Once you know what the students’ goals and needs are, and have the schedule set up, you can start think about classroom design. Well, I mean let’s be real…you’ve been thinking about that since you walked back into the classroom.
But, really you can concentrate on it now that you know what the activities need to be to meet the students you have now. You know which areas you need and which materials need to be in them.
So, I have gathered all my posts of classroom layouts for different ages. And I thought I would start with a quick overview of the goals we want to achieve in setting up the room.
7 Goals of Setting Up Physical Environment
- Create an environment with predictability and stability to enhance skill acquisition and facilitate participation in activities
- Set up areas of the classroom based on the needs of the students and the classroom space
- Develop clearly defined areas of an appropriate size for a given activity
- Give clear cues to students and staff about expectations for different areas of the room
- Allow supervision of all students within the classroom
- Create environments that increase engagement and prevent challenging behaviors
- Foster student independence in navigating the classroom routine and everyday activities
Classroom Design Posts
The posts below have a variety of resources. Some have floor plans of different rooms. There is a tour of preschool classes. A class with functional curriculum elements. And more. Click on each to check them out.
5 Autism Classroom Layouts and Tips to Create Your Own
Autism Classroom Guided Video Tours
Functional Elementary Classroom Elements
3 Ways to Adjust the Physical Space to Prevent Problem Behavior
Back to School: Designing the Room Part 1
Back to School: Designing the Room Part 2
I hope that gives you some ideas to work with as you think about your classroom set up at whatever time of year it is when you have found this. Until next time,
Looking for More Ideas for Classroom Design?
Check out our book with tons of pictures, layouts and case studies for principles of setting up your classroom to be successful for any students with special education needs.
Amazon Affiliate Link-gives me a small commission, but I only recommend items I would purchase myself.
