Classroom Seating Chart Generator for Teachers

How to make a classroom seating chart

1. Choose a layout. Start from rows, pairs, groups of four or a U-shape, then add, remove or drag desks to match your room. The board and your desk mark the front, so “front row” means what it should.
2. Add your class. Paste names from your gradebook, Excel or Google Sheets, or import a CSV or Excel file. “Last, First” is turned around, and extra columns such as ELL become tags you can filter by.
3. Add your rules. Keep talkers apart, keep a support buddy next to the student who needs one, and put students who need to see or hear well in the front row.
4. Arrange or shuffle. Smart arrange seats everyone by your rules. Shuffle makes a fresh random chart that avoids last time’s neighbours, and any desk you lock stays exactly as it is.
5. Print it. Download a PDF with every student’s name on their desk and an A–Z list of who sits where, for you or a substitute. Letter or A4.

The example above is a class of 28 in six rows of single desks, with three pairs of students kept apart and two who need the front row. Use the buttons above it to see the same class in pairs, in groups of four or in a U-shape, then press Use this layout for your own class.

Rows, pairs, groups or a U-shape?

• Rows: everyone faces the board. Good for direct teaching and tests, and the easiest to keep students apart.
• Pairs: two desks side by side, ready for partner work, with a clear neighbour for each student.
• Groups of four: desks pushed together for group work. Everyone at a group counts as a neighbour.
• U-shape: desks around three sides of the room, facing in, for discussion. You can reach every student from the middle.

Switching layout keeps your class list and rules, so you can try a room both ways before moving any furniture.

Desks for 20 to 35 students

About 36 inches (90 cm) between rows of chairs is enough to walk through. Desks in the generator are drawn to scale in centimetres, so a crowded plan is a crowded room.

Separate talkers and seat students who need the front

• Keep apart: two students won’t sit side by side, one behind the other or in the same group.
• Keep together: a support buddy or a translator stays next to the student who needs them.
• Front row: for a tag such as “Needs front row”, for students with a vision or hearing need, or anyone you want close.
• Seat at specific desks: keep a student by the door or near your desk.

If the rules can’t all be met, for example three students who must all sit apart in a room of pairs, the generator says which rule and why, and never breaks one quietly.

A new seating chart every few weeks

Press Shuffle and every student gets a new seat, chosen at random within your rules. With Avoid last time’s neighbours on, it remembers who sat next to whom and keeps them apart next time. Lock a desk first if a student should stay where they are. Each shuffle can be undone.

Import your class list

Most gradebooks and student information systems can export a class roster to Excel or CSV. Import the file, or copy the names from a spreadsheet and paste them. A Name column, or First name and Last name columns, are all you need. Student ID, email and similar columns are skipped, and columns such as Group or ELL become tags.

Print a chart for a substitute

The PDF puts each student’s first name and initials on their desk, with the board and your desk drawn in, so anyone can match faces to seats. A second page lists every student A–Z with their desk number. Print at 100% (“Actual size”) on Letter or A4. See a sample made from the example above: Letter PDF or A4 PDF.

Student names stay on this device

There’s no account to create and nothing to install. Your class lists and charts are saved in this browser on this device, and the names aren’t uploaded to our server. To use a chart on another computer, download the plan file and open it there from My plans. Clearing this site’s data in your browser deletes saved plans, so keep a plan file of anything you need.

Elementary, middle and high school, and computer labs

Younger classes often sit at shared tables: add round or rectangular tables instead of desks. Middle and high school classes tend to use rows or pairs, with a new chart each grading period. For a computer lab, add single desks along the walls and rotate them to face the screens (select a desk and press R).

Frequently asked questions