Sep 12, 2017 - Explore Randie Moore's board 'Google' on Pinterest. See more ideas about classroom technology, educational technology, school technology. You can definitely use it across curriculum areas. Just write the questions, and you’ll be all set. Try a little punch and learn. Source: Composition Classroom. You can put anything you want in these punch-and-learn cups. To make them, you just need cups and tissue paper. We’d love to hear—what are your favorite curriculum review ideas?

• Google Classroomeffective Curriculum Ideas 4th Grade
• Google Classroomeffective Curriculum Ideas Middle School
• Google Classroomeffective Curriculum Ideas Activities
• Google Classroomeffective Curriculum Ideas Preschool

Classroom setup is an important component in a learning environment because it is an essential piece of classroom management to support both teaching and learning. The physical atmosphere of the classroom can help prevent behavior issues as well as promote and improve learning. The structuring of the learning environment is essential for teachers and students. The physical arrangement of the classroom can affect both student and teacher behavior, and a well structured classroom management plan of design has the ability to improve learning and behavior. In order to create an inviting, safe, supportive learning environment, using classroom management for the way you arrange your desks matters. A supportive learning environment can mean the difference between having a good day and a bad day.

Your classroom arrangement is the physical foundation of where your students will learn. This means that every square foot of it needs to be used for activities that support learning. The spatial structure of the classroom, where students will be seated, how the students will move about the classroom, and the whole classroom atmosphere needs to be considered, as well as how the classroom will be structured to address the academic, social, and emotional needs of the students. The physical arrangement of the classroom should also be reflective of the student body and must be consistent with the needs of all learners.

In addition to the way your classroom is physically arranged, the classroom environment as a whole needs to be considered: what you put on your walls, the classroom materials you will use, and where and how you will set up your activities. All attributes of a structured learning environment need to be considered when setting up your classroom.

Benefits of a Well-Designed Classroom

According to a study at the University of Salford, a well-designed classroom can boost student performance by up to 16 percent. That means that your classroom design can have a significant impact on your students’ performance. So, it is essential to thoughtfully and clearly consider all facets of your classroom design. A well-thought out physical arrangement of your classroom is also important for these reasons:

• Students learn to respect boundaries. For example, there are “teacher only” areas as well as the boundaries of space a student has around his/her personal desk.
• The organization of classroom materials allows students to retrieve them quickly, which helps to decrease unwanted behavior.
• Proper room arrangement provides predictably, which is essential for students because students thrive when they are in a comfortable learning environment.
• Students will learn which behaviors are acceptable and expected in each specific location in the classroom. For example, when in the classroom library, students need to be quiet, but while in the classroom play area, students are allowed to talk.
• Students will learn to anticipate which activities will occur in specific areas of the classroom. This helps students be mindful of how they need to behave for each specific area they are in.

Arranging Your Classroom

Before you set out to arrange your classroom, consider asking yourself the following questions:

• How do I need to structure the desks? Teacher-focused activities mean desks will be in rows or small clusters facing the front of the classroom, while student-focused activities mean desks will be put into groups or semicircles so students can easily collaborate with one another.
• Do any of my students have specific medical needs? A food allergy, wheelchair, etc.
• What furniture is available? Desks, tables, bookcases, shelves, etc.
• What information do my students need to know? They need to know the date, assignment, classroom procedures, etc.
• What will inspire my students every day? Quotes, posters, classroom awards, everyday heroes, etc.
• What education artifacts do they need? Word walls, literacy resources, purposeful posters and bulletin boards, etc.
• Have I considered a flexible seating classroom? Standing desks, bean bags, stability balls, etc.

The answers to these questions will help guide you to structure an effective learning environment for your students. Depending upon what furniture is readily available, you will also need to structure your classroom so that every student has a home base (or an individual learning area like their own desk), a whole group instruction area, a dedicated teacher area, as well as a transition area where students can wait for the next activity or lesson to begin, or at least have your space arranged so students can move about easily and comfortably without bumping into one another.

Essential Areas

As mentioned above, there are a few required areas that you must have in your classroom: a home base, group instruction area, teacher workstation, and transition space. Here we will take a closer look at how you can arrange each of these specific areas.

Google Classroomeffective Curriculum Ideas 4th Grade

Dedicated Teacher Area

Teachers need a place to call their own too. This space should be near an outlet where you can have access to a computer, as well as out of the way but also easily accessible for students to get to you. Ideally, your space should be near the window with your desk or small table situated sideways, in the corner of the classroom. This way you will get the light from the window to help you see, you are out of the way but also easily accessible to students and are able to scan the whole classroom right from your seat.

Home Base

Each student needs a space to call their own. Have it be an individual desk or their own space at the table, they need something to call their home base. This space is a place where students can do their independent work or go to when you are transitioning in between lessons.

Google Classroomeffective Curriculum Ideas Middle School

Two factors need to be considered when deciding where students’ home base will be: if the student has any behavior issues and the size of your classroom. Once you factor in these issues, then you are ready to clearly assign each student a home base.

Transition Area

The transition area can be a specific location, like the carpet, that students go to while waiting for the next activity. What this space looks like and where it is located will depend upon your students’ needs as well as their ages. No matter where the space is, it is important that your students know where to go during transition periods.

In short, specific classroom features are relevant to what students are learning. Research shows that students benefit from a well-designed, well-structured classroom. Most importantly, if you find that your students are struggling with the design of your classroom then you must consider rearranging it.

Google Classroomeffective Curriculum Ideas Activities

Let’s talk about Google Classroom. Going digital in kindergarten and first grade can be a powerful tool for differentiatng your kid’s learning.
Big myth buster- you don’t need to be a 1:1 school to do it.

Most teachers in the upper grades have been using Google classroom for ages, but it’s not as popular in the lower grades. Not many of us have taken the leap to digital. I’ve actually heard people say you can’t use Google in kindergarten (Gasp!) They couldn’t be more wrong!
Myth buster #2 Kindergarten students CAN use Google Classroom.
So how do you get started?
A little background. Just recently Google changed it’s policy. You used to have to be part of a school district that adopted GAFE (Google Apps for Education). Guess What??? Not any more, you just need to have a gmail account and so do your students, that’s bascially it. This opens the doors wide open for homeschoolers. It honestly could not be any easier.
All the kids in a GAFE district will have an “email” and password. I put email in quotes because it’s not always an actual email. My kids can’t send or receive messages. It only works on the school platform. ( this is not always the case so check with your district). The older kids usually know their account and password, but you’ll have to get your kids’ info for them. My free driver’s license is part of my “Getting Started with Google Guide” you can grab the guide here.

I work in a large district and I can access my kids info through our district attendance site. Other possible ways include getting the information from a tech teacher, or IT department. Usually it’s the kids name and the school domain. example dlarsen@myschoolK12.org. The password is usually something associated with the student, like their birthday. Your tech person can get you that info. Don’t be surprised when they doubt that your young kids can use it. Convincing people that young learners can use Google Classroom is the hardest part. See myth buster #2!

Once you have this information you can get started.

Setting up a classroom.
Myth buster #3 Setting up a class is too technical.
It’s easy, you can do it. Please watch this video I created on getting started with Google. If you’re like me, it’s A LOT easier to watch someone do it, rather than read about how they do it. So go ahead and check my video it’s part of my Google Guide you can access it here.

Google Classroomeffective Curriculum Ideas Preschool

Are you ready to give it a try? Grab my Guide and you’ll get my video, my driver’s license, and shhhh…. a free Google resource to try. You can get the whole guide here.

If you’re ready to start, you can access all my Google resources featured in this post here.