Back to School for Middle School Teachers, Middle School Language Arts

Classroom Set-Up Ideas for Middle School Language Arts

Linda Asaro
July 29, 2023

This is the second part of a mini-series on back-to-school tips with a focus on classroom set-up ideas.

I know we hate talking about BTS in July, but the reality is, it is a reality and if we do nothing, it stresses us. And if you are a language arts teacher, setting up your room can feel overwhelming and laborious. If you go in with a plan, however, setting up your language arts classroom will go smoothly and you will be set up for success for the entire year. In this blog post, we will focus on classroom set-up ideas that will inspire you!

blog post on classroom set-up ideas for middle school language arts — Read here for a “recipe” to easily set up your classroom.

Which Camp Are You?

So like I said in my other BTS podcast, let’s make this as quick and as painless as possible, kind of like ripping off a band-aid. And honestly, that’s how I always felt about setting up my room. Thinking about it was SO much worse than actually doing it.

There are two camps of people when it comes to classroom setup. Some want to do it in the summer, because their mind is clear and many teachers thrive on structure. For me, I felt so much less stress doing this before school started.

Some teachers, though, and rightfully so, don’t feel that you should volunteer your time and set up in the summer.

But what I want to emphasize here is that it doesn’t matter what camp of teachers you fall into, what matters is that we all have to set up our room at some point.

Classroom Set-Up Ideas: The overall picture

I want to give you 7 key classroom set-up ideas. I am going in the order that I feel works for me, meaning that I do item one first, then item 2 second, and so on. Obviously, do what works for you, but this is sort of my “recipe” with my many, many years of experience.

I can actually set up my room in two, 2-hour sessions. And that includes all the bells and whistles. As a note, I have to completely dismantle my room every year because they do recreation camp. So I can’t leave anything out, including bulletin board paper. I really have to start from scratch. And I don’t have to tell you all how much STUFF a language arts classroom contains, so it can be a bit laborious.

Let’s dive in on how I manage this quickly and well, mostly, painlessly.

Step 1 Classroom Set-Up Ideas: Desk Configuration

The very first thing that I do is set up my student desks. I average about 20-24 kids per class. I have tried what I believe is every reasonable setup when it comes to desks. I’ve set up desks in many configurations because I like to change them up. And every single year, my desks go back to tables in sets of 4.

I sometimes wish I could use that cool “U” shape or some other funky setups like I’ve seen on Pinterest. But when it comes down to it, I need my kids in partnerships for reading and writing workshop. They need to be able to talk to each other. And I often do “centers”, or “stations” in both language arts and social studies, so having tables is really key.

My tables are all pushed toward the locus of instruction, which is the whiteboard where I project and write things. The back of the room is for the library corner, which we will talk about in a moment. Also, there are times when I might temporarily move my desks, but for me, the sets of 4 are what I need.

Think about what works for you, but if you do reading/writing workshop, this will work well. And make setting up student desks the first thing that you do.

Step 2: Number Your Desks and Chairs

This might seem strange, but hear me out. Put a physical number on each desk and chair. I use a sticker and permanent marker to do this.

For those of you who taught during the pandemic, you know you had to keep pristine seating charts because of contact tracing. I was going crazy with this. Five sets of kids come in every day, and at the beginning, they were in every other day, and it was very difficult for me to maintain this.

The solution: put a number on the desk, create a chart, and write the students’ names next to their personal desk number. I even did this for the chairs as it was seen as so important during the pandemic.

I will tell you, this has continued to help me post-pandemic. It is so easy to give a sub a list of who should sit where. And when chairs get all jumbled, it’s easy to see where they go. And if you’re like me, I change desks about every month. This is because as we switch reading and writing units, kids will get a new partner. Then I just update my list. It takes only a few minutes and has been a real lifesaver when it comes to seating charts.

Step 3: Library Corner

The next thing that I recommend setting up is where your library corner should be. And I know some of you are thinking…I don’t have a library corner. I really want to emphasize to you the importance of a physical library corner.

Mine is pretty sweet, and it comes from years of begging for a big order, such as a rug, couch, beanbags, and I even scored a great rocking chair from my neighbor who was getting rid of it. And I completely understand that you might not be in that position as a first-year teacher. But do try to do something to set the stage to define that area in some way shape or form.

