Arranging for independence

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On a sunny day in September, an energetic buzz of activity emanates from the kindergarten classroom of Erin Espinoza. Activities in various centers revolve around the current thematic focus on students’ homes and families.

• In the drama center, a “family” of three students prepares a meal and sets the table.
• Students at the ABC center select index cards with family member pictures and words on them and use various letters (magnetic, letter stamps, letter tiles) to make the words on their cards.
• In the writing center, students write and illustrate in their own patterned books entitled “I love my family.”
• Students in the science center sort and graph pictures of small, medium, and large homes, while in the math center, students trace and measure their hands and feet with various manipulatives.
• Two students arrange words and pictures in the pocketchart before reading aloud using special pointers to point to the words.
• In addition to these “directed” centers, students may also choose to observe the class pet, “Piggy,” a lively guinea pig; work with wooden and cardboard blocks; explore various puzzles and games; select from available computer programs; or listen to a book at the listening center.

At this point in the year, Erin uses her time to circulate among students to ensure that they understand how to choose from and work at the various centers. Her assistant, Rachel Faggart, walks through the room with a clipboard to take anecdotal notes of her observations of student work. In a few days, Erin will open the art center and begin to assess and instruct small groups and individuals while her students work independently and Rachel will monitor students and provide Erin with anecdotal information.

Erin taught for two and a half years in Charlotte before beginning work this year at A. T. Allen Elementary School in Cabarrus County. She puts a great deal of thought, time, and energy into arranging the physical environment of her classroom, and this arrangement enables her to manage all of this activity smoothly while nurturing independence in her students.

The process of arranging space

When she arranges her classroom, Erin Espinoza takes into account both her own and her students’ organizational and instructional needs. The room is arranged for a variety of uses and groupings of students.

During the summer before school started, Erin spent time in her room thinking about the physical space. Erin emphasizes that she never completes the process of arranging her room by herself. She frequently asks other teachers for their ideas and opinions, particularly her former mentor in Charlotte, Lisa Wallace. Lisa traveled to Erin’s classroom during the summer to help her in think about and arrange the space.

Erin began by considering where in the room it made sense for her to teach the whole group of students. She knew that for this area she would need a large writing area (a chalkboard, whiteboard, or large tablet), space for calendar, a place for her rocking chair, and an area on the rug for the children to sit. The area she selected at the front of the room includes Erin’s rocking chair, a large chalkboard, a tub of supplies, the calendar, and spots for every student designated with masking tape on the floor.

Erin next considered the various centers that she wanted in her room. In thinking about where to locate and how to organize these centers, she simultaneously considered multiple factors. First, the permanent physical features of the room guided her decisions — for example, she wanted the art center to be near the sink and off the carpet, and she wanted the writing center near the word wall. In addition, she thought about the maximum number of students that she felt could effectively work at one time in any center. This guided the size of the tables and the amount of space devoted to various centers. She considered the noise and activity levels of various centers, careful not to place noisy centers too close to quiet ones. At the same time, the storage and work space needs for centers helped to determine placement and furniture arrangement. After deciding on the location of her centers, she used tables, floor areas, shelving, and labels to designate areas for independent and group work.

The process of arranging her room took time. Erin arranged and rearranged several times over the summer before feeling confident. She admits that she may rearrange her room during the course of the year as she learns by watching her students.

Fostering independence

One of Erin Espinoza’s primary goals in her classroom is to encourage independence in her students. Structuring her classroom so that students choose their own centers or math tubs and can easily access and put away materials frees Erin to work with small groups or individuals and fosters students’ responsibility for learning.

Areas in the room and student supplies are clearly labeled with both words and simple pictures. Center labels are particularly important in aiding students completing center sheets to guide and record their center work for the day. Students can easily access supplies in drawers or cabinets by attending to the word/picture cards on the outside. To help students see where supplies containers go when they are cleaning up, Erin tapes pieces of construction paper the size and shape of the containers to the open shelves.

In addition to keeping the room neat, Erin sees this level of organization as facilitating students’ independent work. Rather than spending time looking for supplies, students are able to start center work quickly and clean up easily.

Erin also fosters independence in her students by posting and reviewing the day’s schedule in the morning. Although the majority of the schedule remains consistent from day to day, she can easily change it by placing a strip of Velcro on her chalkboard and creating laminated sentence strips with the day’s activities on them. Blank strips allow Erin to fill in special activities as they occur throughout the year. During the course of a day, she typically alternates whole group activities with small group and independent work.

Solving difficulties

As Erin becomes more experienced, interacts with the students in her classroom, and continues to talk about problems with other teachers and her mentor, she is able to make further decisions regarding her classroom arrangement. A primary concern this year was a lack of furniture for her to use in creating a “housekeeping” center. Through work with her mentor over the summer, she came up with the idea of using some of the existing furniture to create items for students to use in dramatic play. She created a refrigerator from posterboard, Velcro, and pictures of food from magazines, and made a stove from contact paper and magic marker. Erin is delighted with the way this “problem” resulted in a drama center that she will be able to change easily to fit with other thematic units during the year.

In Erin’s previous classrooms, open shelving allowed students to see supplies easily. In her current classroom, the majority of storage space is closed. She solved this difficulty by taping signs on the outside of drawers and cabinet doors with both words and pictures labeling the contents. This system proved to be helpful to both the students and to Erin. She even labeled the outside of her “personal” cabinets so that she could easily access her own supplies.

In the past, Erin’s whole-group lessons were sometimes delayed while she searched for supplies. She solved this difficulty by placing a basket full of markers, pencils, and other classroom materials next to her rocking chair. A similar basket full of calendar supplies sits under the calendar.

By being thoughtful and flexible about her classroom, consulting with her mentor and other teachers, and observing and attending to her students, Erin works to create a classroom space that facilitates independence among her students and solves problems along the way.