Classroom Setup: Day 2

Today was VERY productive!!  Tomorrow will consist of assembling the bookcases, finishing organizing the books, putting titles on the bulletin boards, thinking of the best place to put science and social studies anchor charts, and some last minute tweaking to make it first-day ready! 

  The black wall will be used for the students to hang work they are proud of!  I am still figuring out what exactly to do with the area just to the right of the door.

 

Do not mind ALL the baskets... I decided to begin unpacking them before leaving this afternoon.



The front wall will be used for all literacy anchor charts as well as the word wall that the students will be able to access. 

This is going to be my math nook.  All anchor charts pertaining to our current learning (in math) will be posted on this wall.



 

Classroom Setup: Day 1

Let me begin this post by saying that school starts for teachers on August 12th.  As we all know, that first week is full of meetings and planning.  Only small classroom things need to remain on the to-do list at that point.  My husband and I close on our first home at the end of next week.  YIKES!  This leaves me with 3 more days to complete my classroom.  However, I am determined to do it in 2.  That's right... 3 days total to finish my classroom.  I wanted to post pictures of the process, because too often it seems that you see these amazing classrooms, but have no idea where to begin.  OR you begin to panic when you get started and your room looks like a hurricane came straight through the middle of it!  I chose to begin with organizing this year, because that was the part I wanted to do differently.

Am I the only one who arrives in my classroom on Day 1 rejuvenated, and with so much excitement, and then I spot it...

THE PILE of furniture, boxes, and miscellaneous items.  At this point... all of that rejuvenated excitement is replaced by "Oh my lawd, how will I ever get all of this done?!" 

When I find this pile, my first order of business is to sort out the classroom library books, and get them out of the way.  I know that the books are the very last thing that I need to put out.  Partially, because at the bottom of this pile... are my new bookcases waiting to be assembled.

This is at the end of Day 1.  Along the wall are the cabinets that are waiting to be assembled.

End of Day 1

End of Day 1

End of Day 1

Most of what I did today was organization, and finding places for things!  The next step... beautification, assembling bookcases, and organizing books!!! :)  Anticipating 2 more working days. 

Behavior Plan & Classroom Library Checkout Procedures

I LOVE when my students ask me to borrow a book for the evening!  It makes me realize I have passed my enthusiasm for reading onto the hearts of my students!  However,  I have a tough time keeping track of who has what, and making sure that it returns to our library.  I will post this on the side of our bookshelf for students to write their names and the title of their book.  They will only be able to do check books out of the classroom library during morning work or at the conclusion of their small group time.  They will then have to ask for my signature stating that the book was checked out and again when it is returned.  This is solely for taking books home.  The books they read during the school day can be pulled out and returned at will. 

Why am I changing my behavior system?  I had a difficult time last year managing the school wide rewards (giving tokens), adding flies to the jar (class reward), and moving students up/down the behavior chart.  I would move students up, and forget to give tokens which meant less school-wide rewards for the students.  The tokens can be cashed in for the quarterly PBIS celebrations or to pay for little treasures at the school store.  This year I plan to tie them all together to ease my brain and to benefit the children. 

 

How am I going to implement the system?  I have some cardboard treasure boxes that I finally have a use for!  Each student will decorate their "piggy bank" at the beginning of the school year.  The goal is for the students to earn money by working hard and following the PBIS matrix (posted on the left side of the calendar).  They will add or take away money based on their choices.  If they earn a token (school-wide system) from another teacher, they will cash it in for a nickel to add to their bank.  If another teacher catches one of my students not making wise choices, they will remove money from their bank. 

 

How will I notify the parents of their child's behavior?  The child will be responsible for counting his/her coins at the conclusion of every school day, and recording it in the appropriate day of the calendar.  I and the parent will initial this amount everyday to show that all parties are aware of the choices the child is making at school.

 

How will they be able to attend the school store/celebrations?  The celebration is worth 20 tokens, and if each token is worth a nickel... the students will be able to attend the celebration as long as they have at least $2 in their bank account by the conclusion of the quarter.  Additional money may be used to purchase items at the school store.

 

This will be a great way for the students to have additional practice with counting coins (major challenge in 1st), and identifying the current day on the calendar.  Lifelong skills!!  I am on a roll... more to come!

