At the beginning of each school year, teachers organize and reorganize their rooms trying to take into consideration all the factors that make a special education room special! Being organized will help your classroom run more smoothly and will help alleviate some stress on your side. Organizing the environment will help prevent a lot of behavior issues on your students’ side.
Environment affects students’ behavior!
In the classroom, the way your furniture is arranged, where students sit, where the materials are stored, the clutter or lack of, the noise, and the light will affect your students’ behavior. While every teacher has their own vision about setting up their classroom, there are some general rules and guidelines that are helpful to take into consideration when setting up the physical space.
Whether you go for a station centered classroom with work task areas and specific learning materials in focus, a student centered classroom in which the room is arranged so that the students are separated to avoid distraction and increase concentration, a teacher centered classroom with horseshoe tables for whole and small group instruction, or a combination of all of the above, your choices can directly influence students’ behavior, so you will most likely need to consider the following when determining the layout of the room:
(1) Build your layout with the needs of your diverse learners in mind
Consider whether your students could sit in a traditional chair or if they need to fidget, wiggle, or lay down. Flexible seating may be a very appropriate option to consider in order to minimize negative behaviors that occur when students are stuck being in activities that are too static or require sitting on a chair for longer periods of time.
If you have runners, you may want to consider partitioning your room by placing shelves against the walls and in a way that breaks up the open space and limits the possibility for running around.
If your students are easily distracted, use space dividers, library carrels, turn the desks around so students would be facing a wall, limit the amount of visual distractions nearby independent work areas, etc. Arrange furniture so that you can see students easily. If you have students work behind a tall divider check on them often. Also you can opt to use a shorter divider that would help keep them in the line of sight and prevent unwanted behaviors.
TIP: If any of your students are being pulled out during lessons for OT, APE or Speech services, consider placing their desk or seat closer to the door, so that the specialists can get to them easily, without disturbing your class.
(2) Clearly define the different areas in the classroom
Consider having the main areas like Circle time, student independent work area, teacher’s table for whole or small group instruction well defined by partitioning your room off with stable bookshelves, rugs and other pieces of furniture.
Circle Time Area
Dish chairs, educubes, personal cushions or other special seating options along with a fuzzy rug make for a cozy time! This area is reserved for morning meetings, but other activities can occur there like occasional small group instruction, reading, and even independent work.
Student Area
Students benefit greatly for having their own space, well defined and predetermined. For enrichment activities (e.g. Reflex Math), AR reading and test taking activities, or other independent activities, students sit at their desks. Sometimes dividers can be added for more privacy. When arranging students’ desks, consider your teaching and management style, and the needs of your students. You may decide to use rows, clusters, or some other configurations. Design with purpose in mind and change the configuration once in a while to avoid monotony!
TIP: While you have no control over the number of students in your room, you have to take into consideration this factor when defining your learning areas. Some students cannot function if placed in close vicinity to other students, so you may want to accommodate them in special areas in your room and ensure they have ample personal space to avoid any unwanted behaviors that may stem from crowded areas.
(3) Separate areas of high activity, such as the cross-curricular instructional areas, from areas where students need quiet, like the reading or listening stations.
The Quiet Areas
Some learning stations or work task areas can get busy, but are actually relatively low noise.
Classroom Library
Even though there is a library in (almost) every school, each special education classroom should have one too. Some teachers prefer organizing their books by reading levels, some by theme, some by genre or topic. There is no right or wrong way. I found that organizing the books by theme rather than reading level works better for my students for the simple reason that when they go to pick a book, they don’t necessarily think of their reading level, but of what kind of book they would like to read. I like to cater to their interest first, as that is the most important ingredient that gets a reader engaged. However all the books are labeled on the front cover for easy reading level identification. Having a classroom library offers quick and easy access to text, so make sure to keep it near your designated reading area.
