The classroom setting is a place that primary school children will spend most of their time during a specific year of their school life. It is important that the environment is welcoming, inspiring and creates a space for self expression and growth. A warm and interactive classroom environment can have very positive effects on academic achievement and can also foster a strong sense of community.
Visual Appeal
Teacher’s often take great pride in creating the best possible learning environment, and when done so effectively, it will help children to develop a sense of ownership towards their classroom and their school. Warm colours such as red and green combined with natural lighting can create a stimulating environment for children to learn. Colourful displays and schedules are great for keeping organised and alleviating anxiety through visual cues.Learning Resources Daily Schedule Pocket Chart
Interactivity
Elements of the classroom that invite participation such as learning calendar’s and attendance charts will help children to feel part of a community and feel positive about their surroundings. Resources that give children the confidence to interact such as answer buzzers will ensure that each child in your class has the ability to speak and be actively listened to, improving self-esteem.Learning Resources Magnetic Learning Calendar
Sensory Input
Children discover the world through their senses, so creating an environment with a mixture of sensory resources will keep children focused. Each pupil will have different sensory preferences so it is good to tailor tasks to suit specific needs, for example creating a quiet area with bean bags and quiet music for soothing pupils that are restless.Learning Resources Primary Science Sensory Tubes
Minimising Distractions
Keeping the classroom tidy and organised will minimise visual distractions for your class. It can be difficult to keep track of each child’s work so organisation stations that provide a pocket for each individual will allow you to keep track of finished and unfinished work. Wipe-clean pockets are also a great way to complete paper based activities as they can be re-used and mistakes can be easily corrected which removed the fear of ‘getting it wrong’, also helping to boost self-esteem.Learning Resources Organisation Station® Pocket Chart
Time flies when having fun!
Keeping track of timed activities can be a difficult task, especially if the class is divided into groups. Time trackers are a great way to let children know how much time they have left, so that you don’t have to watch the clock! With miniature options for group tasks and larger options for whole class activities; visual warnings, digital displays and sound cues help children to make better use of their time during tasks, tests and experiments. Learning Resources Time Tracker® Mini Our in-house qualified teacher, Joanne Moore, has also given a top tip to help keep the classroom tidy in the long term: “Tidy up time music is a great way to energise students and signal when it is time to pack away. I used Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious with my reception classes! After a few times I didn’t even have to explain what the music was for, the children would put everything in the right place and be in their seats by the time the song was finished.â€
What’s Hot? Standard Pocket Chart LER 2206 Standard Pocket ChartThis month, our customers have loved our Standard Pocket Chart, a fully customisable chart ideal for use with the Read Write Inc. Framework. The chart is suitable for use in the classroom and features ten horizontal transparent pockets for holding teaching materials such as sentence and story strips.
Read Write Inc., developed by Ruth Miskin, provides a structured and systematic approach to teaching literacy. It is used by more than a quarter of the UK’s primary schools and is designed to create fluent readers, confident speakers and willing writers.  Each Read Write Inc. programme meets the higher expectations of the National Curriculum and uses effective assessment to accelerate every child’s progress and prepare them for the 2017 National Curriculum Tests. Comprehensive training is available for all Read Write Inc. programmes to ensure consistent practice across schools.
The Standard Pocket Chart is a recommended resource for the framework and is used to display cards during literacy lessons. Cards are used to highlight red words, green words and challenge words, helping children to learn to blend as a class. It’s an essential resource for schools using Read Write Inc. because teacher’s need to clearly display words to the whole class.