 

End-of-the-Year Preparation

It is with sad and happy tears in my eyes that I prepare for this group to move on to 2nd grade.  They have blessed me in so many ways with laughter, hugs, excitment, and teamwork. 

 They have learned to cooperate with each other in almost all situations.  They have learned to solve their own problems peacefully, because it is "not going to be peaceful if Miss Thomas/Mrs. Lewis does it!".  They have learned how to treat others.  We read "You are Special" by Max Lucado, and they have learned to try and not let the hurtful things people say stick to them. They traveled through the journey with me of getting engaged and married, and they showed so much excitment for both events!  I feel as though each of the 22 children in my class are my own, and I hate to see them go!

However, they are so ready for second grade, and I am going to try to keep posting things I am using to prepare for the end of the year.  Here is a poem that I wrote to them.  I am going to attach it to a collage of each of them holding a sign with a letter that makes up the statement Oh, The Places We'll Go!!! Ambitious, but I am hoping I will have the time to complete it!



The stories to get me through...

These stories are for the days (that we all have) that are not full of so much smiling, laughter, and childlike joy:

Story 1: My class enters the hallway from the cafeteria heading towards academic arts.  I realize that one of my more confident students was observing his reflection while showing varying emotions.  Out of the corner of my eye I noted he had a Spongebob type expression (wide eyed and mouth open) while snapping and pointing his fingers once at his reflection.  I approached him and said, "What are you doing, sir?"  I fully expected him to take his place in line and begin following our hallway procedures, but I should have considered his personality.  His response was, "Miss Thomas, I was tellin' myself I am lookin' gooooood!"  At this moment, I took my place and try to keep myself composed until passing my class to the next teacher.

Story 2: About mid-morning I look out into my wonderful class to see that all of them are steadily working on their writing.  I could not help but think, "How did I end up with a class of first graders who love writing SO much?"  Then, I spotted him... whistling and piloting his brand new paper air plane (engineered from his writing paper of course).  I called him over to my table to discuss work-on-writing procedures.  I said, "During this time we are working on our writing by getting our ideas on paper through pictures and words... here is a new piece of paper for you to get started."  He sat next to me at our conference table and told me that he did not know what to write about.  I instructed him to look around the room for ideas.  He looked around the room for what seemed like eternity or... 2 seconds, and spotted the container of jellybeans.  He said, "I don't know how to spell that word".  I reminded him of our work-on-writing procedures, and that he was to underline it if he was unsure how to spell it.  I then overheard him sounding it out... "Jo-ey-beans".  Looks like that will be a new nickname for the remainder of the year.

Story 3: Our class had just endured the entire Everyday Mathematics block, and was heading into Science.  I turned on what we call a wiggle song, and the children did the usual and jumped up to dance and sing to the song.  Suddenly, I got a whiff of something that belonged... well, not in the classroom.  I asked the student closest to me if they needed to use the restroom (thinking that they just had gas).  The response was, "Nope! I don't have to go... I just did!"

Prologue: I have a child in my classroom whose entrance to a room cannot go unnoticed.  Story 4:  We were mid-lesson this afternoon learning about the properties of water.  The children were very into the experiment of water taking the shape of the container it is poured into.  This highly entertaining child enters the classroom from using the restroom and (without a breath) shouts, "Miss Thomas, I had to poop and I couldn't but then I did and then I couldn't get it off and I thought I was going to have a heart attack but then I got it off."  (Side note: Your facial expression right now times 21... mmhm) 

Story 5: One of my children trips over their shoe laces, forgets to tuck in his shirt, and bumps into the person in front of him in line ALL on the way to recess. When he makes it out on the playground he approaches me and says that he has bad karma, and explains the situation.  When I explained to him what karma was... we agreed that what he actually had was bad luck.  At the end of recess he approached me and said, "Actually, Miss Thomas... I do have karma... I knocked over my neighbors folder this morning."  I LOVE the little teachable moments!

