Mrkarpie.com
  • Home
  • Curriculum
    • Digital Team Resources
    • Zen Classroom
    • The Universal Refugee Experience
    • Free-Verse Poetry
    • Transition Week
    • Unconscious Bias
    • Short Story 1
    • Food Chains
    • Short Story 2
    • Murder Mystery
    • Wrapup
    • Extra Units >
      • 10:00 ELA Activities
      • COVID-19 Journal Project
      • Inquiry-Based Research
      • Short Story 3
      • TED Talk Extra Credit
    • Professional Development >
      • Co-Teaching Seminar
      • ORID Data Protocol
      • FSU CCLS / Next Gen
      • Google PD
      • UnSelfie: Book Study >
        • Empathy Lessons
      • Teaching in a Middle School
      • Backwards Design
  • Skills
    • Write >
      • Tools
      • Writing Process >
        • Informational Writing Process
        • Creative Writing Process
      • Differentiation
    • Read >
      • Tools
      • Process
      • Differentiation
    • Web Design >
      • Google Sites Tutorials
  • Assess
    • Learning Standards >
      • Common Core Learning Standards
      • Next Gen Standards
    • Writing Rubrics >
      • 4-Point Essay Rubric >
        • 4-Point Rubric Grade Converter
        • 4-Point Peer Evaluation
      • Short Story Rubric
      • Poetry Rubric
      • 2-Point, Short-Answer Question Rubric
    • Classwork Grading
    • Project-Based Learning >
      • Oral Presentation Rubric
      • Web-Design Rubric >
        • Web Design Peer Evaluation Form
    • Data >
      • Team Average Data
      • 4-Point Writing Data
    • State Test Preparation >
      • Questar State Test Simulator
      • Questar Informational Video
    • STAR Testing >
      • STAR Testing Software
      • STAR Testing Directions
      • Self Reflection
    • Final Exam >
      • Final Exam Multiple Choice
      • Extended Response Options >
        • Extended Response
        • Transitioning and Expanding ENL
        • Entering and Emerging ENL
    • Karp-Evaluation
    • Assessment as Process
  • FRED
    • Syllabus Week >
      • EDU 276 Syllabus Section 1
      • EDU 276 Syllabus: Section 2
      • Syllabus But Prettier
      • Syllabus Week Resources
      • Grade Calculators >
        • Midterm Calculator
        • End of Semester Calculator
    • Assessment Technology >
      • Assessment Technology Weekly Resources
      • Assessment Technology Project Page >
        • SLP Assessment Project Page
      • Forms Video Tutorials
      • Assessment Technology Rubric
    • Digital Field Trip >
      • Digital Field Trip Weekly Resources
      • Digital Field Trip Project Page
      • Prezi Video Tutorials
      • Digital Field Trip Rubric
    • Lesson Plan >
      • Lesson Plan Weekly Resources
      • Lesson Plan Project Page
      • Lesson Plan Rubric
    • Digital Portfolio >
      • Digital Portfolio Weekly Resources
      • Digital Portfolio Project Page
      • Weebly Video Tutorials
      • Digital Portfolio Rubric
    • Technology Reflection >
      • Technology Reflection Project Page
      • Technology Reflection Rubric
    • Tech Tools
    • Course Evaluation Data
  • Me
    • The Interdisciplinary Educator Blog
    • Tour my Classroom
    • Educational Philosophy
    • Contact

The Interdisciplinary Educator

Brad Karpie

Classroom Map 2: The Ascending V

11/21/2019

0 Comments

 
The Ascending V, pictured below, sometimes angles each trio of desks to form a V pattern. Whether they are even like you see below, or shaped in like a V with the point toward or away from the teacher, the Ascending V pattern of classroom mappage has a lot of positive qualities. It was my go-to classroom format for many years before I was good enough at managing student's behavior to have only tables, all the time. My students probably spent about 85% of their time in this arrangement during the "desk" days of my classroom.
​
Picture
Because all eyes are forward, it is still easy to tell when students are turned around and talking to other students during your direct instruction time. There is still plenty of space for the teacher to approach students from most angles -- barring students sat in the center of each trio. Word to the wise: seat your strongest students at the center of each trio, thereby taking care of the blocked-approach problem because you’ll never need to approach them. Also, by placing the strongest students in the center of each trio, the students to each side of them benefit from their positive influence.
​
This format offers one very strong benefit. Grouping. In the first seating chart, if you use a turn and talk or think pair share, somehow, the most distracted students who manage to do as little as possible while being as big a pain in your butt as possible will somehow manage to talk to each other loudly about football, or manage to disengage entirely. Having two teammates to keep them on task helps. By using this seating chart, students have structured conversations with only the classmates you choose for them. A centrally-located student in the first classroom map can choose from any of eight directly adjoined humans with which to converse. In the Ascending V, you choose the two humans with whom the student must converse.

