4 Tips for Creating Seating Charts That Work
In the first year of my career, I co-taught with a veteran teacher. After a long day in class, I’d be ready to go home and put my feet up when she’d look at me and say, “I think it’s time to change the desks around.” I’d grumble and groan and of course, do it anyway.
What I didn’t know then was that she was teaching me an invaluable skill in classroom management. Changing up your seating charts throughout the year keeps students on task and challenged. This process encourages social relationships with a variety of peers and goes a long way in eliminating our own teacher biases that develop as a result of a stagnant, unchanging seating arrangement.
Consider the following advice to determine when and how often to change your seating arrangements, and check out a few creative seating suggestions to try out right away.
How to Partner Students
When changing your seating charts, be sure to consider multiple factors when determining where each student will sit. Start with their personalities, and then assess each student’s work style. For example, if one student is shy, they may need a more outspoken partner. If one student tends to stray off-task, they need someone serious, who will keep them focused.
It’s limiting to think that students should only speak with one person throughout the school year. It’s much more realistic, creative, and dynamic to give your students a variety of personalities to work with in the classroom. Consider creating different desk partnerships for reading, writing, math, and community building time. This level of differentiation ensures that students are appropriately paired with a number of peers who will challenge them both academically and socially. Furthermore, it’s a testament to teaching children real world skills; as adults, we encounter many different personalities and as individuals we must learn to adapt.
Where to Seat Students
Provide individual students with diverse real estate throughout their day by periodically switching up their seating. One desk may serve as the home base but then each student could move for each academic subject. Give them a variety of locations throughout the classroom: the front or the back, near the windows or near the door, etc.
When creating seating arrangements like this, be strategic. Every student should sit near your home base at least once, particularly those with more demanding behavioral needs or those striving in a given subject area. The benefits of this are threefold; first, students will experience several different views of the room, increasing the likelihood that they’ll view all anchor charts and word walls. Second, it conveys a sense of autonomy to the student that no spot in the classroom is off limits.
Third — and this is a big one — the variety of seating changes reduces off-task behavior. Students feel less tempted to stray when their learning environment is frequently changing.
When Should You Change Your Seating Charts?
Change your seating chart when it feels right — it’s as simple as that. You’ll know it’s time to switch things up when students seem to be tiring of their partnerships, becoming too comfortable, exhibiting signs of exclusivity with their partner, or simply when your intuition tells you that it’s time for variety. or become too comfortable. Keep an eye out for students who get too chatty and signs the class is uninspired.
Another great option is to change your seating chart at the start of a new unit of study, since it tends to revamp energy during a natural transition point. Depending on your grade level and the maturity of your students, you might aim to change your classroom arrangement every one to two months. After establishing the new student seats, practice a getting-to-know-you activity that requires listening, speaking, and eye contact without interruption. It’ll be worth your time to review the behavioral norms for partner talk that you taught at the beginning of the year.
Spice Up the Seating Arrangement
In addition to varying seating charts, non-traditional seating arrangements go a long way to give the class a sense of excitement and increased community. Give these ideas a try:
- Circle Spots. Arrange your students in a large circle for morning meeting time. This is particularly nice for community- and team-building since everyone is facing each other.
- Face Off. Organize the desks in two sets of two rows facing each other. This is great for the end-of-the-year or during review before a test. You can ask quiz questions and the groups “face off” to answer them.
- Prove It! With this setup, create two rows that face one open half-circle. This works for a debate-style class where the group presenting sits in the arc and shares their ideas with the spectators in the two rows. It’s also useful when doing a unit on opinion or persuasive writing.
- Theater in the Round. Try this out for when you have a class performance. Create a large circle with the desks with one desk placed in the middle. Leave one small space open for the performer to walk in and out.
Being thoughtful in how you group students sets a foundation for successful engagement and strong classroom management. Change up your seating chart today, and watch the engagement and social interaction in your classroom improve overnight.
Find more teaching resources at education.com.
Tina Jennings, M.A. is a second grade teacher at Roosevelt Elementary School in Santa Monica, CA. She received her undergraduate degree in 2006 from The State University of New York at Purchase with a major in art history. In 2010, Tina began her teaching career at Aspire Public Schools, a charter school system working in low-income communities. She was a founding teacher at Aspire Firestone Academy while simultaneously earning her Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of the Pacific. Since then she has taught second grade and loves working in a close-knit community so near to her home. In addition to teaching, Tina is a freelance writer.