Week 2 and 3

Okay, so week 2 and 3 have officially passed.  What does that leave... 33 more? I am SO just kidding.  I absolutely love the children that I have the opportunity to work with this year.  We have practiced wanted behaviors for Read-to-Self, Read-to-Someone, and Work-on-Writing.  The children are doing a fabulous job with the expectations of each of these.  This week I introduced Read-to-Someone on Tuesday (the day after a long holiday weekend).  It was a struggle for my children to come up with the ideas of wanted behaviors, but when practicing they did it with ease.  By the end of the week I was able to have them try a half-and-half split.  Half of the students were doing read-to-someone while the other half were doing read-to-self.  When half of the allotted time for reader's workshop had passed I clapped twice and they switched.  Next week, I will be introducing Word Work and Listen-to-Reading.  Once these have been introduced the schedule will finally be on track to normalcy.  My goal for the upcoming weeks is to have 3 types of assessment per lesson that I teach, and use the results to drive my instruction.  I am going to keep it short, because it has been a LONG short week (as we had a school holiday on Monday).  See y'all in a week!

Week 1

As I sit down to figure out what I am going to do for Open House next week and to describe my first week in words... I am failing.  It was an absolutely AWESOME week!  I originally had 22 children on my roster, and 20 of them came to Meet and Greet the Friday before school began... for a Title I school I'd say thats pretty impressive.  I have 21 first graders now which is way better than many teachers across the state (from what I am hearing).  Each one brings so much to the environment of the classroom.  I have had a breakthrough with a student who has had difficulty at school in the past.  On day one when I asked him for his agenda book, I had to assure him that I was writing a good note to his mom before he would surrender it from his death grip.  Today, I had forgotten to sign it and he came up to me as we were walking out the door and said, "Miss Thomas!!! My agenda book!".  I know as teachers we can agree, but it really does not take much to make us get all ooey gooey inside.  The first day of school I began implementing The Daily Five, and the first day my students were determined that they were going to get settled for only 30 seconds before their lack of discipline (on the first day of school... imagine that) caused me to ring by bell and join together to review wanted and unwanted behaviors.  I am also proud to say that after only a week of implementation and practice of the "Read to Self" strategies, my student have already built their independent reading stamina up to almost 10 minutes!! Minor Celebration on my end.  They even know what it means to "build stamina".  I do have table place mats that I place around the room on the floor, and the students know that is a place they need to put their bottom (MAJOR help in making sure they choose a space where they can be successful).  I was a believer after reading the book, but I am DEFINITELY a believer now that I have seen the impact.  I can actually visualize painlessly pulling my students to do reading assessments in the upcoming weeks... painless for me at least. 

We have practiced, and practiced, and practiced walking in the hallway using the acronym Hands by your side, All eyes forward, Lips zipped, Low speed... and if we practice, and practice, and practice some more I think we will get it.  I used many of Julia Cook's books to set expectations.  I read Personal Space Camp and we discussed why it was important to have your own personal space.  I read My Mouth is a Volcano and we practiced raising our hands and waiting our turn to share our "very important words".  I read Bully B.E.A.N.S to show the importance of standing up to bullies, but also giving them a fresh start at the beginning of the year in case they have changed.  I also read Tattle Tongue and we created an anchor chart of the difference between tattling and telling the teacher something important.  One of my children was actually convinced that he was getting "tattle tongue", because his tongue began to itch after we read the book.  After much discussion of the credibility of this book one of my students came to the conclusion that a teacher read the book so it must be true and we better stop tattling... so, I am considering it a success. 

I am so looking forward to learning from and teaching each of these students.  They have already become a huge part of my life, and I know I will shed a few tears of motherly pride as I pass them on to the next teacher.

cute, Cute, CUTE notebook labels!

I found these on http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Chevron-Binder-Covers-editable-and-free.  It gives step-by-step instructions on how to get the font.  I am IN LOVE with these!  I created all of the binder covers that I thought I would use this year.

Prepared for Week One

There is no guarantee that this is everything I will use the first week, but these are a few things that I wanted to post to help me remember for next year.  I hope you find it helpful!

This will be displayed in my classroom next Friday evening for our Meet and Greet.  I will have a smaller version of this poem for each child to take home with them along with the baggy of goodies to describe our year.  This idea came from pinterest so I cannot take credit.  I just tweaked it a little to make it fit my theme.




This is another fabulous idea I found on pinterest.  I simply added the quote at the bottom.  I am looking forward to doing this at the Meet and Greet to symbolize that each member is equally important.



