“Your room is an introduction to yourself”- Wong, p.112
When you go a movie theater, the first thing you do inside the theater is find the best seat. You students will go through this same motion when they enter your classroom. It is important to make sure your seating arrangement gives the students a good vantage point for learning, but unlike the movies, your classroom is not for entertainment.
Students need to be actively learning and engaged, so it is vital that your seating arrangement presents itself for those opportunities. Having a seating arrangement assigned to each student tells them, that you care about where they sit, their performance in the classroom, what you expect of them, and that you are ready to begin. It is a sign of positive expectations.
Ex) Before class time, give each seat a number. As your students enter the classroom, tell each student what their pre-assigned desk number is, and where they may find it. This communicates that you have prepared for their arrival, and it is an excellent way to keep attendance without wasting class time to call out names.