Bronx Arts

& Science
Charter
School

CLASSROOM
ENVIRONMENT
 AN ENRICHED ENVIRONMENT IS:

❑ One which is stimulating

❑Curiosity-feeding

❑Capable of answering many questions

❑A setting which is alive with resources

❑Reflective of real life

❑Bursting with energy

 CLASSROOM LAYOUT

❑ Should be safe & relaxing

❑ Warm, well-run classrooms begin with the

room's physical layout —the arrangement of
desks and working space, the attractiveness and
appeal of bulletin boards, the storage of materials
and supplies.

❑ The physical layout reflects your teaching style

 CLASSROOM LAYOUT

What is needed in an elementary classroom is quite

different from what is needed in a middle or high school
classroom.

Some general guidelines for all classrooms:

❖ Objectives posted daily

❖ Exemplars of student work (with authentic teacher
feedback)
❖ Bloom’s Taxonomy
❖ Anchor Charts
❖Big Ideas & Essential Questions
❖Word Walls
 OBJECTIVES

Objectives for every lesson should be posted and

referenced at the start of each lesson. Students
should know what they will be expected to do and
how you, as the teacher, will assess them.

Example:
The learner will understand how to draw conclusions
by
locating and applying textual evidence to support conclusions.
 Bloom’s
Taxonomy
 ACADEMIC
VOCABULARY
Includes the words that are
critical to understanding
concepts taught in
school.

“.…those who enter fourth grade with

significant vocabulary deficits show
increasing problems with reading
comprehension, even if they have good
reading (word identification)
skills. (Biemiller 1999)
 EXEMPLARS

❖ Exemplars are meant to serve as a model or an

example.
❖ Student exemplars should include authentic
feedback.
❖ Rubrics should be visual for students to refer to.
❖Exemplars should be updated frequently to
showcase various learners’ work.
Rubrics in “THEIR” terms
 ANCHOR CHARTS

Anchors are a source of stability and security.

Thrown overboard, the anchor stables the boat
holding it firmly in
a desired location.

Likewise, an Anchor Chart displayed in a classroom

learning community anchors student thinking
while offering a source of visual reference for
continued support as the learner moves forward.
 PURPOSE OF ANCHOR CHARTS

❖Anchor charts build a culture of literacy in the classroom, as

teachers and students make thinking visible by recording
content, strategies, processes, cues, and guidelines during the
learning process.
❖Posting anchor charts keeps relevant and current learning
accessible to students to remind them of prior learning and to
enable them to make connections as new learning happens.
❖Students refer to the charts and use them as tools as they
answer questions, expand ideas, or contribute to discussions and
problem-solving in class.
❖Each activity/task is designed to engage students in meaningful
work that increases understanding, provides practice and/or
supports the learner.
 3 TYPES OF ANCHOR CHARTS

❑Content – anchoring information,

understanding, concepts

❑Process –anchoring procedure, sequence,

how-to

❑Product – anchoring purposeful independent

work
3 TYPES OF ANCHOR CHARTS

Content – anchoring information,

understanding, concepts
 3 TYPES OF ANCHOR CHARTS

Process –anchoring procedure, sequence,

how-to
 PROCESS (CONT’D)

1st Grade ELA

5th Grade ELA
 3 TYPES OF ANCHOR CHARTS

Product – anchoring purposeful independent

work

Choice board options:

✔ Reading activity
✔ Writing activity
✔ Math problems
✔ Strategy review
✔ Spelling activity
 ACTIVITY

With your grade/department level:

Create a list of example anchor charts you feel you will
need in your grade/department for each anchor type:

◊Content
◊Process
◊ Product
 SAMPLE
ANCHOR CHARTS
ELA-
QUOTATION
MARKS
5th Grade
MATH OPEN
ENDED
RESPONSES

5th Grade
MULTIPLE
CHOICE
ANCHOR

4th Grade
TRAFFIC LIGHT
TRANSITIONS

1st Grade
ELA- ADVERBS

5th Grade
SELF
ASSESSMENT

5th Grade
SEASONS-
KINDERGARTEN
CROSS-
CURRICULAR
ANCHOR CHART

5th Grade
Science
DIALOGUE
TAGS

3rd Grade
STUDENTS SHOULD KNOW WHAT THEY
ARE WORKING TOWARDS
 BIG IDEAS
◼“ A big idea offers a conceptual framework allowing
the learner to explore answers to the essential questions
involving a unit of study.”
◼ - Grant Wiggins

◼Should be referenced OFTEN!

