfect seating arrangement.

Second, accept that the seats the kiddos get in August shouldn't be the same seats they're at in May.  I change seats (and class jobs) roughly once a month.  It keeps kids on their toes and when I have to separate students due to behaviors, it's not glaringly obvious because everyone gets a new seat.

Third, accept that you will make changes to the seating chart. I try to block out thirty minutes to focus on this task (yes, it can take that long to make a seating chart) and always, always do it in pencil.  I create a super rough sketch of my four tables and label based on the colored lanterns (how I distinguish my tables).  Then I get to work crafting a new seating arrangement.

When making a seating chart, there are a few important things to keep in mind:

1. First and foremost, who needs to be up front to see?

Many of my students need glasses.  Many don't have them, leave them at home (both accidentally or on purpose), refuse to wear them, or have broken them and are waiting on replacements.  Place those kiddos up front. 

2. Do any students legally require special seating?

Double check IEPs and 504 plans for this information.  In nine years of teaching, I've had students with limited hearing that need to be seated close to the board.  I've had students who are very close to being legally blind, so they obviously needed to be sitting close to the board as well.

3. Where are your RTI students?

I double check my RTI (response to intervention) case load and make sure those students are somewhere I can strategically check on.  It doesn't necessarily have to be the front of the room (though that helps), but I want to make sure I can get to them quickly without tripping over backpacks, furniture, or other students.

4. Who is helpful?

I like to put these patient, kind, thoughtful students near my RTI or special needs students.  They can help without being discouraged and don't get easily frustrated with their peers.  I also tend to put these students by their peers that might require extra attention or energy.  Some kids are more emotionally draining than others. Some kids display annoying behaviors (pencil tapping, kicking, etc) and seem to bother everyone.  While we do a lot of talks about social and emotional goals, maturity does play a factor. 

5. Who is fighting?

With twenty five students, there are going to be some conflicts.  I try to minimize the class outbursts by separating students that are often at odds with one another.  We also talk about that it's okay not to be best friends with everyone, but we need to be kind to one another.

6. Who needs limited distractions?

This is my first year in third grade and the distraction factor is definitely playing a huge role in my classroom seating arrangement.  I don't have anything super distracting up on the walls (just things we've made together), but there are still students that zone out and try to focus on what their neighbors are doing instead of their own work.  I try, whenever possible, to have these students face the front of the room.  I also think about which students tend to stare at the clock (because they're waiting for lunch) and seat them with their backs to the clock. 

7. Do I have an equal(ish) balance of boys and girls at each table? 

While I don't have an even split of girls and boys (because I have an odd number of students), I don't like to have all girls or all boys tables.  I also don't like to have table groups with one boy and five girls (or vice versa).  In a perfect world, I have 3 girls and 3 boys at each table, but this isn't always an option (see points one through six).  More often then not, it's a 4-2 split and that's as good as it's going to get.

8. Who asks questions, often? 

I don't discourage questions.  I do get annoyed when I'm asked the same question over and over again or the questions in no way pertain to the lesson I'm teaching or the topic we're discussing, but I also know that asking questions is scary and I don't want to shut students down for fear they won't ask questions again.  There are students who ask questions only during whole group time, but several that will only ask for help during partner/table work.  I try to sit those kiddos at the outside areas of their tables so I don't have to climb over others to get to them.

9. Who are my GATE and TAGS students?

I try not to put my GATE and TAGS students together (Gifted and Talented) because they tend to work at a more rapid pace, get excited easily, and work ahead without helping neighbors.  Since things come easily to these students, I don't always have them right next to my struggling students because the GATE/TAGS students quickly get fed up when their neighbor "doesn't get it".  I try to have one GATE/TAGS student per table (when possible) so that every table has an "out of the box" thinker. 

10. Is anyone new to country who needs translation help?

Several of my students are English Language Learners (ELLs).  A few are new to country.  These students are literate in their home languages and want to participate.  However, one doesn't learn a new language over night.  Study after study has shown that it takes five years to be immersed in a language before one is fluent.  I get these students for only one of those years.  Yes, my instruction is in English but I also do my best to translate so they understand the directions, assignment, or task.  If another student is bilingual and can help translate, I absolutely have them help.  I also rely on Google Translate and apps to help my students participate in class. 