Listening Center
As outdated as it looks, the listening center is a great center in lower elementary years especially for those students who struggle with listening comprehension skills. The majority of my books are on tapes and CDs, and, for a few books, I created QR codes. I also have Tag Junior books with two pens available. Once the students learn how to operate the tape and cd player, they enjoy spending time in this center and ask to access it almost daily. Students are held accountable by having to fill out a comprehension response sheet at the end of the activity.
TIP: Consider playing soft music to help with sensory stimulation. Also, for students who cannot handle loud noises, consider noise canceling headphones.
(4) Set up communication and supply management areas.
Communication Center
Each special education classroom should have a space for teacher messages, missed assignments, early finishers assignments, etc. Students should be instructed where to look for messages, assignments, etc, and how to access them. Procedures should be in place on the first day of school, as this will become one of the most important areas in your classroom.
The Hub
Depending on your personal vision, all school supplies can be stored in one spot in the classroom and treated as common goods, or each student could have their own pencil pouch with personal supplies. In case you go with the second option, you may still want to consider having a central area in the room with extra supplies for those students who purposefully forget their supplies in their regular education classrooms or at home, or destroy their supplies on a regular basis to avoid completing any academic tasks. Since this area may have the benefit of being in a central location in your room, you may want to store additional materials such as math manipulatives, calculators, etc for quick and easy access.
(5) Keep the sensory needs of your students in focus.
Sensory Center
Sensory toys, like kinetic sand and play doh should be stored in an easily accessible area. Students should be taught to pick sensory toys during their breaks or any time they need to fidget with something. By allowing them to access this area, you allow your students a way out when they are frustrated, tired or mad about something. When they fidget with sensory objects, negative behaviors are less likely to be maintained or to occur. To avoid clutter and help your students clean up independently, make sure each container, box or tray holds only one type of sensory toys. Other example of sensory toys to include in your Sensory area:
Break Area
Break area should be created in a quiet area of the classroom. Students should have access to it any time throughout the day, as needed.
(6) Use your wall space wisely.
Decorations and displays on the walls should be kept to a minimum to limit distractions for students with ADD and the unwanted behaviors that stem from that. The main display areas in the room, which don’t necessarily need to be your classroom walls(!), should be kept for rules and procedures, the Incredible 5 Point Scale, student work, visuals and small anchor charts, the Word Wall, visual schedules, choice boards, break cards, and break area menus. Consider displaying visuals in other areas of the classroom such as the back of some furniture.
(7) Be mindful of the other adults in the room
Paraprofessional’s desk
If you have enough space in your room, creating an area just for your para(s) would go a long way. They will feel appreciated and it will help create a sense of belonging. Using words like “our students” and “our classroom” will help in the same way. A desk or a table for your para(s) will serve not only as their storage space, but as their work space. If you expect them to run fluency drills, help students with various assignments, and run small group activities, consider making a special area just for them. You may also want to set your expectations at the beginning of your work relationship regarding personal belongings like purses, coffee mugs, water bottles, and where they can be store in order to maintain a neat and professional looking work space.
(8) Storage solutions
Where do you store extra supplies and instructional materials? As a general rule, any extra supplies or materials not used on a regular basis should be stored out of sight, in cabinets, on shelves, off the floor, and away from the instructional space, preferably in additional storage spaces outside the classroom. Do not store materials in spaces designated for students. Make sure they have plenty of room to work on their desks and tables, and the floor is clear and does not pose any hazards due to stored items. Consider placing bulky items in storage outside the classroom to limit the clutter and visual distractions associated with storing materials in plain sight. Also, consider storing fragile or expensive items behind locked doors or out of students’ reach. Our special needs students are sometimes a bit clumsy.
Materials that are used on a regular basis or that are part of the learning stations should be stored in individual containers, small bins, trays or baskets. Do not mix different types of toys in the same container (e.g. cars and plastic dinosaurs). Keep materials separated by type, with one container per cubby to avoid clutter and to help your students come clean up time.
When you limit the amount of containers and materials you put out at a time, you give your students a chance to practice making choices (some of our students feel overwhelmed when there are too many choices!) as well as practice independence in manipulating the materials and cleaning up the area at the end of the activity.