◼They are not up for decoration.
◼Students should be able to connect the Big Idea to
what they are learning.
 SOME “BIG IDEAS” BY TYPE

◼Concepts
Economics- It’s not the money you have, but how you allocate it.
◼Themes
Good triumphs over evil.
◼Debates
Winning is dependent upon offense vs. defense.
◼Perspective
Life is shaped by your attitude; my cup is half-full or half-empty.
◼Theory
Form follows function.
◼Principle
Less is more.
 From Concept

◼ Concept/Topic ◼ Big Idea

◼ Nutrition ◼ You are what you eat
◼ Westward expansion ◼ Hardship forged a nation
◼ Persuasion ◼ Powerful media can
◼ Fairness influence beliefs and
behaviors
(mathematical)
◼ Statistics can be
manipulated to obscure
the truth
 ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

“An essential question is – well, essential: important, vital, at the heart of the
matter – the essence of the issue.” - Grant Wiggins

A question is essential when it: 

◼ Causes genuine INQUIRY into the big ideas and core content

◼ ARGUABLE: provokes deep thought, lively discussion, sustained inquiry, and

new understanding as well as more questions

◼ Requires students to CONSIDER alternatives, WEIGH evidence, SUPPORT

their ideas, and JUSTIFY their answers

◼ Stimulates vital, on-going rethinking of big ideas and assumptions

◼ Sparks meaningful CONNECTIONS with prior learning and personal

experiences
 ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
Essential Topical

◼What traits and characteristics ◼How many legs does a spider have?
determine a classification?

◼Where do artists get their ideas? ◼Did nature influence Monet?

◼What determines value? ◼How many dimes are in a dollar?

◼What elements distinguish a ◼What is the meaning of the Greek
fluent foreigner from a native term technology from its Greek
speaker? root word?

◼How does where we live ◼Why were early American

influence how we live? settlements developed around lakes
and rivers?
 WORD WALLS

❖A word wall is an organized collection of words prominently

displayed in a classroom.

❖Word walls provide easy access to words students need.

❖The specific organization of the word wall will match the teacher's
purpose: sight words organized by alphabet letter, unit-specific words,
new vocabulary words, for example.

❖The most helpful word walls grow and change throughout the year and
are used as a learning reference.
 WHY USE WORD WALLS?

❖They provide a permanent model for high frequency

words.

❖They help students see patterns and relationship in

words, thus building phonics and spelling skills.

❖They provide reference support for children during

reading and writing activities.
 HOW TO USE WORD WALLS

◼ Make words accessible by putting them where every student can see them.
◼ Teachers and students should work together to determine which words should go
on the word wall.
◼ Try to include words that students use most commonly in their writing. Words
should be added gradually — a general guideline is five to ten words per week.
◼ Use the word wall daily to practice words, incorporating a variety of activities
such as chanting, snapping, cheering, clapping, tracing, and word-guessing games,
as well as repeated writing.
◼ Provide enough practice so that words are read and spelled automatically, and
make sure that words from the wall are always spelled and capitalized correctly in
the children's daily writing.
◼ Use content-area material from the curriculum rather than randomly- selected
words.
◼ Word walls should be referred to often so students come to understand and see
their relevance.
YOUR CLASSROOM IS "HOME AWAY
FROM HOME" FOR YOU AND YOUR
STUDENTS. MAKE IT ATTRACTIVE,
COMFORTABLE, AND FUNCTIONAL.