Resolution to the Great Debate...

So, as I promised you... The solution (or at least progress update) to my great seating arrangement debate.

First, I should make my frustrations clear.  I don't have a problem arranging seating CHARTS.  As I told you, I'd like to think of myself as a fairly advanced seating chart-maker.  I could probably earn an award for it.  But, in my new classroom, I'm struggling with the seating ARRANGEMENT.  [Meaning, how my desks are arranged.]  Did I mention that my room has those annoying desk-table combination where the chairs are already attached to the desks?  Yuck.  It makes it much more difficult to arrange desks, considering students can only get into their desks comfortably from one side.

I digress.

So last week I told you I was going to try a new arrangement.  In my small, narrow room, my options were limited.  To complicate matters, I've got over 25 urban-area seventh graders in most class periods.  First things first, grouping the desks was not an option.  I asked six... yes, SIX, veteran teachers who have taught inner-city seventh grade for at least ten years each.  They all gave me one piece of advice... STEER CLEAR of GROUPS!!!  

Advice received.  So what to do?  Well, here's what I did:  

I moved the desks from individual rows [see previous post] and put them into rows of pairs.  Does that make sense?  I carefully chose two students to sit next to one another (I typically paired a male and female, one high performing and one low performing, or I put ELL students near one another).  I also made sure there is at LEAST three feet between the rows of desks.  If I could I would have put a twenty foot wall or a moat with alligators, but that probably isn't school appropriate.  

Here's another look at it.  You can see how much space is between the desks:

Beautiful!  Look at all that nice space!  And please, ignore the hot mess at the back of the room.  I have neglected to tackle that space at this point because my time is dedicated more to shaping the curriculum. Besides, the kiddos face the front (away from the mess) anyways!

Anyways, an update on my seating arrangement change.  So far, it has been fantastic!  It's worked beautifully with all of my classes with the exception of one.  Putting more space between students and pairing them with another has been great.  I made sure to put loud and talkative students next to other students who will keep them at bay and quiet.  In addition, I put students who need help and more direction with students who are good leaders and high performers.  It is a wonderful system!  It's so simple for me to have students complete a task with their "elbow partners" since they are already sitting next to someone.  Before, students had to move their desks or get up and walk somewhere else. This is all ready to go!

My next project I want to tackle (yes, before the hot mess I call the back of my classroom), is finding a solution to one of my talkative classes.  This new seating arrangement has proven to be the missing piece to the puzzle for my other classes.  However, there is one "sore thumb" and I'm struggling with my noisy class.  There are so many students who have outbursts or dramatic personalities that I'm struggling to find corners for them all.  If you're up for sharing, I'm up for suggestions.  

For now, I'm crossing another "to-do" off my list - a seating arrangement solution!  Hopefully my trial may help you solve your own seating arrangement debacle.  

:)  Emily