How to Change Up Your Classroom Seating Arrangements

Classroom seating arrangements are a key component in any classroom. There are a variety of ways to organize student seating arrangements. Here are a few of the most effective starting with the beginning of the year. Of course it will depend upon whether you have tables or desks. I use desks with attached seats.

The First Classroom Seating Arrangement of the Year

When the school year starts, I like to partner students. In my sixth grade classroom, I have desks with attached seats and baskets underneath for books and binders. My favorite beginning-of-the-year arrangement is to create rows of partners. So for a class of 30, I may have 3-rows, two desks across, and about 12 inches between each group of two and the group behind it. I also have a small row of 4 desks in one single row off to the side.

The reason I like starting with this configuration is that if there are issues, it’s easy to move a student. Also, I can break up a desk pairing and easily have one desk up towards me for students who either struggle with partnering or really need more of my attention.

Within this configuration, I can move desks to reconfigure for small groupings and return them to their rows without much confusion. For example, one partnership can simply turn their desks around and make a group of 4 with the two desks behind them. This reduces the amount of chaos with moving desks, yet you can still create groups. Additionally, returning desks to their home location is a breeze.

Large Group Classroom Seating Arrangement

About 4-6 weeks into the year, I re-arrange the desks into groups of 5 to 7. This 4-6 week timeframe has allowed me to get to know my students and then group them for success. I like this group configuration because there’s more room to move around the classroom and kids have a wider variety of students with whom to work. If two students aren’t getting along, I can move them within their grouping and continue with our academic work.

Another reason I love this arrangement is because I run books clubs 2-3 times a year, and having the desks already in groups makes book club set-up easier as students sit in groupings to participate. See my Book Club Resource to learn more about running successful book clubs in upper elementary and middle school classrooms.

The drawback to this grouping is that it can be louder than other seating arrangements. Also, some students don’t do well with larger groups.  Additionally, it can be difficult to target who it is that may be causing issues.

Small Group Classroom Seating Arrangement

After our larger group arrangements, I like to create groups of 3-4 students. This gives them a break from the larger group setting, yet they can still easily collaborate. The drawback to this configuration is that it makes movement around the classroom more difficult. There are more physical groups of desks to navigate around during your day.

One positive with this classroom seating arrangement is that I can create a small group of three closer to my teaching station so I can easily support students with greater needs. If I’m fortunate enough to have a teaching assistant, they always appreciate having students with greater needs sitting in closer proximity to one another (if behaviors allow). Check out this blog post on differentiation in your classroom.

Amphitheater-style Classroom Seating Arrangement

A final configuration I like a lot is the amphitheater classroom seating arrangement. This has slightly curved rows running the width of the classroom, but there are two aisles breaking up the desks into three groups. The benefits of this configuration are numerous, but the primary advantage is that all students are facing forward. It is easy for students to turn desks around to form small groups and then return their desks to the curved row, but you have to train them to line up desks in a slight curve.

You can still have students turn desks around to form larger groups and not have much chaos. Another reason I like this seating arrangement is that there are students nearby for collaboration, and I can place students with higher needs towards the front.

One drawback to the amphitheater-style seating arrangement is that it can be more of a challenge to move around the classroom.

How I Assign Seats With New Classroom Seating Arrangements

There are many ways assign students a seat. Most often, I am the one choosing. There have been times when I’d draw names and students could select a seat. However, even with this system there are certain students for whom I’d have to limit the selection. So I may say, “You can select any seat within this area.” They never seemed to mind too much.

I know many teachers let their students pick their seats. Rarely have I done this. My focus is to create an efficient and effective learning environment. You can always have students stand up and move desks if you want to group them and then have them return the desks to the original locations.

Seat Change Day

I draw a map of the classroom seating arrangement on a small whiteboard and place it in front of the room. I generally number the groups or rows. If students have choice, I give the individual desks a letter, so a student may be sitting in group 1 in desk c. The map is helpful to students and to me. For the first week after changing seats, I have a tough time remembering where students sit. This map helps. Also, if you have multiple classes throughout your day, the small whiteboards allow you to have seating maps for more than one class. This is why I usually have three small whiteboards in my classroom.

In almost all configurations, I have one or two desks available for single students who may need less potential distraction. Also, I have a small carpet with pillows for a reading area or focused work area. There’s also a table in the back of my classroom for small group work and for setting up book club supplies (See this link to learn more about running BOOK CLUBS in your classroom).

I chose not to have tables in my classroom so I could have the option to reconfigure student seating, and I’m happy with my choice.

So if you’ve struggled with your seating arrangements, you might consider one of the options above. There are so many possibilities. These are just a few that I’ve found to be successful.

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Happy Teaching!