Seating charts are a critical component of any classroom. They can make or break the atmosphere, and ultimately, the learning. If students are distracting others, some will become frustrated. Others may become an additional behavior issue. And still others will complain at home, to which you will receive a lovely phone call from the parents (if you are lucky to escape them calling your administrator).

A well thought out seating chart can make the difference in students learning, or dozing off in class. Each administrator will have his or her own idea about what entails a proper desk placement in your classroom, so it is best to start by asking, rather than having to move desks several times throughout your classroom. For example, in my building, my principal is a stickler for creating groups of four or five (we are a cooperative learning school). So, if I tried to place rows, I would have quickly gotten the disapproving message. While some administrators are more open about seating arrangements (small groups, pairs, rows, etcetera), others are not. Make sure to ask your colleagues before you find out the hard way.

Once you have your desks placed in the proper arrangements in your room, make a template on your computer of the desks so that you have a form from which to work. This seating chart will also aide the occasional substitute in your room with names. A template is easily made using a word processing software (such as Microsoft Word) in the draw part of the program. Autoshapes really helps to position your arrangement on paper. Make several copies of the chart, as well as save it to your files for future reference. If you have it saved, you will not have to recreate it each time repeatedly.

When placing your students, I always like to place my "behavior issue" students first. Usually these are the children who need your attention the most and tend to feed off of others, so it is best to spread these students out. I try to position them with backs to one another, so that they are not making faces from across the room all day long. Next, I place the good citizen students. Usually right next to the behaviors. With the right role model, behaviors can turn into good citizens for the next time around. After both ends of the spectrum have been placed, I then focus on placing the remaining class roster. I try to separate boys and girls so they are evenly distributed. I also think about strong personalities clashing or assisting with others around.

By having a variety of students sitting near one another, possibilities for learning tolerance and content is greater than having like students learning nothing. You know your students the best and how they should be placed in your classroom for optimum performance. Use this information to help, rather than hinder you as you strive to reach the best classroom learning environment!

Charity L. Weber is an author, teacher, parent, trainer, student, and manager. Most importantly, in all of the previously mentioned: she is an educator. The ability to teach someone something new is a gift that few truly appreciate. ARE YOU INTERESTED IN SUBSCRIBING TO A FREE CLASSROOM ORGANIZATIONAL E-ZINE AND RECEIVE A FREE BONUS GIFT? You can visit her at http://web.mac.com/charitypreston

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