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Set Up Your Classroom

Before School Starts

At a Glance Three anchor visuals—the Driving Question Board, Anchor Model, and Anchor Chart—will grow with your students all module long. Set aside wall space for all three before day one. 

PhD Science is built for student-driven, discussion-rich learning. Your classroom setup should support movement, collaboration, and visible student thinking. A few intentional decisions before school starts go a long way.

Room Arrangement
Lessons blend whole-class discussion, small-group investigations, and individual Logbook work. Consider flexible seating with clear pathways for movement between configurations—investigation stations, circle discussions, and partner work all happen in the same room.

Displays: Your Three Anchor Visuals
These three class-level displays are essential to the PhD Science experience. Reserve prominent wall space for all three and plan to grow them with student input throughout each module.

  • Driving Question Board: Organizes student questions generated from the anchor phenomenon. K–2: Begins with an Unanswered Questions area; a new column for answered questions is added at the end of each concept. Grades 3–5: Students help organize questions into categories that form the module’s concepts. Stays visible and actively referenced all module long.
  • Anchor Model: A class scientific model that students build, revise, and refine concept by concept. K: Teacher and students build together. Grades 1–2: Students develop individual models first, then the class model is built from student input. Grades 3–5: Individual models inform a large-format class model on chart paper or a smart board. Display it prominently—students return to it all module long.
  • Anchor Chart: A running class summary of foundational concepts. K–2: Written on sentence strips in a pocket chart (strips can be moved next to the Anchor Model to show connections). Grades 3–5: Recorded on large chart paper as students distill key science ideas. Post it, refer to it, refine it, and encourage students to do the same.

      Materials
      Common classroom supplies needed year-round: sticky notes, chart paper, pencils, whiteboard, and markers. K–2 teachers also need sentence strips and a pocket chart. Module-specific materials come from your kit—check the Module Overview for advance prep needed before lesson 1.

      Key Actions
      Reserve: Wall space for the Driving Question Board, Anchor Model, and Anchor Chart
      Gather: Common classroom supplies (sticky notes, chart paper, markers, whiteboard; sentence strips and pocket chart for K–2)
      Review: The Module Materials List, Module Overview Advance Materials Preparation, and Safety Guidance before students handle any investigation materials.
      Read: Beginning of the Year Routine Building | Article