I am new to first grade this year. I was wondering which you have in your room desks or tables. If this was your choice which do you prefer and why? I have tables in my new room, with drawers for each kid underneath. I have always wanted to try desks and with the Lucy Calkins writing I think they will work best... just curious what you all think.
I had desks last year, but I really want tables. The kids stick their hands and play in their desks too much, so eventually I had to remove everything from inside them and turn the desks the other way, so they couldn't get inside them anymore. All their stuff was kept in seat sacks or a cubby.
Last year, I inherited tables, but in August we open at our new site and 4 out of the 6 1st grade teachers changed to double desks. I do a lot of modeling, etc. using my LCD projector in the front of the classroom and with tables I always felt that someone had their back to me. I also use a lot of flexible grouping throughout the day and with desks it is much easier to quickly re-arrange the room to accomodate what we are doing. Finally, my partner teacher and I (we share a work-room) went into the 2nd grade classrooms, where they use desks, and measured and found that in our room configuration there is more usable space with desks than with tables. We went with doubles because there is less movement than with singles. I was worried about the hands in the desks etc., but after observing my classes' behavior in their Spanish class over the past year (they have desks in that class with supplies inside) learn through the teaching of procedures where their hands should be, how to take out items, etc. , I believe that this can be managable. This is just my thought process as I worked out the question. Hope this helps. Your going to love 1st grade!!!
i would have to say tables i have never been a teacher becasue i am only 15. But if you really think about it tables the kids get to be interactive wiht each other, and can brainstorm ideas and work as a group.
I had tables for years when I taught gifted ed. Last year when I went back to mixed abilities for the first time in years, I tried the tables... and thought it wasn't working.. so I switched back to desks this year.. I HATE it.. I want my tables back!! I'm working on getting rid of the desks and having my tables back this year!!
I have tables and I love them. I can group as many or as few students as I want at each spot. I can easily wipe down surfaces and don't have to worry about germs inside desks. The children can't stow any dirty tissues or anything else because there's no where to stow it. I can also control supplies easily because my first graders will play with anything and everything... it's just too tempting! So I have team captains that go to the bookshelf for supplies for each activity we do and put them back when we're done.
I train my children to turn their chairs in the appropriate direction for the overhead, chalkbard or centers. We call it Learning position. I'll say "learning position!" and they turn their chairs and say "5...4...3..2..1!" and get themselves with their chairs turned front, both feet on the floor, hands in laps. It works well. Learning position is towards the front of the room where the chalkboard and overhead screen. I change it to " centers learning position" when I want them to turn towards the cubbies so that I can explain centers for the week.
I began the school year last year with desks and it was a NIGHTMARE! The kids used to stuff tons of papers, materials, books, etc. inside of them and lost track of everything! By dismissal, there was so much trash on the floor from the insides of the desks, the janitor was always reprimanding me. Also, they were constantly moving all over the floor, no matter how many times I put them in a specific spot. I got tables in January and it was 100 times better! Less mess, things are WAY more organized, I see where materials and papers are, and they don't move all over the floor!
I was able to try tables from April-June this past school year and I LOVED it. I will have them again this year. I found that I stored lots of things around the room anyway and trained kids to get things out when needed. No more messy desks!
My first two years I had tables. I did not like tables because I had to store all of their items in tubs or wherever. I truly prefer desks--you just have to practice the rules and procedures at the beginning of the year. We practice with an empty desk from day one... They have a classwork folder to put loose papers in to complete and take home at the end of the day. Also, I teach organization from day one. It takes practice but after a week or two--They know what is expected and do accordingly.
I've taught grades 1 & 2 for the past 9 nine years. This year was the first time I had desks in my room and it was Wonderful! Like Neena mentioned in the previous post the students need to have the practice as to what is expected when using a desk. Each day it was the students responsbility to make sure everything was up off the floor. On Fridays just before school ended the students had to clean out their desk, put their books and folders in the order I expected. Then they would wash and dry off their desks. They did a great job! I would go quickly by and look at each desk and we would leave our class nice and organized to come back to from the weekend. I love the desks because you can change your room around easily. If there is a student(s) that needs to be moved away from the general population for whatever reason this is easy to do. For any student that continued to play inside their desk I would just turn it around for the day(s) needed to get their attention. I believe if children have been modeled to, know what your expectations are, and that you follow through they will do their best. Of course kids are kids and nothing is perfect. My students always love to help our room look nice and they have great ideas how the desks could be arranged. "SMILE"
I had tables this year and I hated them. They were half haxagon shapes and were very odd to arrange in a workable manner. I hope to have new desks next year but we will see. I think tables would work much better if they were actually rectangles or something more common. I also did not like my tables because I had no place for the students to put their things away, I don't have real cubbies, just makeshift ones on a larger sized bookshelf. So right now desks are looking better to me. Just my thoughts.
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07-03-2006, 12:18 PM
