5 Must-Have Visuals in my First Grade Classroom
Visuals in a primary classroom are a NEED! Environmental print is so helpful for young learners. Clear, easy to read print paired with distinct visuals is something I have always made sure is abundant in my room. When you teach and model the expectations for students explicitly with visuals (and hang those visuals up and refer to them often), your classroom management will fall into place seamlessly. Read below to see the 5 most important visuals that are referred to DAILY in my room.
School Expectation Visuals
I use these visuals to explicitly teach student expectations in each area of our school (lunch, hallway, centers, partner work, sitting on the rug, quality work, etc). I refer to these every day of the year. They include clear, easy to understand visuals and words for kinders and firsties.
Rug Sitting Expectations FREEBIE
I like referring to this visual each time we sit on the rug together because it gives much more inclusive options for ways to sit that still honor other student’s personal space (not just the old school “criss-cross-applesauce”).
Visual Direction Cards
These classroom expectation visuals help set clear and easy to understand directions for your students. Just print these cards, stick magnets on the back, and display them on your board in the correct order before sending students off to do any activity! I review step-by-step directions before any task given to my students with these visual direction cards so that they know what they should be doing at all times in the classroom.
Literacy and Math Center Visuals
While teaching and modeling the different literacy and math centers that we do in the classroom, I make sure that I have a visual to pair with each one so that students know what is expected of them from start to finish at that station. After teaching and modeling each center with the visual, I keep the visual hung in the center area so that students see it each day while they gather their center materials.
Let me know if you use any of these visuals in your classroom! I would love to know how they are working for you and your littles!
