Setting Up…. Small Group in the Classroom

Last week, I blogged about setting up your classroom library. This was so much fun for me because that’s my favorite area in a classroom. This is the 2nd edition of the Setting Up series. This week’s post focuses on nooks for small group in the classroom! Small group is a staple in most classrooms, but sometimes, they can be tough to keep up with or keep organized. I hope to bring you some ideas and inspiration for your small group nook!

When setting up and teaching small group, there are three key points.

Student ENVIRONMENT
Teacher DATA TRACKING
Material ORGANIZATION

1. Focus on Organization when Setting Up Small Group in the Classroom

There’s paperwork, books, pencils, pens, highlighters, witch fingers, whiteboards, expo markers, sentence strips, and more! Small group area has a LOT that goes with it. And organizing it isn’t always easy. Here are a few ideas that I found that may help you out!

Teaching in High Heels
The guided reading bucket is a huge lifesaver because you can carry it with you wherever you go. I love this idea from Teaching in High Heels where she keeps them all in one place.

Miss DeCarbo
Color coordinate your baskets to help keep your groups together.

Elementary Nest
Back to color-coding. This is from my blog post, where I talk about each of my groups being a different color and how I kept their folders and paperwork in color-coordinated drawers.

Ms. Jump’s Class
Love the idea of velcro so that you can move kiddos around if needed.

Fabulous in First
This set up is so fun and leaves minimal distractions for small group in the classroom.

Books, Bunting, and Bainbridge

2. Focusing on Student Environment

The student environment is what I consider to be what the kiddos see when they sit at the table with you. It’s the colors, the chairs, the bulletin boards, even the placemats in front of them. Basically, this key point of small group is another way of saying “pretty spaces.” Here are a few pretty pics that I found from other bloggers and myself that may inspire some fun decorating of your small group in the classroom!

Miss DeCarbo

Mrs. Wills Kindergarten
This is just perfect. Tranquil and soothing environments will help keep kiddos calm!

First Grade Fingerprints
These are dry erase circles! They stick to the table. You need these for small group in the classroom.

KFUNdamentals
I love this idea to have each kiddo have their own work areas.

3. Focusing on Teacher Data Tracking

Data, data, data! Keeping up with all the paperwork is a vital part of small group. I found a few pins and blogs that talked about wonderful ways to track your data and keep you ahead!