A classroom teacher describes an approach to classroom organization for learning handicapped students in which the teacher is the hub and classroom activities radiate from him or her. Learning stations are located on the periphery, and spaces are designated for free time and time-out. (CL)

Suggestions and tools for arranging an effective classroom are presented to help teachers reflect on how their classroom's "geography" and "climate" help or impede learning and teaching. (CB)

Because the physical environment of the classroom can stimulate students and help them remain productive and happy, it is important for teachers to utilize all physical aspects of the room, such as the walls, ceilings, and floor space, to encourage community, inquiry, and productivity. (MDM)

Examines four elementary school floorplans designed for efficient and flexible delivery of educational programs while limiting operational problems. Plans examined are the cluster approach, the corridor approach, the urban block school, and the courtyard/campus concept. (GR)

Presents photographs and the floor plan of a prekindergarten through fifth-grade school building that is designed with teaching and support areas arranged around a large, triangular room that serves as an auditorium, cafeteria, and overflow teaching space. The school also includes a circular media center and rectangular gymnasium. (GR)

Examines whether children make more noise on a windy day and argues that predictions made on the basis of hearsay or intuition may not be proved by rational consideration of experimental evidence. Finds that there is no correlation between a windy day and student noise levels. (Author/CCM)

Examines a Florida Montessori school design that does not use air conditioning and is naturally lighted. Discusses design considerations that took advantage of natural surroundings, the architectural approach that helped bring the outdoors closer to the classroom, and the environmental pay-off. (GR)

Outlines how literacy can be a natural part of the English-as-a-Second-Language classroom, carving pathways to meaningful conversations among second-language learners. Describes the physical setting of a specific classroom and its integrated language program. Discusses five literacy-based strategies that support conversation in ESL classrooms. (SR)

Explains how Project Oriented Development Stations (PODS) provide a flexible facilities solution that can fit within any elementary school, and that combines custom furnishing with technology, curriculum, and hands-on learning. An explanation of the POD approach and an example of its development, usefulness, and funding is provided. (GR)

A project to redesign an elementary school classroom was undertaken by 14 architecture students at the University of Buffalo (New York). Six basic steps are listed which any class can take to make its living space better meet its needs. (KC)

The data discussed in this speech are taken from a large, three-year study that investigated the whole process of open-plan schooling. The study included a national survey of schools in Britain and a series of onsite observations. The analyses reported here derived from the observation of 552 pupils in grades 2 and 4 using the Pupil Behavior…

Examines the efforts of an elementary school in Iowa to combine Basic School and multi-age instruction. Quotes from teachers to describe how (trying not just to educate children but to teach them how to manage their own education) the school's curriculum is structured around big ideas and broad concepts that provide multiple entry points for the…

This handbook provides information on establishing and running learning centers in an elementary school classroom. A learning center is a station containing instruction and materials for one particular project. Every center should include multimedia and manipulative materials that support the topic or skill that is being focused upon. Students use…

Discusses the organization and operation of multi-age classrooms in an elementary school in Nevada. Describes how teachers working with primary classrooms of first and second graders, and intermediate classrooms of third, fourth, and fifth graders, created an adaptive, flexible, and dynamic curriculum that could serve the needs of their…

Contends that keyboard synthesizers can be used effectively in the music education classroom because they are instruments more than they are technological tools. Describes an elementary music program that uses synthesizers throughout the K-6 curriculum. Includes diagrams of classrooms arranged to use computerized keyboards incorporated with other…