When I look back at both of those internships, I notice that my K-5 classroom had a very fun and open environment more suited to a fourth grade setting whereas my 6-12 classroom had a more serious and focused environment suited to an intensive reading setting. My personal teaching style is more open and fun, and I wholeheartedly believe in the importance of student interaction, which is why I prefer the clusters over the rows or U-shapes.
It is important to pay attention to four key things when arranging the classroom: student view, easy traffic, access to materials, and teacher view. The teacher's desk needs to be away from the instructional area, located someplace where all of the students can be seen when the teacher is at their desk, kept private, and facing in such a way that the computer screen is not available to students. Learning centers (listening, writing, science, math, art, etc) need their own space and can be more informal with an area rug, small table, and/or special seating. Computer workstations need to placed around outlets with the rest of the classroom being planned according to the workstation location, and the teacher should be able to see the computer screens in order to make sure the students are on task. Make sure to have some form of a schedule when using computer workstations. Items on the classroom walls can include a chalkboard and/or whiteboard and/or SmartBoard, a clock, a list of classroom rules, a daily schedule, a message board, a calendar, and a poster or two about emergency escape routes, as well as other items. Storage space and supplies need to have all of the materials identified that are used in class, such as dictionaries, magazines, newspapers, and maps. Make sure that there is enough of each item for everyone and that the rest/extra goes into storage when it is not needed.
Classroom organization and arrangement requires a lot of thought to be done properly.