Materials: A Place For Everything and Everything in Its Place
In the previous two pages, we considered classroom procedures in general, in Classrooms: Control, Work Cycles & More, and how to get the writing process started, in Getting Started In the Classroom. Now we look at the classroom itself.
In an active classroom, where children pace themselves and are encouraged to choose their own activity once their work is finished, they need a variety of valuable materials to choose from. These materials need to be out on shelving, within easy reach of the children and in exactly the same place from day to day — with most of them carefully demonstrated before they’re added. Following are some examples from my classrooms, with a link to more ideas at the bottom of the page.
Interest Areas
We had several open-ended areas always available for use when the children finished their work:
- Class Library — a loft made by a parent;
Sand Table at waist height for the children, similar to that pictured in the photo of the blue table, covered by the blue lid. It included trucks and toy figures, and children were encouraged to bring what they would like from home. The lid was easy to take off, and it was replaced during the writing period, as play there could become too noisy.- Restaurant, with table and chairs, play food and money, cash register and pad for writing checks.
- Listening Post, with recorder and record player.
- Creative Center, with fabric cut into shapes, ribbon, lace, trim, yarn, etc., scissors, glue and construction paper.
- Easel and other kinds of painting materials, with tables easy to clean (used only when a Helper was also in the roo
m to help with any cleanup needed). - Play dough or clay.
- With always more being substituted or added ….
Math and Memory Game: Concentration
Concentration is a very popular combination memory and math game: Two children sit on the large rug, with a small rug sample between them. They have a set of regular playing cards that have been reduced to only cards that add up to a predetermined number. For example, if the set is to add up to 6, they will have pairs of 2’s and 4’s, 3’s and 3’s, 5’s and 1’s (aces). (I bought several sets of cards of the same design and pared them down to make sets with combinations ranging from totals of 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. We had 3 sets of cards for each of those numbers. Each set was topped by a hand-written card showing the number for that set.
The concept level a child should select is written on a slip of paper and kept in the same bag used to keep the dice for Bead Trading. (See *** under Ideas for a Math Program, below.) So they look there first, to know which set of cards to choose. They can play this game with anyone else who can play at or above their level. Play goes as follows:
The two children lay the cards out in rows of no more than four cards each, face side down between them. Then the first child turns over 2 cards, keeping them where they were, hoping the two cards will add up to the number of the set they are playing with. (So in the set marked “8,” they are looking for 1&7; 2&6; 3&5; or 4&4). If they have chosen a correct pair, they put the cards in a stack in front of where they are sitting and the other child takes a turn. If not, they turn them face down again, exactly where they were, before the other child takes their turn. Both children are hoping they will remember where the cards are so they can find them again when they need one of them. I made two sets of each total number, with combinations adding up to 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10. (So we had 10 sets.) A paper with the number the set was to add up to was placed on top of the cards, and the set was tied with rubber bands and kept in numerical order out on a shelf. (I could also have made subtraction games, but I never got around to it.)
Examples of Self Teaching and Practicing Trays
This basic idea of self-teaching materials comes from Montessori. They are simple, and the variations are endless. Trays can be “self-correcting,” or they are simply for exploration and the honing of skills. 
We used wood trays, always with a lip on them, as the children would be carrying them from a shelf to their table. (Check Nienhuis online for such trays. Montessori commissioned all her materials to be made by Nienhuis, and the directress in my Montessori school, trained in Holland, would have nothing else.) The materials are always as pleasant or intriguing as possible. When possible, the materials should also be breakable, so the child needs to take great care — as the teacher does when modeling during the Silent Demonstration. But for safety, I always used ceramic, not glass containers and told the children to ask for help to clean up, if something broke. Each time a new tray was added, if the procedure was different from others the children knew how to work with, the tray would be introduced by a Silent Demonstration. If the objects were all that was different, the children need only be shown the new objects, not watch an entire demonstration again.
Self-Correcting Tray: The possibilities for this are endless — to practice recognizing numerals, how to read the words for different colors, shapes, objects, etc. One example, for numerals, would be to practice recognizing the numerals 1 through 10: It would have 10 containers (small cups or cylinders), each with a different number on the front, from 1 – 10. For self-checking, the same numbers would be placed on the back of that container, including the corresponding number of dots. Included on the tray might be enough flags (or other objects that would intrigue the child) to sort from 1 to 10. The child would first place the containers in order from 1 – 10 — checking on the back to see they were correctly placed. Then they would turn the containers around again so that only the numerals faced them — then add the correct number of flags to each container. Finally, the child would turn the containers around check the number of dots against the number of flags. When finally finished to their satisfaction, they would ask the teacher or a helper to “see and check” their work.
Another example for recognizing numerals would have one set of 10 cards — each with a different numeral on it, from 1 – 10. A second sent of cards would have with dots on the front and corresponding numeral on the back. The task is to lay the first cards out in order. Then place the appropriate number of dots beside each of the first set of cards. The self-check would be to turn each of the second set of cards over, to see if the numerals match.
