One thing you might notice upon entering our classroom is that there are no name tags on the desks. There are no assigned seats! You might even ask: Why? When you were in school, everyone knew where to sit and you had a name tag to label “your seat.” I’ve been mulling over getting rid of assigned seats for some time. The time of desks in rows passed years ago. In our class, the direct instruction {teaching} doesn’t happen with the students in their seats. The students listen better when they are sitting undistracted on the carpet in close proximity to the teacher and each other. They can turn and talk with a partner or a group easily. I don’t have to worry that someone’s desk isn’t facing in my direction. At this time in the year, I am placing the students at desks when the activity requires it. Everyone gets to experience sitting in different seats next to different people. The eventual goal is that the students will get to choose the seat in which they work best. Sometimes that may not even be a desk. They also have clipboards to allow them to sit on the floor to do their work. This choice will help them discover where and with whom they work best. In the process, we’re creating community as a whole class and getting to know everyone. The students feel like they belong to the larger group not just “the blue team.”
Let me know what you think about “no assigned seats.”