Is this the back of the classroom? The front? Maybe a side wall? Can’t really tell, and that is what I like about it. One interesting way to use the back of your classroom is to not really have one. If you can teach from different places around the room, your classroom may not really have a back.
However, most classrooms do. So here are some ways to consider using that space:
- Putting your class library in a cozy corner toward the back is a nice way to make it a quiet place away from the rest of the class. The back is also a good place for centers, small group work, and messy projects.
- Extra supplies and storage go well at the back.
- An alternative use for the back of the class is as another front of the class. Some teachers have whiteboards mounted at the back and frequently teach from the back. If desks are arranged in clusters or sideways to the front, students can just as easily look toward the back as toward the front.
- The back could be a good place for a really big bulletin board–perhaps something interactive that displays student work and changes often.
- One strategy that helped me a lot was to post a large note to myself at the back of the room – something to remind me to do whatever I was working on to improve my teaching – talking slower, remembering to give more thinking time after asking a question, etc. I generally used a picture or initials so that the reminder was only meaningful to me.
Be sure and check back next week for the next installment of the Creative Classroom – What to Do with Walls.