This week, I started working on campus, with a group of 12 students. While our school is implementing a myriad of safety precautions, I can’t help feeling a bit like a guinea pig…. Summer programs seem sort of like the testing ground to see if these mitigations will be enough to prevent coronavirus breakouts when schools reopen in the fall. Plus, I’ve gotten so accustomed to working at home, I’ve actually been really nervous about being back in a classroom.
The best way I could cope with the anxiety I was feeling was to prepare as much as I could. This started with the physical setup of my classroom itself. In the summer, I don’t teach in my regular classroom, so I did a big overhaul of the furniture in my summer room. I had to rearrange tables, chairs, and desks to make open places to walk, and spread out the students at their seats.
Here’s a video showing some of the most important classroom features we added or changed for safety. Read the article for details on all these ideas!
- Spread out my seating chart. Students now sit two to a table, with six feet between them. I made sure there are accessible aisles so that teachers can move through the room without getting too close to students.
- Keep belongings at student seats. I tried to cut down on the times they had to be out of their seats and milling about the classroom by having as many of their materials with them at their seats. They also keep their backpacks, water bottles, and lunches right next to their chairs. It’s a little cluttered, but it cuts out the need for students to get up every five minutes to get water, jacket, snack, etc…
- Give everyone their own materials. Each student has their own seat of pencils, crayons, markers, scissors, sketching paper, tape, glue, etc. Materials that used to be communal are now kept in individual pouches labeled with names, and everyone understands that they have to use their own materials.
- 6 foot markers for lines. Students quickly forget to keep six feet apart. Marking the floor with lines where they can safely stand when they line up to wash their hands, go out of the room, or come in from recess can help them keep those boundaries in mind.
- Cabinet handles and door. Any cabinets that are frequently used by students (book shelves, games, personal belongings etc.) we have removed the doors of the cabinet. Handles are a hotspot for germs, so it’s best to by-pass them altogether. I definitely still keep my personal belongings in a cabinet with doors, but it’s clearly labeled as my space, and it’s out of reach of students.
I am definitely discovering more ideas and better ways of doing things every day, but this much at least helped me feel more confident about heading back to work.
What questions do you have about safe classroom setups?
xoxo
Laura
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