The best way to set yourself up for success for the new school year is to get your classroom space ready to go! Having an organized, prepared classroom helps you feel confident going into the first day of school. Here are some ideas of ways you can set up your classroom before your students arrive, so that you will be ready to go on day one of the school year!
Set Up Zones in the Classroom
The first thing I like to do to get my classroom ready is to plan the layout of the room. Setting up zones for different classroom needs helps you maximize your space and keep things organized. An easy way to do this is with a digital planning tool like a classroom layout builder. This tool lets you see an outline of your space and try out different arrangements of furniture and materials so you can determine what works best.
Some different zones you might consider incorporating in your classroom are:
- student work areas
- teacher-only area
- play area
- calm down area
- spaces/tables for different centers
- a space for whole-group activities
After planning the layout digitally, you can physically move your furniture to fulfill your vision!
Incorporate Cues for Students
A great way to support student needs is by incorporating visual cues around the room! After you have organized your layout, you can make the room even more accessible with these visual supports.
One example of a cue I use in my classroom is to add labels to different areas. These are useful for keeping sections of your room defined. You can mark student tables, break areas, your desk, and other important places. These types of labels help students navigate the room with ease and understand what areas are available to them.
Colored tape is also a cue that can be used to mark many things in the classroom. Create visual boundaries for lining up. Separate sections of tables or desks so students know where their boundaries are. Color code tables for centers to clearly mark where students should go for their rotations.
Organize Paperwork
Another important thing to prep before students arrive is paperwork! IEPs, meeting information, parent communication documents, adapted work… being a special education teacher requires a LOT of papers! Taking some time before students arrive to make copies and set up systems will save you so much time after the school year begins.
One of the first things I prep for the school year is my IEP binder. An IEP Binder is an all-in-one place to store and organize the materials you need to manage your student caseload! Using an IEP binder lets you keep all the important information and forms in one place. You can print everything you need (or set up the digital versions!) and place it in a binder so that all the paperwork is at your fingertips. Doing this before students arrive will help you get organized for the whole school year!
Set Up Student Work
Finally, it is important to take some time to set up work you will want to use for the year (or, at least the beginning of the year).
For the start of the year you will of course want to have some activities prepared and ready to go for your class! One thing I love to do every September is to have students make an “All About Me” book that is full of their favorite things. This is a fun project but does require a lot of copies! Save yourself some stress by making and organizing copies of activities you want to do BEFORE the kids start so that everything will be ready to go.
And, before the year starts it is a great idea to get IEP goal bins prepped! An IEP Goal Bin contains all of the materials that you will need to take data on student goals throughout the school year! Each bin contains a list of student goals and the instructions for collecting data; materials for taking data on goals; and your student data sheets. Basically, it has everything you need for progress monitoring in one place!
There are so many things that you can do to prepare your classroom before the kids come back. These are just a few of the things that you can do to make sure your classroom is set up and ready to go. With these tasks done, you will be all ready for your students to arrive. Just a few small steps will have a huge impact on your school year success! How do you set up your classroom before the first day? Share your tips and tricks in a comment!
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