Classroom Set-Up Ideas: Get Creative

I have brought in old rugs from home, and yes, I have purchased things like pillows. I am not suggesting that you do this. Another idea is to leave the area open and add to it little by little. Depending on where you teach, at back-to-school night you can let parents know that you are looking to outfit your library corner with a few items, and you will be surprised what happens.

In any event, I get that not everyone teaches in a district where they can pull this off, and not everyone wants to bring items from home. But do your best to try to make it happen, because it becomes this magical little place in your room where students will want to work during reading/writing workshop time. In fact, I have to randomly select groups to go there because they all love being there.

And obviously, you need bookshelves, so you want to have your library corner near your bookshelves. I am lucky because I have some built-ins and some low, moveable bookshelves, so I use the movables to create a border to keep it cozy and set off from the rest of the room.

Setting up your library corner and bookshelves is very involved, so involved that it will be its own blog next week, so be sure to look for that.

Bulletin Boards: Step 4 in Setting Up Your Language Arts Classroom

Decide on how you will use your bulletin board and wall space. I talked about bulletin boards in my last blog. If you read it, you know that this is my least favorite task to do in my classroom. I’m not sure why it conjures up such feelings of dread, but it does.

So I had to figure out a way to make it less, well, dreadful. In any event, the first thing you need to do is consider how you will use your bulletin board and wall space.

Consider these three things when deciding on bulletin boards:

Functional: For me, my bulletin boards are prime real estate and they have to function really, really well and not just be cutesy or decorative.
Last all year – there is no way I am re-doing bulletin boards in the middle of the year. Teaching language arts is so time consuming, and I personally don’t have the time and if I did have the time, it would go to something else.
Interactive – I don’t just want a display, I want kids to have a part in it.

Example Bulletin Board

One of my bulletin board spaces is dedicated to the books that kids read throughout the year. It is a year-round, interactive reading display. I put up a sign about reading and then kids add reading reviews to this board as they finish. Just print the blank reading reviews and keep them handy so that kids can grab and go. Leave thumbtacks out and available so they can hang them themselves.

I love this so much that I made it into a product on my TPT store; take a look:

interactive reading bulletin board for your classroom library — This bulletin board has letters, decorative pieces, and student reading reviews for the entire year!

Classroom Set-Up Ideas: Anchor Charts

Another area of my room is not actually a bulletin board, but it is a blank wall and it is where I hang my anchor charts. If you teach reading and writing workshop, you know that anchor charts are a huge component. I need a spot where kids can reference mini-lessons that have been taught so that they can apply it to their reading and writing. I make these interactive as well.

Here’s an example of how I do this. Let’s say that we did a mini-lesson on internal monologue and the importance of this in writing. I would create an anchor chart, which is actually the important ideas from the mini-lesson that I write on large chart paper. Then, as a “do-now one day, I might ask kids to write something that they are thinking of at this moment to represent the concept of internal monologue. I would have them do this on a post-it and post it all around my anchor chart.

Must-Have: Bulletin Board for Student Writing

Another bulletin board space is for current student writing. By the way, I almost never post a full piece of writing unless it is something like a poem or a short activity. No one wants to read a student’s essay. If we write a literary essay, for example, something that I focus on is text evidence.

So I might have kids then use a piece of text evidence that they think is interesting, and create a little mini poster. They would take the text evidence, type it out in large font, and find an image to represent it. I would also have them cite it properly. This way, my bulletin board is filled with interesting quotes from books that are easily read, and not an entire student essay. Although this bulletin board changes throughout the year, my kids really do this because I just leave thumbtacks up for them to hang it.

Basic Info for the Entire Year

I also suggest hanging up items for the entire year with basic information. For me, that is things like literary terms and essay writing steps. Be sure to use it, though. For example, I have kids asking me how to write a thesis (even though it’s been explained). So, I direct them to the bulletin board display.

