Syeda Rahman February 23, 2016 Classroom Design 3 rd Grade

Security and Shelter  There is a red safety bag in case of an emergency.  There are pillows which are like “retreat areas” for children during reading time for comfort. Classrooms should provide protection such as physical security (surrounding), psychological security (feel safe), freedom, “retreat areas” (Larson, 2015).

Security and Shelter (continued)  Classroom rules are posted for everyone’s safety  Eyes are watching; Ears are listening; Lips are closed; Hands are still; Feet are quiet  Show kindness  Make good decisions  Act responsibly  Respect self and others  Try your best

Social Contact Social interaction is how much children will interact with each other. The seating arrangement is made based on how the teacher wants students to interact.  These are clusters. They help promote interaction between students. Students can help each other out and work together. (Weinstein & Romano, 2015, p. 30)

Symbolic Identification  This is a picture of Mrs. Nagy’s pens. This signifies that these are Mrs. Nagy’s. Students have their materials in a separate bin as in the second picture. Symbolic Identification “refers to the information that a setting provides about the people who spend time there” (Weinstein & Romano, 2015, p. 35). It personalizes the space in the classroom. It represents students and teacher.

Symbolic Identification (continued)  Visual cues on the wall tells students about reading and writing.  “I can” statements show what students are able to do at the current time of instruction.

Task Instrumentality The environment helps us carry out tasks that need to be accomplished (Weinstein & Romano, 2015, p. 37). Teachers need to be organized and arrange things so that the environment is safe (Larson, 2015).  The bulletin board include 100’s chart and a calendar for “Calendar Time” which serves a function  Pens, rulers, tools needed for instruction are placed in an organized way for easy access

Task Instrumentality (continued)  Daily schedule for class so that students and teacher can stay on task and on track of the day.  Shelves which contain boxes with tools such as blocks, pens, and plastic coins.

Task Instrumentality continued  These passes are hung near the door. There is 1 girl’s bathroom pass, 1 boy’s bathroom pass, and 1 hall pass.  They help with classroom management because whenever a child needs to exit the room he or she needs to come up, hold up a pass, and raise his or her hand. The teacher then nods or waves indicating that the child may exit the room

Pleasure Pleasure is to create an attractive and pleasing environment (Weinstein & Romano, 2015, p. 39). Mrs. Nagy’s classroom has a theme of FROGS. That is why her classroom design includes a lot of the color green. She also has different pictures and posters of frogs.

Pleasure (continued)  Green curtains, tapestries, and wind chimes are used as décor in the classroom to represent the frog theme.  Frog stuffed toys are spread across the room.

Pleasure (continued)  Rugs are available for students when they are doing reading time.  The stereo is available to play music and soothe the children.

Growth This functionality promotes children’s development (Weinstein & Romano, 2015, p. 39).  Laminated posters help children with the writing process.  There is an abundance amount of books in the classroom for various reading levels.

Growth (continued)  Rocking chair is used to help children during read aloud. The teacher can sit on the chair and really interact with the children so that they comprehend the books that are read out loud to them. Children can actually experience literature through this simple furniture and hopefully foster interest and growth with reading.

Growth (continued)  The classroom is filled with books for children to use for their growth in reading.  There is also a rug available during read aloud or for when guest speakers come. Children can sit here when they have individual reading so they can focus on their reading. The rug can also function as SOCIAL CONTACT for group time.

References  Larson, J. (2015). Designing the physical environment. [PowerPoint Slides]  Weinstein, C. S. & Romano, M. E. (2015). Elementary classroom management: Lessons from research and practice (6 th Ed.). New York, NY: McGraw- Hill.