ole is the fact that there are no permanent walls. The temporary partitions need to be replaced by permanent walls. This will not only solve the problem of hearing other classes, but the students will no longer be distracted by students walking past their "doorway".
             Second, the classroom materials are very disorganized. Mrs. Stout's desk is piled with papers and she cannot do any productive work at her desk. This is not a very appropriate modeling situation for the students. If the teacher is disorganized, then the students may feel that organization in unimportant. Also, the shelves that contain math manipulative and other materials appear very messy. I would suggest a little more organization in this area as well.
             Finally, I would consider allotting some space for a single person to sit and complete work. This is due to the fact that the students are in groups all day long. Their desks are set up in cooperative learning groups, the teacher and her aids work with the students in groups and the students may want a little bit of extra space. Perhaps several desks could be set up along one of the partitions that way if a student is having difficulty concentrating on an assignment because his/her group members are talking they would have somewhere to go.
             There are several designated areas within the classroom. The library is one example of such an area. The library does not offer a student a place to sit, but does house a wide range of authors and levels of difficulty. There is also a designated area for magazines, which houses almost exclusively National Geographic. Other designated areas are the supply shelves and the game shelves. There are no designated areas for specific student work, such as a correction table.
             The designated areas within the classroom could definitely benefit from a few changes. The library, for instance, could use some pizzazz. There could be some posters about read...