11. Who are best friends? 

Sometimes best friends work well together and well, sometimes it's a disaster.  I model this concept with my work wife Ms. H.  We do not sit next to each other in meetings because we mutually are responsible for getting one another off task.  Instead, another friend, Ms. S has to sit between us because she tells both of us to shush and keeps our group on track so we don't get the dreaded "teacher face" from our admin.  You know, this face:

They laugh at this silly scenario, but we both reinforce that it's true.  We need to both make the choice to request to sit away from one another so we can both do our best work.  We save our chit chat for the lunchroom.

After those eleven big things are taken care of, I start to look at the student reply cards.  Because I firmly believe they should have a say in their classroom environment, I allow students to give suggestions.  I have them divide their note card into four spots:

1. Your name 
2. Special considerations (need to sit up front, need a translator or can translate)
3. Who do you want to sit close to because he/she helps you? 
4. Who do you need to sit away from?


We do have the conversation that their input is merely suggestions, but that I'll do my best to grant their requests as long as they realize I'm juggling the requests of twenty five students.  I also have the "tough love" chat about the simple life fact that we all don't get what we want sometimes.

Then I start to flip through the cards to double check that I didn't miss any of those first eleven factors.

At this point, a majority of my class has been placed on my rough draft of the seating chart.  I then start to flip through the cards and see if there are any glaring concerns that I missed.  

I think look at the kind and helpful students who I may have placed near peers that exhibit frustrating behaviors.  There's always that one kid and often times he/she is acting out for heart breaking reasons.  But isolating these students can make it worse.  So if I know that I've put a student near a peer that can be exhausting, I look at that student's note card to see who he/she wants to sit by and do my best to accommodate those requests.

This is my second year of using tables instead of desks and I love it.  The layout is more conducive to classroom discussions and projects.  The seats can change quickly and students aren't worried about someone else being in their stuff because there is no designated spot for each student.  Instead, each table has crates that I've zip tied together and each class supply has its own designated space. 

When it comes time to change seats, I have them gather all their materials onto their chairs.  No major furniture is moved, there is no heavy lifting, and all students can participate in the seat shuffle. 

So there you have it folks, eighteen easy steps for making a seating chart! 

How I feel when people tell me teaching is so "easy" because I'm only working six hours a day:

 

First Week of Third Grade

There has truly been no greater meme then the one above.

I survived the first day of school.  More importantly, I did it without the aid of coffee or Mountain Dew.  That's right folks, you're looking at a teacher who went caffeine free the first week of the school year. Granted, a nap happened after school.  To be totally fair, a nap happened most of the first week.

I had every intention of coming home each day and blogging about what happened.  But those good intentions didn't get fulfilled.  I'll do my best to recap the whole week at once.

Monday, August 14th

Without an alarm, I woke up at 12:18 ready to start the day.  However, there was still a good five hours before I actually needed to be up and luckily I was able to get a little more rest.

I left early to grab Starbucks on the way to school.  Last week the front of the school and the nearby roundabout were torn up with construction, so I gave myself extra time.

I got to work and after finalizing my first day plans (which ended up taking three days to get through), I set up my photo booth:

We took a pod picture, but I spaced on getting a grade level one.  We ended up taking that picture on Tuesday. I also set out water bottles for their first day treats. 

Officially I have 23 third graders on my roster, but I have a push in student all day from the autism room.  24 is a great number.  Granted, I keep feeling like I've lost a good dozen students because I'm used to fifth grade numbers.  But nope, I just have two dozen kids to keep track of and it's a rather nice feeling.  (Right now, one of the fifth grade classes is sitting at 41 students.  I am so glad I switched.)

I went outside, met students and families, then we came inside to start our day.  Some teachers wanted to jump right in to teaching cursive and silent worksheets.  

We went a different route.  I explained breakfast procedures and had them write about how they were feeling.  We then watched {this Kid President} video to lighten the mood.

Afterwards, we talked about how we were going to help each other out and make this year awesome.

The first day was a combination of get to know you team builders and procedures.  We incorporated movement and practiced talking with one another.  One of  my favorites is "Find Someone Who":

Kids get up, introduce themselves to one another, and ask get to know you questions.  It incorporates movement in a controlled way, which they need after hearing about school procedures and class rules.

