I posted the beginnings of a classroom, but had not been able to post the working one! I have had a tumultuous start of school, to say the least. However, with lots of support from my fellow teachers/friends :) I have managed to stay afloat.
On to the pictures!!!
My balloon wreath I made last summer welcomes all. Thanks, Sissa, for the idea!
A view from the door.
And another.
And another.
This is my "I CAN" board. I usually make one I CAN for the week, but it may change daily. I liked the furry friends clubhouse when I saw it, not knowing exactly how I would use it at the time. The background is silver wrapping paper. I really like it, although in the picture it may seem a little distracting.
The FACE of a good reader, instead of CAFE. I chose this after reading a Florida teacher's blog. (Sorry i can not link it here. I did not save the site last summer when I read about every teacher blog out there! Or so it seemed.) The reflective paper, again, is silver wrapping paper. I did that last year to coordinate with my silver metallic lockers. This year I repeated it because the children loved to see their reflections on the board. Since I post strategies of a good reader here, take student pictures, and post them next to that strategy when I "catch" them using it, I thought the reflective paper was a nice "accident" for this particular board! I believe students (people) do become what they are told. There is power in words, and I want all of my students to see themselves as a good reader!
The new lockers!
Yes! My silver was not easy, but worth it! Last year, I was able to spray paint metallic silver. This year, I could not use it, nor could I use oil-based. The water-based metallic paints were expensive, but I knew I had to be in this room all year! It was worth it for me! I now have the "I DID!" board on the lockers. I'll try to post a pic later. Basically, if students want to post their work, they do it here on a clip with their name! This is a continuation of the "I CAN" wall. After they show they can, they share it on the "I DID!" wall.
I also take pictures of the students' best "listening look". We practice muscle memory during the first few days/weeks. I call for a LISTENING LOOK, to which all the student practice looking like our funny friend on this poster. It is a great reference later in the year, to remind students that I have proof they can give a listening look! They benefit from the visual that they can do it! Well, we all benefit! :)
One of many behavior modification tools. Tables 1-4 have an assigned Mr. Potato Head. The teacher has the bottom one. We start with just the feet. During the days, I challenge tables to work together to be the "first" or the "best" or the ____. The winning table gets to add a piece of Mr. Potato Head. The reward for being the first to assemble him gets _____. (a predetermined reward....10 mins. free computer time, trip to the Treasure Chest, etc) If the teacher wins...and each time a table wins...all pieces are removed and we start over.
I had originally planned to keep the front wall white, as I mentioned in a previous post. However, the wall was in pretty bad shape, so I used the gray that was the undercoat for the lockers.
Thanks to my dear sister, the organizer, for help in getting my math manipulatives in coordinated, proper form! This part of the room uses my baskets and tubs in primary colors. For some reason, I think that suits Math! Who knew math was primary colored? Now you know! :)
The calendar, days in school count, schedule and "housekeeping" lists are kept just beside the math shelves. The colorful, numbered pockets on the wall below the marker tray will be used for whole brain rule practicing....later.
My helpers for the day...again, funny friends. I used "teddy bear helpers" for so long, I still tend to slip into calling for the teddy bear helpers. Now, I announce the "friends" for the day during our morning song....door friend, floor friend, plants friend, leader friend...I enjoy referring to our classroom as a friendship clubhouse, where we are all friends!
I loved this idea, using each students' assigned numbers and keeping up with their whereabouts. As they exit the room, they will move their numbers down to show their destination. Truth is, I haven't started using it yet; mostly because we haven't started traveling many places. Only a couple of visits to the nurse so far! Wow! When RTI classes begin, as well as AR and reading groups, I think I will find it useful!
I have not dedicated so much space or as many materials to a writing center before. I've added this file to provide students the opportunity to keep their work handy for revisions, self assessments, and continued work. So far, students have enjoyed filing their papers each time they leave the writing station! I think I have a "thing" about reflections. I hung the mirror here with those positive words, again, knowing that we will not all reach the same level of writing maturity during the year, but believing progress is enhanced through the power of positive thinking!
Here you can see the writing center in its earlier stage. I added plastic tablecloths cut into strips for that corner, as well. I had one of my students tell me the first week of school that he really liked my room. I thanked him and asked him what he liked about it. He pointed to the ceiling at the writing corner. :)
The red steps were built last year for my SmartBoard, which was a little tall for my students. With the move this year, our new SmartBoard is just right for us, freeing up the steps! At first I had planned to use the steps and pillows for a reading corner. As the room developed, I felt it would be best for the writing corner. This way, they can access the word wall.
The word wall is has wrapping paper for the background, again, with the silvery effect. Muffin foils and black letters coordinate. Different ribbons hang and clothespins attach the words. When I found the silver border, I decided to use it for the words. I cut off the scallop, glued a piece to the clothespin, and clipped it to the ribbons. It lends itself to being a manipulative word wall. Students can unclip, copy the word, and replace it when they're done. So far, nobody has used it like that, but during Work on Writing, several have turned to check out how to spell a word. I think I like it!
The Gathering Place. The leader and door friend get to sit in the tent anytime during the day when we sit on the floor. The beanbag is for the caboose (yesterday's leader).
Birthday Bulletin Board. The Black wrapping paper helps the colors to pop. It also helps to neutralize some of the colors. Silver and black are my backdrops to a colorful palette.
There were a lot of birthdays in August! The crazy straws were a hit! The tags were a find from Mighty Dollar in the scrapbooking section. The straws were a Mighty Dollar find, as well!
Our Word Work corner has the alphabet tiles. It is slightly different now, as I added storage in this corner.
Clothespins hot-glued to the wall, covered in scrapbook paper hold anchor charts on my orange wall.
Hopefully, more on WBT next time! Good night!
