Hi, friends! The time has arrived to show you my first home classroom. ๐ There are still a few things that need to happen before next Tuesday (name tags, team buckets, and iWrite pockets), but the room is definitely kid and family ready for our Open House this Thursday!!!! I am SO thrilled to show off my first classroom….it’s hard to believe this is real life – eeekkkkk ๐
Here was my blank canvasโฆ
So, what do you think?? Different enough, right?! ๐ Now, letโs take a look at the different spaces in the room! Weโll start with the teacher area/guided reading table.
So, this is my little teacher area and I am in love. Since I am in a tiny room, I 86-ed my desk for the yearโฆ At first I was thrilled and then, I went through all the stages of grief- ha! Now, Iโm in the acceptance phase and Iโm very happy there. Mr. Phillip (our custodian) snagged a kidney table for me, and then I picked up a roll of dry erase adhesive paper from School Specialty, spent AN ENTIRE afternoon tracing and cutting circles (because I am paranoid about that kind of stuff) and love them. ๐ Plus, I grabbed two storage containers for my โdeskโ area under the table and repainted a little shelf that was already in my room.
As we walk counter-clockwise around my room, you have a wall that I whipped up yesterday, and honestly, it might be my favorite part of my area โ our โWe believeโ wall. I really wanted to post classroom expectations (not rules), but didnโt want them to seem too โdo this and this and this because I am your teacher.โ So, I wrote down a list of expectations I have for myself and things I believe about the world (i.e. everyone deserves respect, learning is beautiful, the responsibility is ours, our words have power, etc). Then, to match my genre posters, I put them in Subway Art form and mounted them on colored cardstock. Truthfully, I really love them. Short, sweet, and easy to remember, these phrases have tremendous power. Within the first few weeks of school, weโll discuss (as a class) the implications of these statements asking โHow will my actions reflect these beliefs?โ
As we shimmy on over, we have student mailboxes with numbered binder clips that I made several weeks ago. And yes, I did have to add 4 mailboxes on top because why yes, I do have 30 kiddos. And yes, we are not talking about itโฆ.thank you. AND THEN WE HAVE MY SET OF IPADS!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOHOOOOOOO ๐ Yes, I am ridiculously thrilledโฆ.like whoa. Arenโt they beautiful????
As we continue our travels….we see a giant yellow partition that I covered in black paper! Killing trees is my favorite pasttime. But reallyโฆhave you ever tried to put up a 12-foot piece of black bulletin board paper by yourself and make sure itโs not crooked??? It takes forever and a giant ladder and a lot of tape and maybe a *few* tears. This home in our room will host our interactive class word wall – each week students will learn 8 new vocabulary words โ 2 teacher choice words and 6 student choice words (that students submit throughout the week). Then, throughout the week students practice using the words in modeled Kagan structures in class and with at-home practice activities!
Next to the word wall, I created a little space to mount anchor charts on. I wanted to make sure not to exclude big or small ones (because letโs be honestโฆsometimes a computer-printed anchor chart will have to do), so I gave myself a variety of options โ big horizontal, big vertical, 2 small vertical, and 2 small horizontal charts!
Here is an overview of the library so you can put it all together in your mind {genre posters, book bin labels, rolling cart drawers}! To see more pictures of our classroom library, check out this post that is devoted just to this space. ๐
Directly across from our nonfiction shelves (on the opposite wall), we have our books-in-a-series shelves I found it did not work putting these books on the non-fiction/fiction shelves because they would get separated from one another and they were difficult to find. We added them to shelves I purchased at Target and they were organized by the author’s last name. (Note – after our last Donor’s Choose project of graphic novel series was funded, I had to move my teacher binders and replace them with books! :))
You also see my bulletin board above the bookcase which includes genre posters that weโll review the first week of school. The posters will act as a visual reminder to students about the different categories of the books they should be reading throughout the year (based on The Book Whisperer). On the far right you see running list of โWords to Knowโ that weโll cover in our first unit together. Through the year, Iโll switch out the words. I wanted to go ahead and have them up for Open House so parents will know what we will be learning the first few weeks!
Also, you might notice writing on the side of my filing cabinet! No, I did not defile school property, but I did cover the side in black butcher paper and purchased a silver sharpie and added a magnet to the cap. This will be our classroomโs โFavorite Book Quotesโ area. As students are reading their books, they will look for the โjust perfectโ quote to include on the board. I just finished up The One and Only Ivan, and had to start our class out. BEST BOOK EVER.
(1) Bathroom Pass โ a โclip onโ alternative to the germy handheld pass. You can grab the pass for free here.
(2) Locker Tags โ I made little iPads for locker tags and added magnet on the back (so they can easily be changed around)!
(3) The Great Divide โ Thatโs rightโฆmy desks donโt touch. I know; itโs horrible. I thought about staggering them so they do touch but it sent me into convulsions, so I opted for the great divide. My kiddos are going to have to be well trained in maintaining the Great Divideโฆ.and I am not even kidding.
(4) Teacher Hoarders – Last week on my Facebook Page I asked, โWhat does one do with 91 rolls of paper towels?โ I still have no idea.
