Classrooms should be spaces where every child feels safe to bring their whole self to school. This book shows how to set up preK-grade 6 classrooms that support student agency, independence, and choice. The results of classrooms designed with these goals in mind include: (1) Greater student engagement with curriculum; (2) Students who know…

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)

Time saving ideas for the teacher focus on organizing classroom space, charts, planning programs to suit special schedules, organizing storage and retrieval systems, and maintaining records. (CM)

Briefly describes one elementary school's project to remodel its media center. Several photographs and a floor plan are included. (JMB)

Presents factors crucial to the success of the combination classroom: planning, teacher selection, student selection, parent support, and schoolwide support. (MD)

Presents photographs of the winners of the Classy Classroom Contest, innovative classroom arrangements and ideas for organizing space. (CM)

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)

Outlines nine steps to curriculum planning: specify learning outcomes; identify constraints; assess physical environment needs; identify classroom practices required to do the job; orient the pupils; select teaching materials; organize the learning experience; get daily feedback from classroom observations; and evaluate the outcomes. (ED)

Suggestions for integrating regular classroom activities and vocational education activities in the elementary school classroom are presented. (EC)

Discusses how to create classroom study areas and presents ideas for including game tables, magic carpet areas, and media corners. (JMB)

Presents 20 ways to think about learning centers in the classroom and suggests ideas for developing and using such centers. (JMB)

This paper presents the results of a two-part study that investigated classroom seating design preferences among elementary classroom teachers. In part one, the researchers mapped and classified seating arrangements that were in actual use across 294 regular classrooms (grades K-5) in 21 public elementary schools. Subsequently, the researchers…

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)

Explores different K-6 classroom designs that address the changing learning-space needs of students. The hexagonal modular design is described as one answer to a classroom that is flexible as well as accommodating to educational technology, now and into the future. (GR)

As part of a symposium on the provision of architectural privacy within the classroom, this paper reviews the limited research that is available and discusses the importance of viewing classroom settings as ecological units with both physical and behavioral components. Whether children prefer to use private facilities, and whether they benefit…