The classroom environment can significantly impact student achievement. The physical layout should allow the teacher to see and easily access all students at all times to monitor learning and provide assistance. It is also important that students can all see instructional areas and have access to needed materials. Distracting objects and crowded, congested seating arrangements should be avoided to maintain student attention on learning. Safety is a consideration, with furniture placement and storage of heavy materials.

1. Stanley
Garland, Ed.S.
Classroom Environment

2. But can the classroom
environment really affect
achievement?
Yes. The physical
layout can exert a
surprisingly powerful
influence on literacy
learning. Let’s find
out how.

3. When arranging your
teaching space, consider:

4. Visibility: A key for
both students and
teacher
A lack of equal access erodes student
motivation and accountability.
The teacher must be able to see all
students at all times, whether
instructing the whole group, small
groups, or individual students.
All students must be equally able to
see all instructional areas and
displays. (whiteboards, screens, etc.)

5. Accessibility: A key for
movement and
immediate response
Congestion increases the potential for
problems
The teacher must be able to more
easily to any student, especially those
who most often need help.
The teacher must be able to access
materials easily.
Students must be able to reach
needed materials.

6. Distractibility: A key
to student attention
Objects, animals and other students compete with the teacher and
academic materials for student attention.
Seat students away from obvious distracters (i.e., windows, pencil
sharpener, wastebasket, active gerbils, computer station, doors, etc.
Separate and seat away from each other students who constantly
interact.

7. 1. Avoid using furniture to create blind spots that
prevent you from monitoring all children at all times.
Two Safety
Considerations

8. 2. Avoid stacking heavy materials on top of shelves – especially
materials that children might try to obtain.
Two Safety Considerations

18. Morrow, L. M. (1990). Preparing the classroom
environment to promote literacy during play. Early
Childhood Research Quarterly, 5, 537-554.
Morrow, L. M. (2002). The literacy center: Contexts
for reading and writing (2nd ed.). Portland, ME:
Stenhouse.
Neuman, S. B., & Roskos, K. (1992). Literacy
objects as cultural tools: Effects on children’s literacy
behaviors in play. Reading Research
Quarterly, 27, 202-225.
Reutzel, D. R., & Wolfersberger, M. E. (1996). An
environmental impact statement: Designing
supportive literacy classrooms for young children.
Reading Horizons, 36, 266-282.
Wolfersberger, M. E., Reutzel, D.
R., Sudweeks, R., Fawson, P. C. (2004). Developing
and validating the Classroom Literacy Environmental
Profile (CLEP): A tool for examining the “print
richness” of early childhood and elementary
classrooms. Journal of Literacy Research, 36, 211-
272.
References