I have some classroom décor sets (I loosely call them décor but they are more for function than for aesthetic). I even have an essay set that is a freebie: Free Essay Pieces Classroom Decor

Need more pieces? Check out this classroom décor set: Language Arts Class Décor Bundle

classroom decor for middle school language arts — These 9 sets will take you through the entire year.

So while I do take pride in making my room pretty, what really makes it look great is that my displays are mostly student ideas. The only real work I do is hanging paper and lettering, but be sure to listen to the previous episode about this for tips.

I am including a link to my doodle letters for bulletin boards. This is a paid product in my TPT store, but it is free to my blog readers: Doodle Letters

free language arts bulletin board letters for subscribers only — This is a paid product, but it is free for subscribers.

Teacher Desk – Step 5

This is not the biggest item that I will talk about here, but it is quite important. You obviously need to be near outlets that can handle your device. I like to keep my desk in the front corner of the room. There are very few times that I sit there during class, but when I am presenting and using my device to project a lesson I like it to be near my stuff. This way, if I am sitting, I can still see the class from my vantage point.

And honestly, it’s important to have a comfortable home base for prep periods and such. I also keep it on the side of the room that has a bookcase behind me so I have a place for my purse, lunch box, and other teacher items like my clipboards, books, etc..

I also found it really, really helpful to keep my conference table close to my desk. This way, all of my stuff is close by and I’m not schlepping it around. I also like my location because it is close to the magnetic wipe-away board, so I can easily hang schedules, notes, and important info from admin.

So give it some thought and think about what your ideal situation would be and try to check off as many boxes as possible.

Classroom Set-Up Ideas: Student Shelf (Number 6)

This might sound crazy and some of you don’t have a lot of “real estate” to spare in your room, but I really encourage you to do this because it honestly will change your classroom life.

Let me give you a scenario. You’ve given an amazing mini-lesson. You’ve got kids off working with their partners and they are engaged in their writing. You sit down to conference with your first group, and you are interrupted constantly by kids asking you for a pencil, or a bandaid, or a piece of paper.

I honestly refuse to deal with this…I can’t afford interruptions, I just can’t. The curriculum is jam-packed. So many variables take place on a day-to-day basis that are out of my control, such as a fire drill, that I will not let a 12-year-old interrupt the flow due to something that they are MORE than capable of handling.

Easy Solution

So, I use one shelf in my room with a huge sign that says, you guessed it, student shelf. I stock it with pencils (the kind that say “teachers pencil”), pens, tissues, Band-Aids, paper…anything that they are constantly needing. (P.S. – If a kid leaves a pencil or pen behind they go right on that shelf.) Finders keepers! If there are no pencils left, by the way, I call that a “you” problem and you have to ask to borrow.

This is the shelf that they need no permission to use. I also keep my sign-out book here. If you don’t have shelf space, maybe use a small cart or table, but honestly, use something. And tell them about it. Be emphatic that this is their shelf, and that they are not to interrupt you if the shelf can solve their problem.

Last Step Classroom Set-Up Ideas: Decorative Touches

Last but not least, and the most fun, in my opinion, is to add your decorative touches. I, by the way, have a well-thought-out and lively, functional room, but I do not have a Pinterest-worthy room. It is just not that important to me. I want my room mostly decorated with books, kids’ work, and functional items that are organized and not cluttered.

But hey, if you want to decorate to the nines, have at it. A bit of a color theme is a good idea, however, so its color isn’t clashing all over the place. I like a vivid palette with just a few colors, and I stick to them for bulletin board paper and lettering, but that’s about it.

Little signs and teacher gifts are appropriate to display throughout the room. I use, as I’ve said earlier, functional bulletin boards. But it is fun to put up the lettering and add some decorative touches because this is going to be your home away from home, and many of you will spend more time here than in your actually home at times. Pictures of your family are great so kids can see you as an actual human.

This is something that can definitely wait and get done little by little as you are inspired and within the first month or so of school.

Don’t Stress – Do it Little by Little!

I wish I could give you all a magic wand and have your rooms set up for you! Honestly, though, if you go in with a purpose and a list of what you are doing, you will save yourself so much time. And don’t feel like you have to do it all at once in the summer…that is simply not necessary and this can all be done little by little.

I would love to hear how your room set-up is going, so leave a comment!