​The negative parts of the Ascending V format come during directions and direct instruction. When students have classmates so close to them, it’s a lot easier for them to show off social media pictures of their new internet fling, or to whisper to one another, or to team up to cause uber mischief. This seating chart works well for beginning teachers once November hits. It can easily work well for veteran teachers all year, every year until retirement.

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Author

    So much of the writing published about education is published by people who don't teach. I figured it was time for a teacher to write about teaching. I've been proud to teach 8th-grade ELA in Dunkirk City Schools since 2007, and to serve at Fredonia State University as an adjunct professor, teaching educational technology since 2017.

    Archives

    May 2021
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019

    Categories

    All
    Anecdotes
    Arguments And Explosions
    Authentic Instruction
    Classroom Comedy
    Classroom Culture
    Classroom Management
    Consequences
    Data
    Engagement
    Introduction
    Lesson Planning
    Seating Charts
    Volume

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • Curriculum
    • Digital Team Resources
    • Zen Classroom
    • The Universal Refugee Experience
    • Free-Verse Poetry
    • Transition Week
    • Unconscious Bias
    • Short Story 1
    • Food Chains
    • Short Story 2
    • Murder Mystery
    • Wrapup
    • Extra Units >
      • 10:00 ELA Activities
      • COVID-19 Journal Project
      • Inquiry-Based Research
      • Short Story 3
      • TED Talk Extra Credit
    • Professional Development >
      • Co-Teaching Seminar
      • ORID Data Protocol
      • FSU CCLS / Next Gen
      • Google PD
      • UnSelfie: Book Study >
        • Empathy Lessons
      • Teaching in a Middle School
      • Backwards Design
  • Skills
    • Write >
      • Tools
      • Writing Process >
        • Informational Writing Process
        • Creative Writing Process
      • Differentiation
    • Read >
      • Tools
      • Process
      • Differentiation
    • Web Design >
      • Google Sites Tutorials
  • Assess
    • Learning Standards >
      • Common Core Learning Standards
      • Next Gen Standards
    • Writing Rubrics >
      • 4-Point Essay Rubric >
        • 4-Point Rubric Grade Converter
        • 4-Point Peer Evaluation
      • Short Story Rubric
      • Poetry Rubric
      • 2-Point, Short-Answer Question Rubric
    • Classwork Grading
    • Project-Based Learning >
      • Oral Presentation Rubric
      • Web-Design Rubric >
        • Web Design Peer Evaluation Form
    • Data >
      • Team Average Data
      • 4-Point Writing Data
    • State Test Preparation >
      • Questar State Test Simulator
      • Questar Informational Video
    • STAR Testing >
      • STAR Testing Software
      • STAR Testing Directions
      • Self Reflection
    • Final Exam >
      • Final Exam Multiple Choice
      • Extended Response Options >
        • Extended Response
        • Transitioning and Expanding ENL
        • Entering and Emerging ENL
    • Karp-Evaluation
    • Assessment as Process
  • FRED
    • Syllabus Week >
      • EDU 276 Syllabus Section 1
      • EDU 276 Syllabus: Section 2
      • Syllabus But Prettier
      • Syllabus Week Resources
      • Grade Calculators >
        • Midterm Calculator
        • End of Semester Calculator
    • Assessment Technology >
      • Assessment Technology Weekly Resources
      • Assessment Technology Project Page >
        • SLP Assessment Project Page
      • Forms Video Tutorials
      • Assessment Technology Rubric
    • Digital Field Trip >
      • Digital Field Trip Weekly Resources
      • Digital Field Trip Project Page
      • Prezi Video Tutorials
      • Digital Field Trip Rubric
    • Lesson Plan >
      • Lesson Plan Weekly Resources
      • Lesson Plan Project Page
      • Lesson Plan Rubric
    • Digital Portfolio >
      • Digital Portfolio Weekly Resources
      • Digital Portfolio Project Page
      • Weebly Video Tutorials
      • Digital Portfolio Rubric
    • Technology Reflection >
      • Technology Reflection Project Page
      • Technology Reflection Rubric
    • Tech Tools
    • Course Evaluation Data
  • Me
    • The Interdisciplinary Educator Blog
    • Tour my Classroom
    • Educational Philosophy
    • Contact