SETTING THESAURUS

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CLASSROOM



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HELPFUL TIP:

Settings should always be chosen with care. Consider the emotion you want your viewpoint character to feel and how setting choices, weather elements, and symbolism might build a specific mood in the scene, create tension and conflict, or even raise the stakes.
SIGHTS:
Partially erased whiteboards at the front of the room with a ledge along the bottom to hold markers and dry erasers
The teacher's desk (with a computer and printer, a garbage can, a pencil sharpener, lesson plans, file folders and papers, a coffee mug, knickknack gifts from previous students, a desk calendar, a stapler, office supplies)
A tile floor with small bits of classroom litter (pencils and crayons, paper scraps, pencil-top erasers, mulch from the playground, stickers, snack crumbs)
Bulletin boards decorated with art displays or special projects
Plastic cups of flower seedlings lining the windowsill
Books crammed on a bookshelf
Rows of student desks with scratched surfaces
Desks filled with supplies and personal items (pencil boxes, textbooks, journals and notebooks, stray pencils and erasers, tissue packets, balled-up tissues, hair bands and clips, small toys)
Painted foam planets and constellations hanging from the ceiling
Hooks for backpacks and coats
A sink with soap and a dispenser of brown paper towels
Cupboards filled with the teacher's supplies (art materials, textbook manuals and workbooks, math manipulatives, office supplies)
A stack of puzzles
An electric pencil sharpener
Pencil shavings and dust on the floor
A computer or learning pad at the back of the room
A lost and found box
A wall clock
A fish tank or class pet cage
Visual aids and posters
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SOUNDS:
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SMELLS:
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TASTES:
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TEXTURES AND SENSATIONS:
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POSSIBLE SOURCES OF CONFLICT:
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PEOPLE COMMONLY FOUND IN THIS SETTING:
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SETTING NOTES AND TIPS:
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SETTING DESCRIPTION EXAMPLE:
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TECHNIQUES AND DEVICES USED:
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DESCRIPTIVE EFFECTS:
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