Through my personal investigation, I realized that when fifth-graders walk into a classroom, they expect bells and whistles. Remember, at this stage, students have spent five years in school. They may have had teachers who posted every single art project on their walls, played music, and maybe even had classroom pets. By the time they reach me, they had seen it all, and they expected me to continue the pattern. They assume I would give them my best. True, I knew that even if I threw a haphazard classroom together in a day, my students might not have been able to see the difference, but I would. Your classroom must be finished in a way that makes you proud to call it your room before your students arrive. For fifth-graders, the first day of school is still exciting, and walking into your classroom on the first day might just have been the thing that gave them excitement butterflies when they woke up. Make sure you don’t let them or yourself down.
When you’re putting your room together, be sure to remember that children are made to move. Those little balls of energy might understand the basics of rule-following, but they still have as much energy as they did in Kindergarten. It’s unfair to think that your students will be able to sit quietly the entire day. Kids are going to be loud, messy, energetic, and, yes, chaotic. Instead of trying to control this part of them, design your classroom with opportunities for them to release some pent up energy. Put a design on your trashcans that make them look like basketball goals. Make room for fun, embrace their energy, and then use it to help them learn.
Classroom Prep
