Bright Ideas: A Rug....in 5th Grade!

When I tell people that I have a rug in my 5th grade classroom, they look at me as if I suddenly sprouted two heads. "What do you mean a rug? Like the kind the little kids sit on? What could you possibly do with a rug with FIFTH graders????"

What I do with my rug is simple....everything. The rug is a place we regularly use in my class. I pull small groups to the rug. Kids work in partners or triads. When they need to get closer to the board, they sit there. When reviewing Calendar, or reading a story in our basal, the students come to the rug. The rug is used in my classroom 2 or 3 times a day. I honestly don't know how I would survive without it!

The next thing people usually say is, "How do you fit the rug in your room with all those kids?" (because we all know that the upper grades are overflowing with children...another post for another day) It all boils down to space planning. I had 36 children in my room a few years ago and still had the room for a rug. I did have to give up the kidney table...but that is OK! I used the rug, had the kids bring clipboards, and we all sat in a circle to work. I never once felt like I was slighting my children of a small group experience because of the lack of a table. I just used the rug space instead!

So the next time you are planning your upper grade room, don't forget to include a rug. You will thank me for it later :)

Want to read some more bright ideas? Head on over to Mrs. Albanese's Kindergarten Class to read about displaying daily writing in your classroom.

And then you can hop on over to 130 of my other friends....all of whom have some great ideas that you can implement in your own classrooms tomorrow!
An InLinkz Link-up
An InLinkz Link-up