Setting Up Your Elementary School Classroom: The Teacher Zone

How to Teach Elementary School Chapter 1: The Classroom has everything you need to know to set up and organize your classroom for student (and teacher) success.

Download the Chapter 1 Preview HERE!

For details on teacher supplies and how to keep yourself organized, purchase Chapter 1 of How to Teach Elementary School!

The three most important things to consider when planning your classroom layout and environment:

*Teacher & Student Furniture Arrangement  

*Supplies & Materials Organization   

*Classroom Decor

The way you set up and decorate your classroom has an impact on student achievement. There is a lot to consider when creating your classroom environment. Take the advice of the pros: your classroom does NOT need to be 100% done on Day 1.

The most important things to accomplish before the first day of school are:

1. Set up your teacher space where supplies and lesson materials are easily accessible.

2. Arrange student desks to give each student a personal learning space.

3. Plan the organization of student supplies and space for students’ personal items.

4. Hang Purposeful Teaching Tools on the walls

THEN, you can continue to add personality and change any system that is not working for you and your students.

Setting Up Your Elementary School Classroom: Teacher Desks

THE TEACHER ZONE

When setting up your elementary school classroom, let’s begin with your teacher space. The “Teacher Zone” is the place to keep your own personal supplies, store resources for instruction, sit to do your lesson planning, oh and TEACH! This is where the MAGIC happens!

The type of desk you choose and the way you organize your supplies will impact your ability to teach effectively.

THINK

“Will I have a desk?"

“What type of desk will I have?"

Throughout my teaching career I have tried a variety of different desk types: a traditional teacher desk, a kidney table, a student small group table and a standing desk. While you do not need a traditional “desk” you do need a place to keep your teaching supplies and materials. 

FIRST - Let’s address a concerning trend. I have heard from teachers who have had desks removed from their classrooms by their principal or the district office. WHY? The belief is that teachers should not be sitting, they should be standing and circulating around the classroom engaging with students.

While this is true, as professionals we need to have a place to store supplies, lesson plan, and sit for computer tasks (entering grades, analyzing assessment results, emailing parents). In addition, some school leaders feel that teachers who “sit and teach” are seen as lazy and ineffective classroom managers. Sitting is a part of teaching: sitting to review student work for immediate feedback, sitting to work with students, sitting to model a lesson using a document camera. Teacher leader over here STANDING UP for teachers!

THE TRADITIONAL TEACHER DESK - Using a traditional teacher desk has its advantages. A traditional desk is one that has drawers for supply storage and typically a file size drawer to hold folders and paperwork files. Having built-in storage space is helpful so that you are not having to purchase additional baskets, tubs, and file holders to keep your things organized. It also provides secure storage space for personal items you do not want people to see for easy access.

The BEST part is all the fun ways you can decorate your desk! Cover it in contact paper or hang a fabric skirt for a fun pop of color and design. If you lack wall space, you can decorate solid sides with posters, photos, welcome signs, and more.

THE KIDNEY TABLE - Kidney table. Horseshoe table. U-shaped table. Square, rectangle, or clover table. Whatever shape table you use for your small groups, turn this into your teacher desk. Having your small group zone do double duty as your teacher zone gives you more space in other parts of the classroom to create other useful zones - calming corner, computer cart storage, classroom meeting space.

If you have a teacher desk on one corner of the classroom and a separate area for small groups, you likely double the need for organization systems for materials and supplies. I did this for a few years and needed two sets of everything - correcting pens, stapler, tape, paper tubs, drawers for prepared materials. Get yourself organized in one space and put your small group table there. DONE!

THE STANDING DESK - I used a standing desk the last 3 years before becoming an instructional specialist. I LOVED my standing desk! As a short person, just 5 feet tall, it is difficult to have a commanding physical presence in a classroom of people taller than you. Standing during instruction sent a message to students that it was time to focus, it was time to learn.

With a majority of direct instruction done through a computer, document camera, with slide shows projected on a whiteboard, the effect is the teacher sitting. A LOT. Include small group work, sitting one-on-one to assist a student, gathering the students for a read-aloud or class meeting and there’s more sitting. If you want to avoid the impression that you're sitting all day, use a standing desk for direct instruction.

Now that a lot of technology is bluetooth, personally I would LOVE to have a rolling teacher station. As you will read below, one of my favorite places to teach is from the back of the room. A mobile desk would allow for teaching in various locations. Mix things up. Keep students on their toes!

Think outside the box if you like the idea of having a traditional desk but need better storage options or you like something with a more rustic or modern vibe. If you are allowed to bring in your own furniture, a rolling kitchen island allows you cabinet storage and portability to easily move your teacher zone. For an industrial vibe, purchase a workshop table from your local home improvement store. And of course you can purchase a desk from a local furniture store, garage sale, or build your own!

WHERE IS THE BEST PLACE FOR THE TEACHER’S DESK?

There are a variety of opinions about where a teacher desk should be placed. Some say front and center, a few argue no desk is the way to go, and others swear by putting it in the back of the room. The floor plan of your classroom (location of doors and windows) and the location of your technology needed for instruction including electrical outlets will have an impact on your decision. Ultimately, the location of a teacher’s desk can set the tone for the entire classroom, so it is an important step in relaying the message you want them to receive.

FRONT - In the traditional classroom, the teacher’s desk is front and center. From the front, teachers have full visibility of their students and vice versa. BUT, it can be far too easy to fall into a “teach from your desk” trap when the desk’s location makes it so convenient. If you need to have your desk in the front, I suggest having it off to the side to make sure you are not blocking students’ view of the board and other essential learning tools.

BACK - There are numerous advantages to keeping the teacher’s desk behind students. First, by putting the teacher’s desk there, a student centered environment is created. The focus is taken off the teacher as the center of attention. Second, teaching is “multisensory” with students needed to “listen” to your instruction behind them while “looking” at the board in front of them. Additionally, the teacher can see which students are focused and following along with instruction since they have a view from behind. 

When the furniture placement is centered on students, the teacher can focus on student behavior. Some teachers feel they have better control of the classroom when their teacher’s desk is in the back. It allows teachers to see the entire class while preventing students from seeing your desk as distracting or intimidating. And when it’s time to get in front of the class and teach, you’ll find it much easier to break away from your desk and engage with students.

THE BEST OF BOTH

Several hybrid options may allow you to reap the benefits of both worlds. For example, you could have a large desk in the back where students can turn in homework and where you can maintain your own supplies. But instead of using it as your main desk, you could use a smaller desk up front, perhaps even a standing desk or podium, where you keep the basic things you need to do most of your school day work.

I have always had a traditional teacher “desk” in a corner of my classroom to use as storage for materials and supplies. I do not sit there during the school day. I do not teach from there. It is my “home base”. I have tried a variety of secondary teaching spaces including a standing desk and a kidney table that double as my small group space.

In conclusion…the type of desk you choose and where you place it in your classroom is affected by multiple factors including the grade you teach, the design of your classroom, and your teaching style. Once you’ve created a plan for all of your “zones” and the placement of furniture in your classroom, it is important to remember…DO NOT be afraid to change things up if something isn’t working for you. I have used every type of teacher desk, including NO teacher desk with placement in all parts of my classroom. Be open to all options!

Need ideas for how to keep yourself organized? For details on teacher supplies and organizational systems, purchase Chapter 1 of How to Teach Elementary School!