Classroom organisation is one of the main classroom management techniques that differentiates a productive session from an ineffective lesson. Organising classrooms is a crucial part of lesson planning that ensures good time management, a conducive learning environment and an undisrupted classroom, especially for open classrooms or younger students who are still learning to settle down within classrooms.
How Does Classroom Organisation Affect Learning?
A few minutes spent organising classrooms using the right classroom management ideas help both the teacher and the students. A functionally organised classroom means that you can focus fully on the lesson and engage with students while delivering the lesson, instead of spending energy bringing order to the classroom.
The students learn the basics and the importance of staying organised while not wasting time looking for things and disrupting the lesson. The structure and comfort of an organised classroom gives students a sense of safety and predictability, thereby greatly improving their learning capability.
Classroom Organisation Ideas
Checklists and Daily tasks
The first of classroom management techniques is to spend some time preparing checklists for daily lesson plans. These can help you stay organised, know what you need for every session, and the order of requirements as per sessions. For example, you might need science lesson supplies before you need storybooks for reading time. Having a checklist helps you set the classroom optimally for the day.
Stationery and Art Supplies Sorting
It is commonplace to sort and stack stationery and art supplies are by their category – pencils in one place, brushers in another, erasers, sharpers, rulers, and colours in yet others. However, a useful approach is to stack them according to the requirements of the lesson planned. Students don’t waste class time finding the right supplies. For example, students only need pencils, erasers, sharpers and rulers for a math class vs a full set of colours, brushes, glue and scissors for a craft class.
Example: Use clear bins labeled with icons for different subjects or tasks, like a “Math Kit” with rulers and pencils, and an “Art Box” for creative activities.
Student Participation in Organising Classrooms
Once you’ve finalised your classroom organising approach, spend the first few days explaining it to the students. Dedicate some time at the end of each lesson for students to restock their space and materials used. This might take a little effort initially but it will save you time throughout the year
Example: Rotate jobs weekly such as a “Material Monitor” who checks supplies and ensures everything is returned to its proper place, and a “Clean-Up Crew” who handles tidying up after activities.
Strategic Labelling and Storage
Using various aids such as colour coding, clear category labels, see-through boxes for storage, and sorting by size can make sure that both you and the students know where different supplies are stored. Using bookshelves is a great way to ensure visibility while maintaining order. You can use the lower level shelves for things that need to be accessible to students while keeping the top shelves for teaching material that you need.
Example: Place frequently used items like notebooks on a table at the front, and have a designated “Supply Station” where students can find extra materials if needed.
Purge Items Not Needed:
A key principle in staying organised is knowing things that you do not need. Instead of hoarding and holding on to them, pass them around to other teachers. Some of it may be useful for others while the rest can be kept in common storage for future access.
Technology for better organisation of the classroom
Picture Tagging as an Organisation Tool:
Taking pictures of various sections in your classroom and attaching tags through specific applications on your phone can help you find stored items easily. Through the search and organise function of the apps you can quickly retrieve items or put them back in their place.
3D Mapping for Layout Options:
The use of 3D mapping and layout apps can help understand the classroom flow and areas visually without having to move everything around multiple times. You can try all the spatial iterations to see which one suits your requirements the best before organising the classroom in that manner.
Digital Activity Management:
Another way to stay on top of your schedule is by using smart ed-tech apps and portals such as Extramarks Smart Class Plus to design lesson plans, class activities and quizzes. These forums provide you with prompts on all the material that you might need while students can receive notifications to prep the materials required.
Allocate Student Jobs
Instead of trying to do it all yourself, you can also assign small tasks to students on a rotational basis each week. This teaches them how to stay organised by participation and gives them a sense of ownership.
A Place for Everything and Everything in its place:
Assign dedicated space for classroom material and create clear zones. Using spatial design and guiding student movement according to the activity planned makes the area in need of clearing and re-stacking much smaller. If you have a reading session planned, the students head into the book’s corner and settle down. This way at the end of the class, you only need to make sure that section gets re-stacked.
Example: Create a “Reading Nook” for quiet activities, with comfortable seating and easy access to books, or a “Science Lab Corner” with materials neatly stored for experiments.
While every teacher has their own style and approach, effective classroom organisation makes you feel more in control and productive. It sets the tone for a healthy teacher-student relationship at the same time creates an environment for optimal teaching-learning experience.
About The Author
Hemant Singh
Hello friends, I am Hemant, Technical Writer & Co-Founder of Education Learn Academy. Talking about education, I am a student. I enjoy learning things related to new technology and teaching others. I request you that you keep supporting us in this way and we will continue to provide new information for you. :)
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