Lunch will be an adjustment this year.  I'm used to 12:15, but alas, lunch this year is at 11:25.  The kids get 20 minutes to eat and 20 minutes to play, but teachers are only contracted a 30 minute lunch.  I spend the first 10 minutes in the lunchroom on duty with my kids.  As a trade off, this means I no longer have morning crosswalk duty, which is a blessing.

For those of you who have never experienced the joy of lunchroom duty, it looks a little something like this:

And is best described in this {video}.

But in all seriousness, I spend half the time separating classes into two lines and walking around passing out sporks, napkins, and ketch up packets.  I often fight with sealed fruit cups and have spilled on myself every single day.  I have a new hatred for capri sun juice pouches.  

By the time my ten minutes of duty is up, I've lost most of my appetite.  Watching several hundred kids shovel food into their mouths will do that.  Still, I'd prefer the duty at the start of my lunch period because most of the other teachers have outdoor playground duty and well, it's hot outside.

We did read First Day Jitters on the first day of school and practiced procedures.  I allotted forty minutes for filling out agendas for the first time and going over back to school paperwork.  It was barely enough time.

There weren't any tears the first day, I got hugs goodbye, and as soon as the bell rang, I was ready for a nap.  

I stayed an hour and a half after school getting ready for the next day, grabbed take out (B had softball and I hate cooking for one), and was asleep by 8 pm.

Tuesday

I spent before school prepping these treats:

I ended up passing them out at the end of the day, but still. It's the thought that counts.  I'd also like to thank Costco for having the box of 54 rice krispies on sale for under $7.  Smaller class sizes means the hubs now has a lot of rice krispies to enjoy as a snack for softball.

We did a classroom scavenger hunt the second day (because we ran out of time on the first day of school).  It was a great opportunity to embed voice levels, team work, appropriate movement around the classroom, the location of extra clipboards (if they didn't bring their own from home), and challenges.  Plus involving students in this process means not only are they more likely to remember where something is because they discovered it, but also have a higher sense of shared responsibility and ownership in the classroom.  These feelings of ownership mean that (hopefully) they will take pride in our room and treat things with respect.

 They did a really good job with moving around the classroom appropriately:

They also worked quite well as a team:

To further practice team work, they learned how to do a sort with "No Way Jose! That's a Fact Jack!"

I created several dozen statements about third grade.  Some of them are true (that's a fact, Jack!) and some of them are false (no way Jose).  Students worked together to sort out the statements and explain their thinking.  The point of the activity was to dispel some myths about third grade and to practice team work.

After each table sorted their cards, they went to investigate how another group sorted theirs.  They couldn't touch the other team's cards, but had to practice complete sentence stems:

I agree with ___ because ____
I disagree with ____ because ____

We'll eventually post more, but for the first week, we're using just these two sentence stems.  I have a few kiddos that are ELL, so these sentence stems are a great way for them to practice and structure their responses.

We also managed to take a grade level photo (since that slipped our minds day one):

This is the first time I've ever worked on a predominately male team. It's an adjustment. I've also taught all the men about a few different technology components, so that feels nice to be helpful.  

We've split up planning responsibilities this year and I'm really excited about it.  Almost everyone is on board.  Our two newest teachers are planning math because the Engage NY curriculum is already scripted.  It doesn't mean they get off easy because of how copy intensive this program can be, but rather they get to read the scripted lessons and narrow them down to create lesson plans for us to use.  Two others are planning writing and I'm planning reading with Ms. H.  We moved down from fifth together and are quite used to sharing the responsibilities.  Language will be shared between us and the writing team.  We haven't talked about science or social studies yet, but have a grade level meeting this week. 

We also did a few gallery walks, where students use markers to answer questions that I've prepared on big butcher paper.  I use this as an opportunity to practice using markers, whisper voices, sharing ideas, agreeing or disagreeing appropriately, and moving around the classroom.

After each group visits each question, we talk as a class and make our class norms.  

We used math manipulatives in the form of cubes to practice solving math problems in a hands-on way.  I gave them five minutes of free play to get it out of their systems, then we used the cubes to solve problems.  Ms. S happened to stop by during the five minutes of exploratory free play and was delighted to see their towers:

Three tables built towers, one table built fidget spinners. 

