The back-to-school season is officially here and teachers are quickly setting up their classrooms in preparation for their students' arrival. Setting up your classroom before school starts can be a bit tricky, especially with all the classroom decor items you can find on TPT. So, what decor do you need in K-2?
1. A Sound Wall (that is science of reading approved)
Students in K-2 are learning new phonics patterns and how to decode, making sound walls crucial in these classrooms. You may think, "I already have a word wall, isn't that the same thing?" No, it isn't. Sound walls are far superior to word walls. A word wall contains the alphabet and your sight words for the year. These walls fall short because they do not assist struggling students. If a student can't read the word "sister" in a text, why would they be able to read it on a wall? Sound walls, on the other hand, offer students visuals to identify a phonics pattern or sound, create that sound with their mouth, and the different spellings that students might see.
Let's look at an example:
Let's say a student named Kevin comes across the word rake in a text. Kevin tries to sound out the word with a short a and the final e (think "rack" with "eh" at the end). Kevin knows that that doesn't sound right, so he goes to the sound wall to see what other sounds the vowels can make. Kevin knows there is an a and an e in the word and that the vowels go a_e.
Now, ideally, you would have taught your students how to use the sound wall. If there is an a and an e in the word, Kevin would be looking at the sounds that have an a and e. Kevin will come across the long a card, which shows cake as the picture. Cake also has the a_e pattern, so the word rake must have a long a and silent e.
Trust me when I say that STUDENTS KNOWING HOW TO USE THE SOUND WALL WILL NOT HAPPEN OVERNIGHT! You need to explicitly and consistently teach students how to use it. It will definitely take time, but students will learn to use it! You can opt to only put up the sounds that your students have already learned, as they probably won't come across unknown patterns in their decodable books.
2. Hand Signals
Hand signals are one of my favorite classroom management strategies. Listen to this scenario that happens all. the. time.: You're in the middle of a lesson and a student raises their hand. You call on them and they ask to go to the bathroom. You say yes and continue your lesson. Another hand shoots up asking for water. A third hand shoots up to sharpen their pencil. We lose so much instructional time due to these interruptions. You may not think so, but these 5-10 second interruptions add up!
A way to combat this is using hand signals. While you are teaching, you can easily see a student's hand signal, what they need, and nod yes or no while continuing to teach! These simple posters eliminate so much wasted time, allowing you to do what you were hired to - teach.
Get my Hand Signal Posters Here.
3. Voice Level Posters
Another classroom management strategy I learned as a new teacher is utilizing voice levels. Voice level posters allow students to quickly see what voice level they should be using (i.e., no talking, whispering, etc.). My voice level posters also list the activity that students should use that voice level for. For example, voice level 0 is used when working independently. Take my word on this one - voice level posters will completely change your classroom management!
Get my Voice Level Posters Here.
While those are my top 3 decor pieces that I think are crucial to a K-2 classroom, I've also made a list of some other decor pieces below.
alphabet posters
number line
affirmation station
shapes
classroom jobs
classroom rules
birthday display
It's also important to make sure you don't cover ever single wall in your classroom! Leave room to hang up student work! I utilize all the space in my classroom to hang student work, including the windows, cabinets, doors, and ceiling!
Whether you're a new teacher setting up your first classroom or a veteran teacher, make sure your classroom decor is functional and purposeful, not just for show!
You can browse all of my Classroom Decor Here.
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