While you might be reading this in May with only a little bit of time left in the school year, just know that if things feel like they need a little restructuring that it’s ok!  Or maybe you’ll be teaching summer school or ESY and want to have some new structures shifting around, that’s okay too.  When I try to explain the purpose of structuring areas in a classroom, I emphasize that it teaches students how to “learn to learn”.  It does not mean that a student needs to stay in a structured teaching station for all parts of the day or not have free play, circle time with peers, or centers.  Structured areas help teach children how to focus on an activity and eventually become independent with them! 

Visual Schedules

I recently made these visual schedules for a local Headstart program that I frequent for sessions.  I printed the templates front to back of the pictures you see above.  While some teachers may like an entire schedule at one glance, others may like to break it down into two routines using the “First/Then” side.  I wanted them to be easy to grab and manipulate while also using pictures of actual areas of the classroom for generalization.  The children in these classes range from 2-3.5 years old.  I would also suggest adding objects to these pictures if needed, for example, a carpet piece for the circle time and a small counting bear for centers.  I see a remarkable difference when teacher’s pair the verbal routine announcement with the picture and/or an object to represent that time. We want students to learn to respond to a verbal direction when they hear another person’s voice and/or their attention is drawn to an object representing that routine (i.e.: diaper for changing time). 

Structured Teaching Areas

Recently, I had the privilege of collaborating with some incredible Pre-K 3 classroom teachers who decided they needed to add some structure to their room.  They have 20 (yes 20, three-year-olds) students in their classroom with an array of experiences.  Some children have never been in any type of formal setting including daycare. They did an amazing job thinking about the needs of their students and creating structured areas around their classroom while valuing free play areas and movement. The colored tape helps define clear areas, the picture on the left shows a “work with teacher” visual that students match when they first come to this area, and the tasks are set up left to right showing a distinct beginning and end to the task.  This is absolutely a skill that needs to be taught.  Put in tasks are a great place to start even if it’s something the student has already mastered.  You want them to feel success in this area.  Students also see a visual of what comes next such as play time.  It’s important to note that a child’s sensory needs should be valued and considered. For example, maybe some students need to stand during tasks or need movement prior to going into a structured area.  If a student is having a lot of challenges during this time, you might need to scale back on the amount of tasks or type of tasks while also ensuring they have access to communication and sensory supports. Note that this is not how their classroom looked in the very beginning. It’s completely ok to take the time to restructure. Sometimes it can feel so overwhelming to even think about a new routine midway through the school year, but think about how much smoother things could run and how you can increase student independence and availability for learning and communication! 

Learning Activities

The type of learning activities you choose is individualized to each student.  With many of our little ones, put in type tasks, sorting colors into containers, and simple inset or form shape puzzles are a common place to start. Put in tasks are especially beneficial to students who are just learning how to complete an activity. I also like to use them with my more active students who are often moving about the classroom and benefit from a quick task until they gain more stamina and skill.  As you can see, this student has his communication device available and has learned the concept of starting and finishing a task.  What types of activities would you use in this area? Happy teaching!