We did actually do some math with the cubes as well:

It was a great chance to embed Number Talk norms and quickly assess some of my students' background knowledge.

This problem was awesome:

It was nice to see how they worked with numbers.

I also had student helpers solve problems on the board:

I didn't know all of their strategies (the ribbon strategy?!) but got it after they explained their thinking.

The rest of the week was a blur.  I napped almost every day after school.  We read the following picture books:

Ms. Nelson is Missing  

This classic tells the tale of a teacher who brings out her alter-ego when the kids are misbehaving.  Not only did we practice coming to the carpet, answering questions, and being good listeners, we also did a gallery walk about how we should treat each other and our teacher.

My Mouth is a Volcano

 
This is newer find for me and quickly became one of my favorites.  It tells the story of Louis who has a problem interrupting (erupting) others.  The tables turn when he realizes how it feels and how being interrupted hurts feelings.  His mom helps him with strategies for not blurting out.

First Day Jitters

This book goes through the typical struggles of getting ready for school, not wanting to start at a new school, being anxious about making friends, and is quite relate-able for students.  But *spoiler alert*, the main character is actually the teacher!

Thank You Mr. Falker

It's always a struggle to not cry with this one.  Patricia Polacco tells of her own childhood struggles to learn to read while dealing with family deaths, a cross country move, and bullying.  We talk about perseverance, bullying, and asking for help.  We also used this book to learn about writing summaries, which we practiced as a class and with table teams.

We practiced fire drills, took a STAR test on the computer, worked on our reading stamina, set up our daily response journals, and had some talks about choices. We learned about Class Dojo and they helped me create the categories for positive and negative choices.  Granted, I already knew what categories I wanted, but they were so excited to participate in making classroom decisions.  That buy-in from students is important.

They got new book orders:

I always give a few weeks between passing these out and having the orders be due to allow for pay day and students to do extra chores to earn books.  I put our class code and the due date on the book orders to make it easy for families.  I also gave them time to explore and get excited about books.  It's important and I get to see what books are on the "must have" list so I can use Scholastic dollars to stock up on things they want to read. 

(For non-teachers, every order placed earns teachers points.  I think if I place a $25 order this month, I get $10 free to spend on books.  It's quite nice to help me build my library.  Plus Scholastic's prices are quite low to make books affordable for kids.  It's a great system.)

We talked about how to care for dry erase markers and set up classroom supplies.  I print their names on sticky labels and use packing tape to secure the labels.  I usually do this at home and can go through the class set during an episode of Friends.

Alas, I do not do these classroom chores alone.

We made a T chart about what constitutes a nurse visit:

 

We learned about stamina and practiced independent reading:

We had a busy, busy, busy week.  I've gotten two love notes so far and lots of hugs.  Third grade is off to a wonderful start!

Done!

I can't remember the last time I made a 200 slide PPT, but my latest product is done and available {here}.  It's #218, which is a tad mind boggling to think about!

I originally created the product for my future third grade classroom.  I aligned it to our school's calendar for next year and included the vacation days.

(Not my planner, but you get the gist!)

However, upon further reflection, I realize this probably isn't super helpful for non-CCSD customers.  So I made a second, more generic version without specific calendar dates.  The revision itself only took about an hour due to the magical "save as" feature in PPT.

I bundled them together and posted the product on my {store}.  I'm excited to use them next year.  A third grade teacher at another school and a fourth grade teacher in my pod are also going to use them (and provide feedback).

My plan for this product is to cut down on the chaos during breakfast.  We have universal breakfast, which means all the students are eating breakfast.  My teaching role is to mark off who is eating, tally which milk they take, take attendance, collect notes, and greet the class within the first five minutes.  I figured by building in the routine of writing and then sharing, they'd have something to occupy their time.  I'll be calling tables over for breakfast and once all the tables have been called, then they will share their answers.

I'm hoping the consistent routine will help.  After we share, then I'll go over the daily schedule, have them toss their breakfast, do a number talk, and start our day.

Plus having the fun journal prompt first thing will hopefully encourage attendance.  Tardy students don't get to share their ideas.

I'll also use these as mini-writing prompts, character education lessons, math lessons (polls, graphs, data analysis), and opportunities for speaking/listening grades. 

