Check out my classroom photos (2008)

Welcome to my collection of third grade classroom photos! These photos of a classroom in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, were taken by me in 2008. I’ve kept the text exactly the same as when I first uploaded them to this website so that it feels like you’ve just walked into my room and are taking a tour!

Classroom pictures

I have a FANTASTIC room in my new school–easily the nicest I’ve ever had!  It’s got lots of room, a huge storage closet, bathroom, sink, water fountain, built-in shelving, tons of bulletin boards, and a great view of the palm trees!  I set it up in a pretty unconventional way, given the shape and attributes of the room, but it meets our needs perfectly now that everything’s in place.  I’ve been hesitant to put up photos because I keep changing and improving things, but I finally figured, I better just do it, because a classroom is always a work in progress!  So here’s how things look for now…

This is the view when you first walk in the room.  I’ll go around counter-clockwise from here and explain each area.

I decided to have the students face this way rather than the most obvious way (toward the front of the room where the other board is) because the room is shaped long-ways, and I don’t like having kids too far away from me.  This way, everyone’s kept up close! Plus…

I actually need to teach from bulletin boards as much as I do from white boards, because I reference a lot of materials such as maps, timelines, editing symbols, Mountain Math/Language, etc., so this makes sense.  Also…

… I can keep my teaching supplies on the built-in shelves.  Read more in the Organization section of the website.

I set up my desk in this corner because I really need the shelves and cabinets.  I like to have all of my teaching materials together in one place.  This area holds my lesson materials, binders, teacher’s guides, photocopier, and files.  There are several pages on the site which go into detail about how I set this up: Teacher-Submitted Ideas gives various tips to use throughout the classroom; Avoiding the Paper Trap gives tips for managing papers; and Lesson Materials and Files shows how I use the plastic drawers to organize teaching resources for each subject area.

I wanted my small group table to be close to my teaching supplies, so I set it up next to my desk.  The things the kids need to use for groups are on the shelves, and the posters and info they need to reference hang on the bulletin boards above. You can read more in the Literacy section.

Here’s the sink and water fountain.  The bathroom is to the left.

On the other side of the bathroom is a set of built-in bookshelves.  I use them to hold books, games, math manipulatives, Leap Pads, and even the printer.

These shelves are perfect for holding the classroom library.  You can read more about how I organize and utilize my books on the Class Library page. (I don’t do Reader’s Workshop at this school because our reading curriculum is already prescribed, but I highly recommend using your library that way if you can!)  The tables are a great place for kids to read, meet in groups, etc.  The kids keep their individual book boxes on the windowsill.

Computers are one of the small group reading rotations, so the kids get to use them for about 20 minutes everyday, working on individualized programs provided by the school.  The door you can see in the corner is for my storage closet.

Here’s a small peek in my storage closet.  It’s about four feet wide and ten feet deep.  In here I keep bulletin board supplies, math games for concepts we’re not currently doing, books, notebooks, and other things I rarely use.  I love having a HIDDEN place to store tubs!

I use this area of the room when I want students sitting on the rug.  I sit in the gray chair and there are three beach chairs for kids to take turns using while the others are on the carpet.  I have a daily rotation set up so the kids know who gets to use the chairs.

This is the classroom door.  (The chairs are stacked there because it’s the end of the day as I take this pictures).  I keep a small table by the door to set materials on when I’m coming in and out of the room

More of My Classroom Tours

Classroom Photos After 2009
Classroom Photos 2009
Classroom Photos 2007
Classroom Photos 2006
Classroom Photos 2005
Classroom Photos 2004
Classroom Photos 2003
Classroom Photos Before 2003

Check Out Other Teachers’ Classroom Photos

Want to see photos of Other Teachers’ Rooms?  I’ve collected classroom pictures from educators in all different parts of the United States! Learn their tips for desk arrangement, organization, and more.

Please Share YOUR Classroom Photos!

Would you like to have your pictures featured here? I’d love to add your classroom pics to the Other Teachers’ Rooms page! Contact me via email with the link to your Flickr, Tumblr, Picassa, blog, Pinterest board, or even a public Facebook album! Don’t worry about making sure everything looks perfect: we want to see REAL classrooms that are used by REAL students every day! International teachers–we’d especially love to see what your rooms look like!