A Tiered Classroom

A conversation I had with one of our academic coaches several weeks ago has really stuck with me. 

I had asked her what some of the best things she has seen in classrooms this year and she told me about an elementary teacher who tiered her desks.
I had read about this idea and seen in on Pinterest so many times, I was excited to hear about a teacher in my district doing it.
This teacher surveyed her students to see how they learn best: on the floor, sitting at a desk, or standing up. She then took that information and altered her desks to meet her kiddos learning style. 

I was beyond impressed with the idea, but had so many uncertainties about how I could make it work in my classroom...

how would that look for 6th grade? 

I teach 6 classes, I can't please them all... what if one class has 3 students that want to sit on the floor and another has 12 that want to sit on the floor. 

After watching some of my kids in each class choose to work standing up at the back counter while others always move to the floor to sprawl out, I finally decided to take a chance and just ask my 160+ students how they learn best. 

Their responses were shocking. 

The overwhelming majority said they would rather sit on the floor. 

Amazingly enough, 8-10 kids from each class said they would rather stand up and only 4 or less students from each class said they like sitting at a desk. 

(Of course I had a few in each class say they could sit, stand or whatever. So thankful for their flexibility to help my numbers!) 

During my conference I dashed home to get my hubby's drill, a few screwdrivers and back to school I came to get to work. I enlisted the help of a couple of men on my campus to help me right away (you could say I am a little bit crazy eager) and then finished up the desks after school when I bossed asked my hubby to come help. 

What we did was remove the legs off most the desks so it would make the perfect lap desk, while raising the legs of 8 other desks to make it the idea standing height.  I left 2 desks and a table normal height so 4 people could sit down. 

 I am in LOVE with how it turned out. 

 I have a row of 8 desks standing up in the back. 

(that pink rug is where backpacks will be dropped off. The white tape outlines it so no one can cross into backpack territory!)

I had some desks already lowered on the ground for our collaboration today and the kids LOVED it. Many of the ones who said they would rather sit or stand changed their minds to sitting on the floor. 

I am very anxious and excited to see how it work tomorrow with my kiddos...
 I really think it will be a great success since it is how THEY LEARN BEST.

... but I still have my chairs stacked up... just in case. ;)

Moral of this blog: Don't be afraid to try something that seems elementary just because you are teaching older students. Best practice is just best practice. No matter the age. 

I encourage you all to try the same!
Adjusting your classroom to meet your kiddo's learning styles could be as simple as removing some desk legs or raising them up higher.

HAPPY TEACHING FRIENDS!!



UPDATE:

HUGE SUCCESS!

The students LOVED it. I even allowed them to choose their own seats, and we had zero issues... which is shocking since this was the day before we got for our Thanksgiving break!! 

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As you can see from the pictures, the standing desks are still too low for my big 6th graders, so over Thanksgiving break I added some bed risers that I got from target for only 5 bucks!! They are now the perfect height...

Getting ready to INVESTIGATE another year!

I am SO excited for this coming up 2014-2015 school year! I got a new classroom (one with a WINDOW and I am SO excited!!) this classroom is smaller than my last one, but it feels more cozy. 

Our theme this year is detective/investigation. The 3rd grade team lucked out and snatched up the adorable pink panther for us. My classroom this year is completely in school theme, I went with bright chevron theme  (which you can grab at my TpT store) and with a few pink panthers scattered in there. 

Let the tour of Mrs. Teel's 2014-2015 Classroom BEGIN! 

First off, I am IN LOVE with my door this year! 

Isn't that pink panther adorable?!?! 

SO glad we got him!!

Here is the view from my door looking into my room. The sign hanging from the ceiling says "Welcome!" of course, you can purchase my pennants and have them spell out whatever you wish at 

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rainbow-Chevron-Labels-1374614

Calendar and jobs. 

I will write each students name on the Popsicle stick and rotate them through each job on Mondays. The sticks not in the rotation will go in the Job Names pail. 

This bookshelf is to the right of my door once you walk in. It houses dictionaries, textbooks, and the trays (with labels you can get at my TpT store) is for papers from office to pass out, a tray for things to turn into office, a spot for notes from home, and the colored ones are for my 2 classes (one blue, one green) to turn in any signed failing papers. 

