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High School ELA Classroom Setup That’s Worth Your Time

analog clock sketch in black surface

High School ELA Classroom Setup

We’ve all “crashed out” during high school ELA classroom setup at the start of the year. Instead, let’s do what’s worth our precious time.

analog clock sketch in black surface
Photo by Miguel Á. Padriñán on Pexels.com

What is classroom setup?

Classroom setup essentials include the physical space as well as key materials that you’ll use all year long. This is not the same as what you’ll do the first week, which is usually some one-off lessons to get kids back into the flow of school.

Get Back to School With 8 Easy And Fun Activities for High School covers back-to-school activities. How to Select the Best Back-to-School Ideas for You and Your Students gives more details on how to simplify the back-to-school activities process.

How should a classroom be set up?

Protect White Space

Support students with ADHD by taking down as much as you possibly can from the walls. Create essential language-rich classroom posters and hang them as they are introduced. If a poster is up, commit to referring to it. If no one is using it, take it down.

Arrange Desks

Use rows to support student focus and spinal health. As someone with scoliosis, I am painfully aware of this! Avoid arrangements that require students to hold the spine in a twisted position for long periods of time. When we need to face each other more than the whiteboard, we move the desks. I like to think of it as a sneaky brain break:)

Curate a Library

If you have a classroom library, don’t let it be a dumping ground for every book in your possession. Eliminate books that no one is picking up. They are drowning out the other choices. Organize by genre so that students can find what they like but don’t worry about alphabetizing within the section. Just put on some color-coded stickers and call it good. Some teachers like check-out systems to get books returned. I don’t fight that battle anymore either. When books go missing, it just makes room for more new books!

classroom library for high school ELA classroom setup

Take Care of You

Stock a private area with snacks and self-care items. Create an organizational system for yourself. I love this teacher toolbox. I also added a crate with a folder for each of my classes. It’s where I file papers to go back to students as well as work for absent students.

Prepare for a Sub

I’m done making one-off plans for substitute teachers at six AM. A sub is the perfect opportunity for review and independent practice. I created reading, writing, and vocabulary lessons that I can plug and play across my classes. These lessons are derived from our core routines. I’ll make copies at the beginning of the year and tuck them away for my first absence.

imege of sub plan for high school ELA classroom setup

ELA Classroom Setup Checklist

This is the list I will use when I go to my room for the first time.

  1. Walk through and see if anything is broken. Put in any work orders. Fix it yourself only if you have to. Delegate, if possible.
  2. Set out a paper and pen. This is for the to-do/shopping list that will start running through your mind. Put it on the list. You can decide later if/when it needs to be done and by whom.
  3. Turn on some music. Life is too short.
  4. Send your first week copies and sub plans to the copy center. I like to have these prepped before the first week so I can focus on the physical space in between all the meetings and interruptions. If you don’t have copy center help, go at the quietest time of the day (early or late).
  5. Check your rosters for any errors. Anything that requires someone else to do a step, you want to get in front of them ASAP. If this causes you to go into your email, go fast–don’t get sucked in!
  6. Clean. Keep cleaning supplies at school year-round so you don’t have to haul a bunch of stuff in and out. Clean only if you have to. Delegate, if possible (hello, teacher’s kids!). You’ll need
    • antibacterial wipes (for plastic surfaces)
    • dusting cloths (for wood surfaces)
    • paper towels (for surprises)
    • a water spray bottle (for the whiteboard).
  7. Arrange desks and auto-generate a seating chart. If your school is like mine, students will be switching classes. This chart is just to get through the first week.
  8. Publish your LMS (e.g. Canvas). Make it as simple as possible. The students are looking to take quick action on there. If you drown it in text, you’ll have to help them navigate it all year.
  9. Set up your library, take down posters, take care of you. Whatever you don’t get done can be finished later.

High School ELA Classroom Setup Kit

This high school ELA setup kit includes everything you need to get day-one ready. It includes:

•10 classroom library genre labels so your students can find what they love to read.

•7 language-rich writing posters to cue elaborating, note-taking, and transitioning.

•3 substitute lesson plans with student assignments so that students can make progress independently while you’re away.

cover of high school ela setup kit