Classroom Reveal - 2getherWeAreBetter Linkup


http://luckylittlelearnerstestblog.blogspot.com/2015/07/september-2nd-test-blog-link-up.html

Click on the banner to join in on this fun linkup!  

I must say I am pretty happy with how my classroom has turned out this year.  That being said...I know I will change it at least a bit next summer.  I have never had my classroom look the same two years in a row and I'm sure neither have you!  We actually started the first week of August, so some of the pictures are from this summer before kiddos and some are once school had already started as each weekend I changed a few things once I had gotten to know this years class and what would/wouldn't work for them.  Some of these pictures show parts of my bulletin boards that I explained in more detail in this post.  If there is something you wanted to know where it came from or questions you had that I don't answer here, be sure to check back there!

This is the showcase board outside of our classroom.  Each student has their number on an apple that is attached to a clothespin.  They can hang up any piece or combination of pieces of their work here to show off!  The kids love having a say in what they get to put out.  To start I always put our second grade goals that we write at the beginning of the year.  This picture was taken pretty early on so there isn't a lot out there yet!

Next up is our Monster Club board!  I know I had this board in my other post as well but I just wanted to show how many students had already taken part!  My class is directly in the middle.  By week 3 of school I already had 12 kiddos who did extra work and made the monster club!  As of today one of my students is only one star away from reaching the hall of fame already!  I am super pumped about this!  (Yes...I said pumped...)

This is what the setup of my desks look like at the moment.  This is the third setup this year already.  It is a tough class and I kept playing around with different formations to see what worked best for them.  This seems to be the winner for now!  The group bins in the middle hold their "In Progress" folders we use for work that we have not finished yet or will keep referring back to.  This includes things such as their SuperSpeed Math, Word Collectors, and other unfinished work.  I also keep their Reader's Response Journals and dry erase boards in these bins.  Next to them we have the group pencil bin for when students need a new pencil.  I am very structured and only let students sharpen in the morning so I do not want them wandering the room to find a new pencil.  I do not have supply crates on my groups like many teachers.  My students all have a pencil box in which they keep their supplies in their desk.  Each year I buy extra to ensure all of my students have a place for their things.  This is extra important this year as their computers are now housed in their desks without cases!  Eek!

These area few images from our family room.  I am LOVING my new organization of my classroom library into topics/genres instead of levels.  The kids seem to have a much easier time finding books they want to read quickly!  Which is definitely a good thing considering how many books I have.  My green chair is where I sit while reading to them or doing a CAFE mini-lesson.  My kids get to sit there during Read to Self when they are Student of the Week.  My calendar area looks so bare!  Now I have the students names under their birthday months and we have been in school for 4 weeks already!  These counters also house some important items for the kids.  Their book boxes, the book hospital, pencil sharpening stations, and my Check for Understanding checkmarks are located here.

If you haven't noticed already my room has enormous everything.  Enormous bulletin boards and enormous storage.  I love that they utilized every inch possible, but I must say for this short teacher, constantly getting out my stepladder or borrowing a ladder can get cumbersome.  But...yes I am lucky!  The students have numbers on their closets so I don't have to change them each year.  There is also room for me to store manipulatives on the top shelf of their closets.  To be honest a lot of the top cabinets are empty.  I'm a bit of a minimalist and if I don't use it, it's gone!  By the door I store my lunch in the room passes as well as my bathroom chart.  The area by the sink houses our clipboards and Tigger Talk.  This is an idea I edited from Miss DeCarbo!  It is also where we keep our class pet.  It's a little hard to see, but he is a fake goldfish.  We are not allowed to have pets in our classroom so my mother bought me the next best thing as a joke.  And the kids love it!  Each year they vote on a name for him and then I use him as our whole class positive behavior system.  Whenever the class as a whole does something great, the bowl gets a scoop of water.  (Yes, he's a magic fish who doesn't need water.)  Once the fishtank is full, we have a celebration!

My teacher desk is basically only in use when planning without students.  This area houses my filing cabinet filled with my unit plans.  I also have any teacher resources I use back here including lots of picture books I use to teach my lessons or as read alouds.  I am a Tigger and tiger fanatic so there are lots of stuffed animals filling the tops of my shelves.  Students can buy the chance to have a stuffed animal with them for the day as part of my store on Fridays.

This area is quite different than years past.  Normally this is where my computer cart is housed.  However this year our wonderful (very secondary minded) head administrators decided our elementary students (K-4) should take home their iPads/Macbooks every single day...chargers included.  Not that our entire school has internet at home...but um...yeah.  So at the moment I have stolen a few kids chargers (as we won't have extras except for my personal one for 27 students) since I am meeting with their parents this week to discuss responsible use and consequences for breaking the computers before they get to start taking them home.  In our school K and 1 have iPads while 2-4 have Macbook Airs.  This table provides me a place for kids to sit while their computers are charging, bins for turning things in, and a place for their lunch hexagons to go before they put them in the chart each morning.

My small group table was currently half set up for Meet the Teacher night in this picture.  However, this is where I meet with small groups during Reading Block or Reading Success/Intervention time.  Last year I purchased stools from Ikea.  I love them!  We have large classes and it was impossible for me to fit enough students around the table with our old chairs.  These are super cheap!  However, I had to replace a few this summer after coming back from maternity leave to broken stools so they may not last too long when kids are rough with them.  On the back counter you can also see part of our homework folders (post on that later), math center bins, and their mailboxes.  These shelves are where I store all of my small group items as well as the students coin boxes and store items.

Whew!  I think that is it for now!  For a more detailed look at my bulletin boards and the front of my room be sure to check back on my last #2getherWeAreBetter post!


post signature

No comments:

Post a Comment