Our Classroom

I loved playing Barbie and Legos when I was little, mostly because I got to design and create different homes or spaces. The storytelling and role-playing were a bonus. Now, as a grown-up, I am obsessed with functional areas and moving furniture around as many times as necessary (thanks, Mama) until each corner makes sense. Why the story? Because I recently did an “extreme makeover” in my classroom, and people seemed interested in knowing why and how, and Kyle Purpura once told me, “Ana, everyone wants to hear a story. Start there.”

I’ve never liked desks. I am a learner who needs to move around. I love lying down, sitting on couches or beanbags, at different tables, standing, leaning. I often move from one place to the other when getting work done, and I’m 33 years old! Knowing what I know of child development, I knew my third-graders would also need to move, so I decided to be brave and transform the room. My principal quickly got on board, and I started planning how it would happen.

Here are the steps we followed that may work for you:

1. I held an initial classroom meeting with my students to discuss the possibility of a flexible seating kind of room. The ideas came (mostly) from them, so the sense of ownership has been there from the very beginning. Ask them what they prefer, what helps them focus, where they feel more comfortable.
2. Define which areas are needed for instruction and independent work. Resources must be purposefully located: the Writing Center, library, Math Center, Cubbies to keep essentials (take-home folders, planners, and other fun stuff they usually keep)
3. Figure out what furniture works best for easy access and flow. I went for open and limited, minimizing the bookshelves and marking each area with tables, plants, and a couch.
4. Have one central and wide gathering area where students who may need to sit on chairs, stools, or beanbags can still feel part of the group.
5. For tables, I suggest you offer variety: sitting or standing, large or small groups, and invite students to define and name them. For seating: stools, chairs, cushions, beanbags. I wish I had more flexible seating options, but you do what you can!
6. Before you move anything, hold another class meeting to discuss guidelines and expectations on how students will choose their seats. The key is transparency (who gets privileges in certain areas?), consistency, and high expectations.
7. Go easy at first. Because I did this two months into the school year, I made a few subtle changes at first. I got rid of 4 desks and piloted the “choose your seat,” strategy having conversations about what it meant to choose our seats and being self-directed learners. 4 students began modeling these behaviors.
8. Once all desks were gone, I assigned seats for the majority of my students. We all had a class meeting to decide who deserved to choose their own seats. This became even more important when the couch arrived!
9. After three weeks of understanding the setup, going over clear expectations, and lots of positive reinforcement, I gave more students the option of choosing (gradual release!)
10. To provide them with equal opportunities to demonstrate readiness, I didn’t assign seats on the gathering area. This is the one place where they can show me how well they choose a place to sit that helps them stay focused.

It’s been more than a month since the change in our classroom, and I can already notice a difference in student engagement and self-directedness. It’s our favorite place to be at school, it’s our shelter and a place to explore, make mistakes, and learn.

I hope you try this out, and if you need help or want to see photos of specific areas or charts, reach out! 🙂