Guess what time it is? If you guessed back to school time, you are right! With the back to school season, comes classroom setup time. Teachers have a blast decorating their rooms, creating bulletin board masterpieces and making their classroom a home away from home. Many teachers change out their theme year after year, but one thing often remains the same: the desk/table arrangement. This post will cover 13 ways to set up your student seating, with photos!
Desk Arrangements
Rows
When you see pictures of classrooms from any time period, you will see the desks in rows. This is because in many shaped classrooms this is how the desks fit best. However, what has changed is teachers putting their desks in “grouped” rows. What I mean by this is either pairing the desks up in 2s,3s, or one long row. This way the desks still fit great in the classroom and students can collaborate and be a community. And, all of your students will be facing the front of the room.
Groups
Another popular way to arrange student desks is in groups, or pods. Desks in groups allow for easy group work scenarios and build up classroom community. There are many ways to arrange desk groups from only a few desks, to large groups. Check out these examples below.
This teacher got creative and put her desks into varying sized groups of 2-3. The smaller group size also allows for more walking room between groups.
Now in this classroom, the teacher created much larger groups.This is a great option if you have a larger class. This teacher also varied the group size. One con to having bigger desk groups (or pods as some teachers call them), is the talking. However, teachers have amazing “teacher judgement” to determine which students should and should NOT be grouped together.
By facing two desks against the end of the group, this teacher still has large desk groups, without taking up as much room!
LOVE, love love this desk arrangement! This arrangement groups four students together but also gives them some personal space and is visually appealing.
Oddly Shaped Desks
Educational furniture companies have been stepping up their game and making desks/tables lightweight and sleek. They are also making them all sorts of shapes, including triangle desks. Although these desks are super cute, they can be hard to arrange into groups. BUT, thanks to the awesome teachers in our Lucky 2nd Grade Teachers Facebook Group, check out these cute ways to arrange triangle desks.
This teacher, having a large class, fit the triangles together with students facing every other way. This arrangement works great for collaboration, but would need clear expectations for students when it came to independent work time.
This desk arrangement is OH SO CUTE. The diamond shape in the middle, love!
U-Shaped & S-Shaped
A great way to establish a total classroom community feel AND have all students facing the front of the room is U or S-shaped arrangements. Once in the arrangement, teachers may have to move students around a bit to adjust their classroom volume.
U-Shaped
S-Shaped
Table Arrangements
If your classroom has tables instead of desks, never fear! There are a few ways to rearrange the tables to give your classroom a fresh, new look.
Grouped Together
Pushing two tables together, like this teacher did, allows for a bigger student group and gives the students a large workspace.
Facing Different Directions
If you are looking to get away from the traditional tables in straight rows look, this might be the arrangement for you. It also might create more space!
Against the Wall
This table arrangement is all about space saving, and might give students a nature view if they are by a window! By pushing the table against the wall, the middle of the room is left with more space. And, if is a small enough class, the table could even be flush against the wall to create even more space.
Hopefully these suggestions and photos help you create the classroom of your dreams! If you have now figured out your desk/table arrangement, it might be time for classroom decor! Did you know Lucky Little Learners has a brand new Classroom Setup Packs that have everything you need to get your room first day ready? Click below to start downloading ALL THE THINGS!
Download HERE
What about grouping ideas for large class sizes of 30-35 kids? Best tips?