Pencil Sharpener station!

"KEEP CALM AND ALWAYS RETURN MY PENCILS"

hahaha! So true!!

Filing cabinet labels!!

The cabinets above my sink. Love that all my storage bins above my cabinets are all labeled and I know exactly what is in each one! 

Here is another view of my room looking at the door and that bookshelf! 

My small group table and my WINDOW!! :) 

Love my bucket seats I created. Bought the tubs from wal-mart, and turned them upside dow, cut out a circle of memory foam and hot glued the fabric down! Easy peasy. 

The shelf behind my small group table.. label CRAZY!! 

A wide shot looking from my small group table. 

My back cabinets. I really wanted a spot for all the major topics we cover in 3rd grade reading, especially the ones that are important to the STAAR test!! 

Here is my bucks system that I will put the student names on and store their behavior bucks they earn. Next to that is "Text Features" bulletin display. Text features is one thing the 3rd graders must know. I will move the pink star to the text feature poster we are studying throughout the year so the kids know which one we are focusing on. :) 

Here is the adorable Figurative Language display and the Grammar display. Again, I will move the pink star to emphasize the skill we are currently focusing on. 

Here is how I keep track of where each student is at during the writing process. 

As you can see, each of my classes (the blue class and the green class) have a numbered clip that they will move up and down the process. 

Here is a peek into one of my cabinets... I clearly went LABEL CRAZY this year!! 

But I am SO excited to be SO organized! 

 I love this arrangement for my desks. Their supply buckets stay perfectly between the desks (the bungee cords help with that) and the kids are not pushing it to each other desks.

 Just pencils in their supply buckets for now!

I am also in love with my library. I bought tubs and labeled/organized my library by genres (labels available on my TpT store also!) I LOVE my crate seats too. Turns my library into a very cozy corner. 

I made these by taking milk crates and covering them with an old green curtain I had, the memory foam, wood and covering the top with fabric. 

 The inside of the crates. Perfect for those books that don't exactly fit in with a certain genre or over flow books!

I found this adorable Book Hospital label on TpT and just fell in love!
 Of course I have my EEKK! Framed and ready to go!
 Love framing different posters.

This year I am also going to try my hand at the popular library sticks we have all seen all over pinterest! 

One for each class of course!!

A wide shot looking onto my small group area and library. 

 Here are my prefix and suffix boards you can see above the shelving.
These are available at my TpT store at:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Prefixes-and-Suffixes-Mini-Posters-with-Banners-1279025

My MEGA desk. I have never had such a large desk area before but so excited that all my wires are hidden and I could decorate the from of my desk with my name!! 

A shot of behind my desk. Covered an ugly board with fabric. It is so bright and cheery!

Here I will write what we are doing each day in the my reading class! 

Plus the too cute rules I found on TpT! 

My promethean board, floor space and white board. I don't have any student backs to the board, and it is where our lessons take place! 

My Blurt chart. You can read more about this behavior tool I use here:

http://www.terrificthird.blogspot.com/2013/08/two-classes-one-classroom.html

This is the side chalkboard directly to the left of my door. Here I have this board broken into 2 parts: Writing and Reading. Each with different important skills we learn throughout the year. The pink star will be pinned to the type of writing we are currently doing. 

Here is the reading side. Again, the pink star will move next the skill we are focusing on that week! 

Next to the chalk board is a bulletin board that I have created into my genre board. I bet you can guess what I will use that pink star for huh?? :) 

I have created a working on words station next to my desk for students to spell out spelling words.
On top of the magnet desk is their turn in bucket.

 On my campus we each get 6 Chromebooks. I am so excited to use this niffy charging station I created!

 Here is that back shelving unit by my library. It holds my stations/buckets for daily five. I am missing my tape recorder for my books on tape!

 Here is my big books station for daily five. It is underneath my big whiteboard by my Promethean board.

 This is also apart of my daily five stations. I use this for creative writing.

 Also on that back shelving is my colorful pens and revising/editing pens for students to use during the writing process.

 I also have their paper stored here...

and different supplies they need during their time with me!!!

I will blog again once I have all my Daily Five stations up and running!

UNTIL THEN...

Happy Teaching Friends!!!