For recognizing the names of colors: The first set has large dots of color on the front — each with a different color. The second set has the name of a color on the front and the corresponding dot of color on the back. The task is to match the dots with their names — and the check is to turn the second set over and see if the colored dots match.
Tray For Distinguishing Differences: Example of a trays to distinguish colors, shapes or objects, etc. The objects could be buttons of different colors or shapes, tiny animals or various other small objects that could be sorted into different containers.
Tray for sorting Objects According to Beginning or Ending Sounds: One picture from the phonics program is placed on the outside of a small plastic “Zip Lock.” A variety of small objects are inside the bag, some that start with the sound, some that do not. The children — alone or in pairs, taking turns — sort them into “yes” and “no” piles. When finished, they ask someone older to check s their work.
Honing of Skills: An example focused on distinguishing slight differences in colors would be to get several sets of 2 identical paint samples, each with several shades of the same color on them. Write a number or letter on the back of each shade, and write the same/letter number on the duplicate. Cut up ONE set and leave the other uncut. Mix the strips into a container, leave the uncut strips stacked on the tray. The child first lays the uncut strips out on the mat, then matches the ones in the container to the ones laid out. When finished, they check their work by looking to see if the numbers/letters on the back of them match.
Gather a duplicate set of several sizes of nuts and bolts. The child is to lay out the bolts first — from small to large. Then, leaving the nuts mixed up on a small piece of felt, they try — first just by looking — to lay each nut beside the bolt they think it will fit. The check is whether they will be able to screw the nut onto the bolt they thought it matched. When finished, they might ask someone to admire their work.
Pouring Water (or rice): Place two ceramic pitchers on a tray. One is filled with water (if not, and the cannot reach the fountain, the child asks an aide or tutor to fill it and return the tray to the shelf, so that the child has to carry the tray to the table). The challenge is two-fold: to carry the tray to the table with out spilling — and then to pour the water back and forth without spilling it. (This one needs to be carefully demonstrated and the children shown how to clean up any spills. This was in my Montessori preschool, so it’s definitely not beyond older children in primary grades, teaching them to walk and otherwise move carefully.)
Recall that materials of this sort are always placed on a small rug on the large floor rug, or on a felt mat if at the table. This is to define the work area, as the children are always to be careful not to disturb someone’s work.
Our Most Popular Group Activity: The Rhythm Band
We began every morning with 20 minutes or so of our rhythm band. We played along with several records, including Sousa marches, but the all-time favorite was the one with the Beatles playing”Penny Lane.” We met on the rug at the front of the room. The adjacent wall was lined with with 3 tiered, child-height shelving, beneath the main blackboard. Specific areas on that shelving were reserved for each type of instrument, and the children sat on the rug according to their instrument. So as they played, they were grouped together to make up sections similar to those in a band.
As the music played, I “conducted” the band by motioning in and out the various sections of the band. The children took this very seriously and watched for my signal for when they were to play. Our record and band playing each morning sounded out in the hall, so that eventually we had gifts of other instruments offered to us. One of particular value was an a professional-quality bongo drum. A boy just in from Mexico, who could not yet speak English, was particularly good at playing it, and I noticed he gained a respected place in the eyes of the children with his inspired playing, so it really helped him adjust to being in the country. The band became so popular for some children that they came into class early. They would select their instrument and sit down in the the proper place for that section on the rug — waiting for school to start. Then others came in when the bell rang, selected an instrument and sat in it’s designated place, creating a circle around me, with all of us sitting directly on the rug. We played for about 20 minutes each morning, and it was a great way to start the day!
Miscellaneous
Our classroom was divided into several areas, including the following:
A meeting place at the front of the room, near my desk, which was defined by a large area rug (which we all sat on directly – without chairs).
In the middle of the room, a large area for tables, one round one where I called children to me, another round we used for Bead Trading or other group activities, and several rectangular ones (with enough chairs for each child, but no assigned seating.).
Four interest areas, defined by adult-shoulder height dividers.
A library loft made by a parent.
In the back of the room: two easels, a sink, and 2 doors (one opening to the playground, another opposite, to the hall).
Two walls were lined with 3-tiered, child height shelving (also made by my husband), filled with equipment and materials for the children. We had small bins, one for each child, to store their personal belongings. (The local hospital donated small, patient wash bins for this, and we kept them on the bottom level of our shelving. ) We also had at least a dozen small rug samples (approximately 2.5′ x 1.5′) that I got from local carpet stores. These were essential, for as mentioned, children would place them on the large classroom rug, to define their work area — so others wouldn’t step on or stumble over the materials. I cut out smaller, felt mats for working with equipment on a table — again to define a child’s work area.
For more classroom ideas, click here for an article by Karen Lamb, the best teacher I ever had the pleasure of observing. She is also Teacher A, featured in my study of Outstanding Effective Classrooms. INSERT PDF OF KAREN’S ARTICLE and link to my study.
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