(5) Filing Cabinets – So, as a new teacher I have 0 files, so I am putting all my file cabinets to use. They store old vocabulary programs, sets of books for literature circles, dictionaries, scholastic materials, and oodles of other items! I love it because it keeps my classroom shelves clutter free โ woohoo!
Opening a classroom has been as awesome and fun and exhausting as I thought it would be, and I absolutely, positively cannot wait for my 5th graders to come โ 7 days!!!! ๐ Woohoo โ I am so super pumped! ๐
I love your room ! It is so neat and organized
Thank you, Miss Nelson. I am absolute in love with your room. When I think of the epitome of a black/white/yellow room, it's yours! ๐
Your room looks wonderful! I love your book quote wall. I am trying to figure out where to put one in my room!
Hunter's Teaching Tales
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Thanks, Bethany! Even if you have a smaller space, you can switch out the paper every few weeks. I cannot wait to introduce the space to my students. ๐
I love your we believe wall…I think I may have to add that to my room!
Rosie
Thanks, Rose. It is one of my favorite spaces in the room. ๐
Your room looks awesome! I am excited to hear about your year…love your enthusiasm ๐ What lucky kiddos to have you!
Lisa
http://fluentinfourth.blogspot.com/2013/08/helloit-me.html
Oops! Pasted the wrong link.
Fluent in Fourth
Haha – no worries! I do that all the time and feel absolutely silly every time. ๐ I am cannot wait for school to start. Eeeeekk – I am SO excited. ๐
Congratulations for creating such a warm and inviting space for teaching. Looks wonderful!
Your room looks fantastic. I love your library and word wall. I can't wait to see what you do with 91 empty paper towel rolls once you find a use for all those paper towels ๐
What a fun room! I am SO impressed with how organized you are. It always takes me a while to get everything pulled together and you're finished with seven days to go! WOOHOO! Thanks so much for sharing ๐
XO, Kelly Anne
Appleslices4th.blogspot.com
P.S. I LOVE teaching 5th grade and know you will too… enjoy those kiddos!!
Thanks, Kelly Anne! I am really nervous about teaching 5th grade, but 5th grade bloggers have been SO encouraging. I am actually really excited now to be in intermediate. ๐ Thank you!!!
What an awesome looking room! I love your subway art!
Pam
Diary of a Second Grade Teacher
Your room looks AWESOME! I wish I was half as organized as you! No one could possibly guess that you are a first year teacher! WOW!
Haha – thanks, Angela! I just really hopes it stays this organized. We'll see…. ๐
I love your room!!! The subway art looks perfect!!! The yellow and black look awesome!!!
Bridget
Literacy Without Worksheets
Your room looks great! Nice job on the bathroom passes!
Megan
Mrs. Wheelerโs First Grade
Mrs. Wheeler TpT
Thanks, Megan! Originally, I made a more passive aggressive pass, but decided to tone it down. I really hope the clip works well…we'll see. ๐
Looks great! I love the black paper. It makes everything pop.
Danielle
Carolina Teacher
Looks great! Love all your quotes above your SMARTboard ๐
Amanda
My Shoe String
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Your room looks fabulous! My favorite is your reading area! The silver border and genres posters really stand out. Thanks for sharing!
Alison
Rockin' and Lovin' Learnin'
Thank you, Alison! I am so glad you stopped by ๐
I read The One and Only Ivan last year to my third graders and they were spellbound. To top it all off, one of our thirdsters had visited the Atlanta zoo within the last couple of years and had actual pictures of him! So, of course in our next computer lab time, we had to look him up. He unfortunately died about a year ago, but he was very old. We live in Oregon and were shocked to find out that his time in the mall was spent up in Washington state. That prompted all kinds of digging by my students and they really connected to him on a personal level. With your wonderful set of iPads, you could easily do some research on Ivan, but be sure to do it AFTER you have completed the book – you don't want to spoil the ending! Good luck in your first year!
Wow, wow, wow! That is such a cool connection, Megan. I had no idea, and cannot wait to do my own investigating. Thank you! ๐
I am so impressed with your room! It looks fabulous!! ๐
Is that lockers I see??? Oh, how I miss lockers. You really don't find those in many of the schools around here. Your room looks great. Good job.
Jamie
teachingtidbit.blogspot.com
Your room looks great! I love how it turned out, and I can't wait to borrow your "Favorite Book Quotes" idea!
We read The One and Only Ivan last year. It is one of the best ever! My kids adored it, and I ended up blogging about it a lot.
Good luck and thanks for sharing!
Tina
Flamingos and Butterflies
You're a first year teacher? Okay, that makes me want to crawl under a rock and hide in shame. Does organization just come natural for you? Because, after 10 years, I still have to "make" myself get organized so I can stay organized.
I bought your genre subway art and I'm trying to decide how to use them now that I'm no longer a reading teacher. My library is teeny tiny now. and I have no wall space.
Deniece
Your room looks great! I love the yellow and black. It makes it looks so cohesive.
Swimming into Second
Love your classroom! I am also a first year 5th grade teacher, but your room looks much more put together than mine ๐ I love you passes and your library organization! I will definitely be borrowing some of your ideas for next year.