The new school that I will be teaching in is undergoing remodeling. The wing that 4th grade uses won't be finished until 2nd semester. So, 4th grade is going to the gym and the stage. All 300 students. Without room dividers. Should be interesting.
You'll get used to it. It's crazy to fathom that, but it's true. I've been in open classrooms with no dividers before, and as awkward as it felt at first, I felt more awkward returning to a classroom with four walls! As long as the gym has some sort of soundproofing, it won't be so bad.
Craziness! When they remodeled our school, I had to pack up everything in my room at the end of September, teach all of October in a trailer, and then move everything back in November. I used to complain about it, but I think 300 students in a gym sounds worse. You'll really have to be in sync with your team, to make sure one group isn't doing reader's theater while another is testing.
Wow! That sound SUPER interesting. Are you going to have time to plan/set up with the other teachers?
I have never heard anything like that! Is there a way you could create a visual boundary (even if Auditory is out of the question it still might help with distractions)?
Good luck with the boundariless room. You'll probably find that teaching outside as much as possible is nice. Does that mean no gym for the other students?
I subbed in a school where pods of 4 classes were separated only by file cabinets. Hopefully they will use that & some sort of dividers to keep distractions at a minimum. I think it would be very difficult as a student to concentrate with so much other stuff happening.
Is it that dividers are not allowed or just not provided? Could you use bookcases and filing cabinets or garment racks and sheets or pocket charts? http://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstays-Rolling-Garment-Rack-White/14220004#BVSecondaryCustomerRatings
Wow, yes, that will be a unique experience for sure. The suggestion of some type of barrier like file cabinets sounds good. Well, look on the bright side, if you ever have to job interview down the road, this can make an excellent story about your amazing classroom management and flexibility!
I would also recommend making each student an "office" One way is to take a thick posterboard, cut it in half lengthwise and fold in thirds. Perhaps you can come up with a grade schedule so when its silent reading time in your class, its silent altogether.
Wow! What a challenge! I taught in an open classroom for a semester and it was fine, but we did have book shelves, file cabinets, etc. for dividers. It actually did cut down on the sound somewhat, but it completely cut down on visual distraction which was good.
Yikes! Last year, I taught with a teacher who is extremely loud. In fact, you can hear him coming from far, far away because his voice really travels! There's no way I could teach in the same room with him. Enough about me--I hope everything works out for you! Keep us posted!
We are all going to be teaching off carts because the gym has to be available and to be used as a storm shelter, if necessary. If it rains, the rest of the students will have to use the gym for PE so we will travel and use empty classrooms while the kids are in specials. I'm looking forward to the challenge.
Though this will be a challenge, I suspect some really cool things will evolve that you will value. ... maybe a stronger sense of community, more connections between teachers, the best being brought out of students and teachers ...
