Selection and Placement of Materials. Another aspect of the physical environment includes the selection and placement of materials. The selection of materials includes choosing toys and other physical objects that are age- and developmentally appropriate, as well as linguistically and culturally relevant, for the young children in the classroom.
For example, the block area should include a variety of blocks to allow children with varying motor skills to manipulate them, and these materials should be placed so that they are easily accessed. Teachers should also take care when it comes to:. Design and Display of Visual Materials.
Another important aspect of the physical environment is the design and display of visual materials. Visual material— such as posters for displaying classroom rules, daily schedules, and steps to complete a routine e.
For example, in the block area, the teacher can label the center and use visuals of the different blocks to indicate where they belong on the shelves. This can aid the children when the time comes to clean up the center. Other considerations include:. Lighting and Sound.
When they design the physical environment, teachers should also consider its lighting and sound. Teachers can use lighting and sound to create a comfortable environment that is conducive to the different activities that occur throughout the day. For example, so that children can engage in both quiet and more active play activities during center time, the block area can be carpeted to reduce noise. Teachers can also keep in mind:. Including Families Teachers can collaborate with families to create a physical environment that reflects the importance of those families and that promotes a sense of belonging.
They can do this by:. Teachers need to ensure that young children with disabilities are able to fully access and participate in learning experiences. They can do this by making minor changes to the physical environment, such as:.
Any item, service, equipment, or product system—whether acquired commercially, specially designed, or created via changes to an existing product—that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities in the daily life of an individual with a disability; comes in two forms, devices and services. A simple book that uses pictures or symbols to help children to participate and follow daily routines e.
When they make items like pencils grips or specialized scissors available for all children, teachers avoid making certain children stand out.
Listen as Abby Green talks about how she arranges the physical environmental to help the children understand classroom expectations. Then listen as Ilene Schwartz talks about the concept of Universal Design for Learning in an early childhood environment. View Transcript. I use environmental arrangement to show which toys are available or not available and make sure that anything visible is accessible and available upon appropriate requests.
We let the children know through the environment what their expectations are. And that works well. Transcript: Ilene Schwartz, PhD. The best example for this is when we think about how our society now uses curb cuts.
Curb cuts and rounds were developed and are mandated for people who use wheelchairs or have other kinds of mobility challenges. But anyone with a stroller or a rolling suitcase can appreciate how much they benefit from those rounds or curb cuts. The same happens in an early childhood environment. We may put carpet squares out at circle time to help some children understand where their body needs to be, but those carpet squares can benefit all children.
We may label every cubby in the classroom where everything needs to go. Recognize students' work by displaying it on this nifty bravo board. The clips make it easy to swap out students' work throughout the year. You can easily put your own design twist into the space or have your students help decorate it! Short on space? Check out this mini cork board display that you can put on your classroom cabinets! You can choose the scrapbook paper you want to put on the mini cork boards for a customized display space.
This mini cork board is a great way to applaud students writing or art work. Have a bunch of old clipboards lying around? Hang them from sticky hooks on the wall or pushpins on the bulletin board. Learn more: Clutter-Free Classroom. Buy an inexpensive digital frame, then use it to display photos of stellar student work. Another option? Use a student work photo slideshow as the screensaver on your laptop so it shows on your projector screen when the computer is idle.
Learn more: Master Mind Crafter. Get the DIY at the link. Learn more: Dummies. A photo room divider is a bit of an investment, but it will last for years, and you can use it to create private space in your classroom too.
Buy a room divider like the one shown here , or try a corkboard model instead. Hate the look of blank spaces on your student work display? Learn more: Mrs. These days, lots of student work is created and lives entirely online. That makes it hard to display in a more traditional classroom. Learn more: Teaching in Room 6. Love using clipboards to display student work? Here are a dozen genius ways to use them in the classroom.
She has a degree in Secondary English Education and has taught in middle and high school classrooms. She's also done training and curriculum design for a financial institution and been a science museum educator. She currently lives in Tampa, Florida where she often works on her back porch while taking frequent breaks for bird-watching and gardening.
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