Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Classroom update

I went  back to work in my classroom today and made a lot of progress. 




I found a pack of square cork boards on sale for around 5 dollars at target and decided to cover them with scrapbook paper. The paper fit perfectly so it didn't even require any cutting. I think they look great and really brighten up my desk area. 



I added some pictures and the school calendar. 



I also covered my desk with wallpaper. I used a hot glue gun for that. 


Here is a close up of my office hours sign. These are times when I will be able to meet with parents/students or help them with tutoring. I actually may add another day to it if I feel enough people will use it. I'm also at school early almost every day. 


 There are 8 groups and each desk has a number on it that is one of 4 colors. For example, the desks in group 4 all have a 4 on them but they are different colors. I made it that way for assigning random seats and when I need just one person from a group to do something. I like the desks like this so I can move them apart for tests easily.I also lined up the desks so that a person was seated between two heads, to make sure they could see. 


The view from the front of the room. I hated that big, white wall So I hung up a plastic table cloth and a piece of fabric and put a boarder around them to look like bulletin boards. I ran out of the duct tape boarder so I will have to finish that one later. The one on the right will be a used to display anchor charts or possibly student work. The one on the left will be the classroom word wall.  





I think this is good for a middle school teacher-student conference area. Hopefully while other students are working I can pull a few aside here. I think it could be much less intimidating for them here. Also, I may find a few of those comfortable folding chairs to store behind my desk and kids could work in groups here as well. 


Next to that is the student work area. There is a seat where two students can work. Also, I have my Bazinga bulletin board. Here I can post current events, jokes, quotes, or newspaper clippings about the students. 



This is a view of my student center. The table is for student supplies/information and for turning things in. Next to it is the bookshelf that will hold the classroom sets that we are currently reading. On top is a classroom library checkout binder.( More on that later.) I also have a calendar and an absent crate where students find any work/handouts from when they were absent. Next to that is our measly little library. I hope to have it grow  over the year, but as a first year teacher, I don't really have the funds for that yet. :( 

These are the tubs that hold the classroom supplies for each group. If were are working on something, such as interactive notebooks the kids will grab their group's tub of supplies. I have never had the students sit in groups before, but I feel like it will work for my style of teaching. If it doesn't work I will probably just try to separate the supplies by type instead. 



Here is where students can find any work they missed. I also added a lost and found crate because I know that will be full by the end of the first week. 



 This is the absent binder. I'll file any handouts/assignments by date and then write them on the calendar . At the end of the month I'll file them in a binder for that month so I can reuse them next year and so I can get a copy again if I need to.

I couldn't find the matching contact paper and all of the cute stuff is expensive, so I bought wrapping paper. We will see how it holds up. I think it looks good on the shelves though and I like how it matches my desk. 



It's actually a whiteboard calendar and the small post its fit perfectly. I'll write assignments here then after the month is up the assignments and any handouts from the absent crate will be filed in a binder for that month. I know I can write smaller on paper, so I put post-it notes up. The small ones fit perfectly. Also, I put paper clips in the chart. They hold paper without it having to be sticky, since I doubt post-its will actually last all month. I may also start putting birthdays up and school events. 




Here I can post announcements and write down the homework that is due for each week. It will also be on the calender, but I feel this is a good weekly reminder.

I actually updated the homework board since taking that picture. I just hate my handwriting. I probably will redo these signs too.


I also put the school calendars in the student area.


 Notice how each sign has an abbreviation under it? These will be what I will be labeling the books with eventually. I do wish I had one for autobiography and memoir.



I thought a theme would be too childish for middle school but I love frog stuff so I picked up a few from goodwill for the bookshelf. Hopefully my collection will grow over time.


I've labeled each  book with my name and most of them also have the genre. 





I made this area because when I let kids leave the room I tend to forget where they went.  This way I can glance up and see automatically how many kids are out and where they are at all times, and not have to remember. This way if someone calls for one of the kids who are out or if there is a fire alarm I won't really have to think on the spot about it. This way I can replace the sign out sheet each day and file it. That way I will always have a record of who has been where/when/how often. 

I decorated the clipboard with scrapbook paper and washi tape. :

Each desk has a number that represents what group they are in. They also have a color. There is a method to my madness. -I'll explain soon.


The method to my madness: If I want to assign seats randomly, everyone picks a card. If I want large groups of 4, I group them by colors. If I want smaller groups, like how they are sitting I group them by numbers. If I need a random volunteer I pull a card. Normally I have done it with Popsicle sticks, but with nearly 120 kids that's a lot of work.





1 comment:

Mayra Garza said...

I really like a lot of your ideas... too bad most of the pictures would not load...