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REASONS TO DITCH THE STUDENT DESKS

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The classroom has changed so much in the last decade or so. Teachers have moved from whole group teaching to small group instruction for most part of their day. Smartboards replace the outdated chalkboard. Handheld devices replace the notebooks and textbooks. We are going through some of the biggest changes in the classroom than ever before. But one thing stays the same: where our students sit! I have five great reasons why you should ditch your student desks and replace them with large tables!

5 Reasons to Ditch the Student Desk

  • Creates an organized space
  • Use it for large learning spaces
  • Good for collaboration
  • Keeps students focused
  • Better for flexible seating

Creates an Organized Space

There is no reason for students to have a ton of supplies on their desk. With individual desks, students have lost papers, food, and who knows what else inside the space of their student desk. You lose that space with tables, however, with some creativity you can create a better system!

I use these 3 tier carts at every table to house pencil boxes, folders and notebooks. What you see is a well organized space where your students know where to find everything they need. Each level has a label to tell my students exactly where their supplies go!

Use the Space to Teach

I hate storing dry erase boards in my classroom. There are more things I would rather store than those! We use our learning space on our tables as instant dry erase boards! This makes quick assessments and reteaching easy. I also found that my students were less tempted to draw and doodle like they did on their dry erase boards.

Tables Make Collaboration Easy

Remember when we were kids and had to move our desks for group work? It turned into a game of ‘who can be the loudest when moving a desk’. And it took FOREVER! When you have tables, there is no reason to move desks around. They can gather around easily and collaborate!

Tables Help Students Stay Focused

Again, go back to when we were students. How many times did you see students play with things inside the desk rather than participate? I remember that happening very often. If you don’t want distractions, then remove the distractions! Tables provide the perfect learning space without the distractions!

Flexible Seating is Easy!

Flexible seating is more and more popular these days. I have to admit, when I first heard about it I was a little hesitant. But then I had children of my own and learned more about children than teaching ever would. My students love the flexible seating options in my class. My tables provide me more room to have different seating options!

Along with my five reasons why I ditch student desks, I just like the overall look of tables! And if you’re Type A like me, you’ll jump on the table bandwagon ASAP!

Check out my personal classroom decor!

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progress monitoring in the early elementary classroom for math, literacy and reading