Middle school classroom set up can be a challenge to ensure that the room looks visually appealing without looking too young for the age group. It is important that your room has enough space to accommodate middle school students.
This is my middle school classroom tour for the 2016-2017 school year. Most of the photos were taken during the summer while I was setting up my classroom. The space is now almost entirely filled with student work and anchor charts.
Middle School Classroom Set Up
Small group instruction is still very important for middle school students. I purchased fun chairs from Ikea and my students enjoy coming to work with me at my guided reading table. Read more about small group instruction.
My classroom usually holds anywhere from 30 to 35 middle school students. There is not enough room to use my teacher’s desk in the traditional way. It now holds my laptop, document camera, speakers and any other technology needed for daily lessons. When my lesson is over students can choose to use this area as their work station. Read more about technology ideas for the middle school classroom.
In order to help students stay organized I have a daily schedule for my homeroom posted on the front board. I also keep this information board updated regularly with important school and classroom news. Read more about middle school classroom organization.
This year I am teaching Grades 7 & 8 English, Social Studies and Drama/Dance. I needed a system to keep all of my lessons organized by grade and subject. These plastic drawers are the perfect size to keep all of my copies safe from bending and spills. Like this time-saving idea? Check out our teacher life hacks blog post series for teacher hacks and more middle school classroom set up ideas.
When I am teaching or working with small groups I need my students to be as independent as possible to minimize interruptions. I regularly check the supply levels in this area to ensure that materials are being returned and that students have access to anything they might need while I am busy with other students. Since this photo was taken I have added pencil crayons to this area. Read about other organizational strategies in middle school classroom set up for the rotary classroom.
This is my favourite area of my classroom. I firmly believe that if we want students to read we need to provide them with regular access to reading material that interests them. The white bins on the top are full of fiction books, below the fiction bins are blue milk crates full of non-fiction books. Learn more about my classroom library in this blog post series. I hope this post about middle school classroom set up has been beneficial for you and has given you some ideas.