Other ways of using the Standard Pocket Chart
The Standard Pocket Chart has multiple uses to help with literacy, rhyming, classification and classroom organisation. Below are some suggestions of how you can introduce the chart into your classroom.Choral ReadingThe chart can be used to display sentence strips for the whole class to read together. Perfect for beginners, teacher’s can fill the pockets with rhymes and encourage the children to read aloud in a round.Sentence StructureThe chart can be used to teach sentence structure by labelling subjects and nouns. Discuss verbs, objects, articles and prepositions. As a follow on activity, students can make up sentences, break them down, and then put them on the chart. Thinking, writing, hearing and viewing all help reinforce concepts!SpellingThe chart is a great way to reinforce your class’s spelling words on a weekly basis. They will always be on display and your class can practice their skills at a moment’s notice! The large charts make it easy to clearly display all of the words so they are visible from the back of the classroom. The chart will remind students to study their words at home.Unfamiliar wordsKeep track of unfamiliar words in stories that you read as a class by writing down the word on a strip and placing it in your chart. Students can later look words up and write their definitions.ClassificationPlace a group word in the large top pocket such as ‘colours’ or ‘vehicles’ and then ask your students to list words that fit under these categories. Vary classification schemes by having students distinguish between categories. You could mix ‘colour’ and ‘vehicle’ words and encourage students to put them under the correct categories.Rhyme TimeExplore rhymes with younger students who are just learning to read. Ask students to find rhymes for words like ‘cat’ and ‘ride’. You can encourage them to write their rhyming words and display them on the chart. Older students can find rhymes with vowel combinations.Keep Track and Get Organised!Organise your classroom by using the chart to graph student performance, keep track of collected worksheets, show sentence and story strips or list names for jobs and tasks around the classroom. You can even use your pocket chart to store passes to the office, bathroom, and library!The chart comes with a 16-page Teaching Guide and bonus content can be downloaded on our website. Find out more on LearningResources.co.uk.#LoveLearning
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The classroom setting is a place that primary school children will spend most of their time during a specific year of their school life. It is important that the environment is welcoming, inspiring and creates a space for self expression and growth. A warm and interactive classroom environment can have very positive effects on academic achievement and can also foster a strong sense of community.
Visual Appeal
Teacher’s often take great pride in creating the best possible learning environment, and when done so effectively, it will help children to develop a sense of ownership towards their classroom and their school. Warm colours such as red and green combined with natural lighting can create a stimulating environment for children to learn. Colourful displays and schedules are great for keeping organised and alleviating anxiety through visual cues.Learning Resources Daily Schedule Pocket Chart
Interactivity
Elements of the classroom that invite participation such as learning calendar’s and attendance charts will help children to feel part of a community and feel positive about their surroundings. Resources that give children the confidence to interact such as answer buzzers will ensure that each child in your class has the ability to speak and be actively listened to, improving self-esteem.Learning Resources Magnetic Learning Calendar
Sensory Input
Children discover the world through their senses, so creating an environment with a mixture of sensory resources will keep children focused. Each pupil will have different sensory preferences so it is good to tailor tasks to suit specific needs, for example creating a quiet area with bean bags and quiet music for soothing pupils that are restless.Learning Resources Primary Science Sensory Tubes
Minimising Distractions
Keeping the classroom tidy and organised will minimise visual distractions for your class. It can be difficult to keep track of each child’s work so organisation stations that provide a pocket for each individual will allow you to keep track of finished and unfinished work. Wipe-clean pockets are also a great way to complete paper based activities as they can be re-used and mistakes can be easily corrected which removed the fear of ‘getting it wrong’, also helping to boost self-esteem.Learning Resources Organisation Station® Pocket Chart
Time flies when having fun!
Keeping track of timed activities can be a difficult task, especially if the class is divided into groups. Time trackers are a great way to let children know how much time they have left, so that you don’t have to watch the clock! With miniature options for group tasks and larger options for whole class activities; visual warnings, digital displays and sound cues help children to make better use of their time during tasks, tests and experiments. Learning Resources Time Tracker® Mini Our in-house qualified teacher, Joanne Moore, has also given a top tip to help keep the classroom tidy in the long term: “Tidy up time music is a great way to energise students and signal when it is time to pack away. I used Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious with my reception classes! After a few times I didn’t even have to explain what the music was for, the children would put everything in the right place and be in their seats by the time the song was finished.â€