What do you do for bell work?

Classroom Set Up

Tomorrow may mark the fifteenth day of school (and the start of week number four), but it's time to take a sneak peek into my classroom and all the prep that went into the first days of school.

Bulletin Boards

These are a huge deal at my school.  Having a well put together bulletin board is a point of pride and my classroom boards are no exception.

I pattern mixed with chevron and polka dots, but still think the work looks. 

I decided this would be my Reading Rangers board and added red accents.

The top sheet is a guide that reminds students of how the colored dots coincide with Reading Rangers.  With this program, students read within their ZPD (zone of proximal development) and increasingly tackle more complex texts. The envelopes hold tickets and they fill them out as they complete their individual goals.  

The other bulletin board in my room is complimentary colors, but chevron with a solid.

This  is where we'll hang our anchor charts, so we can "anchor" our learning.

 

I struggled to perfectly match the grays, but I think it's close enough.

The outside board has overlapping post cards to make a border.  

Since fabric can be expensive, my teacher hack is to use a flat sheet and cut off extra.  Works like a charm! 

Since I have so many students, I took over space beyond the bulletin board to fit everyone's work.  

It's still strange to see my new future last name. I won't be changing it on this blog, my teacher twitter account, or on my {Teachers pay Teachers} store, but everywhere else my last name will be changed.

My students are calling me by both last names, I've changed it with Scholastic book orders, and I made new business cards, but I won't jump through the school district's hoops until summer break.



Standards

We're expected to display our learning standards, so I might as well make the space cute. 

I also have space for our "ten for ten" checklist.  Every time students earn a perfect 10 in specials, I write the date in the box.  When ten are filled, students get a bonus recess.  (They've already earned their first one, which we took indoors due to the weather.)

Below is a classroom motto, then below that is space for the standards. 

Missing Work

Absenteeism can be a problem and after a few years, it was time for some new absent folders. The paper folders just won't do, so I snagged a few bright yellow plastic folders from Target:

I'm working on  being more explicit with my students, so I tweaked the folders to have very clear instructions:

So far it's working!  For a class of 35, I have 5 folders.  I hope I'm never missing more than 5 students at a time!  In terms of procedures, the missing student's fellow table mates are responsible for completing the folders and filling in the student upon his or her return to the classroom.

Work to Finish

In elementary school, we often use the same passage for several days, or make work double sided and need to return to it later.  For this reason, I make work to finish folders.

Again, using the same plastic folders as above,  each student now has a space to keep his or her work.  For most students, this is manageable.  Every year I have a few that really struggle with organization and need more support in keeping materials together.

As a side note, buying plastic ones means I can reuse them for several years before I have to replace them, which is good for my back to school shopping budget.

Class Decor

I've tried to keep the decorating of my classroom to a minimum, but there are still a few places that I've added some personal touches.  I'm in my room a lot so I want to like what I see.

The crayon wreath I made last year didn't survive the summer heat, so I found a wooden one at Target that was much easier to recreate.  I had the Harry Potter inspired sign from years ago just hanging out in a box, so I brought it into the classroom.  The tissue box is a plain wooden one that I added scrapbook paper to and then taped over.  It's held up to a few years of student use.

I found the board in the dollar spot of Target (although it was one of those weird items that's $3) and had a friend vinyl cut the letters for me.

Class Information

Instead of doing the standard "meet the teacher" letter that parents always use, as a grade level we switched it up and made flip books:

Forty of them.   Students were excited!  This was a download from TpT and before we cut them, each page had 2.  They are pretty easy to assemble and I'm sure would have gone much quicker if we didn't all try to copy at once and use four different colors.  Lessons for next time.

I also dedicated the space behind my teacher desk to be class information and a reference space:

Specials schedules, GATE time (although this year it's push in and called Project Based Learning), and more is easily accessible for me, the students, and substitutes.  I'm all for making everyone's job easier.  


Through the power of caffeine, DVDs, B's help, and sheer determination (cough stubbornness), my classroom went from this:

To this:  

 (Yes, the table cloth is totally a strategic move so I can hide things under my teacher prep table.  As a bonus, it was on sale at Target.)

 Ready or not, here they come!

#year8isgreat