I am using this newsletter for the first week to introduce myself to the parents of my students, and to get them familiar with the layout of my newsletter.  I have also included important dates, helpful websites, and a few to-dos (under "Notes from Miss Thomas) for the parents.

Each year I have THE hardest time trying to keep this document brief.  I have included what I consider to be THE MOST important information for the school year.

I LOVE doing interest inventories at the beginning of the school year to learn more about my students.  I also use this document as a guide for my students' learning styles to include in my long range plan.  I have included questions that I feel help me best know the student quickly... in addition to conversation and observation.

Last year I found that many parents did not read the newsletter that I sent home weekly which meant they were unaware of upcoming events, school holidays, homework, what we were learning in class, and it was a waste of paper.  At the Meet and Greet I will be giving the parents an opportunity to receive it electronically so that it is no longer the student's fault if the parent does not read it.



The parents will write their child's transportation for the first day and remainder of the year.  I will hang this next to the door so that I (and substitutes) know at-a-glance who should be going where.



I found this student information card on pinterest, and I did not change it one bit.  I thought it included ALL of the fabulous information you would need to take on a field trip, call home, etc.  Thank you pinterest!

This will go in the 3-prongs in the center of the folder that they bring from home to school.  This will be used to let me know when money was sent, and let the parents know when money was received at school.  It never hurts to have documentation of... EVERYTHING!

I will be printing this and the money log double-sided and placing it in the prongs of the folder.  When the students have filled up their reading log they will get their choice of reward (un-purchased).  They may get extra recess, a homework pass, or get to use art supplies the following morning in place of morning work.

Classroom Organized... Check!



This is the back of my classroom.  This wall will be used for my word wall, an area for each student to display work their are proud of, and for my cafe board.  The word wall does not have any words on it at the moment, but they will be added each week when they are introduced.  The student displays will show work that the students are proud of.... not necessarily uniform.  The Cafe board does not have any strategies currently listed, but they will be added after they are taught.  The students will have a clip with their name on it that they clip to the strategy they are currently working on.  The reading center will take up the entire nook at the back of the classroom, but the library is to the right.  The "I'm Done!" basket is by the left door.  My behavior management system is on the wall on the left.




This is the wall that I originally thought would be my word wall, but instead it is the math wall.  The empty wall space will be used to place anchor charts to review material taught throughout the year.  The shelving on the left are the word work manipulatives and the everyday math manipulatives.  The computer station is in the middle.  The listening station is on the right.



This picture shows you what this wall connects to.  On the left is my classroom library.  In the middle are my manipulatives (word work and everyday math).  On the right is my computer station.





On the left is my small group station.  In the middle I have dots on the window with their color written on them.





This is the same wall as above.  Under the cabinets to the right, I have their mailboxes.  To the right of that is the behavior chart.





This is the front of my classroom.  To the left is our whole group meeting area on the rug in front of the Promethean board. To the right is my small group table.  Thankfully, I was able to trade out my desks for some tables... SO EXCITED about this!





This is my reading nook just as promised... super cozy!  Each student has a laminated piece of paper hanging with 2 clothes pins.  This makes hanging and changing work easy.  I will write each student's name on the top of each sheet so they have a designated place for their work.  It is time consuming to laminate enough paper for each child, but if I have a new student come in all I have to do is use fingernail polish remover to remove a previous name and put up the new students name.  My cafe board will be directly above the reading center so that students can reflect on their goals during independent practice. 




This is my classroom library.  I am not completely satisfied with how I organized my books, but it will do for now.  On my book display I have kid friendly magazines on sports and animals.  This will also be great place to keep books that we make as a class.  This area will be where students "Read to Self".





This is the new and improve behavior system.  The students have a clothes pin with their name on it.  When they are caught making good choices they move their clip from the green bowl beside "All Aboard" to the green bowl beside "On Course".  The "I'm Done!" basket to the right will be used to place ALL completed work (homework, classwork, etc.)




My students will have one folder.  In the morning they will come in and put their book bag on the hook and pull out their folder.  They will empty their folder of completed work into the "I'm Done!" basket.  They will then go to this area and fill their folder with classwork to take to their desk.  At the end of the day when they pack up they will fill the folder with homework to take home.  Oh... and the lunch money basket is just a pencil holder.





These are my Everyday Math manipulatives.  I have labeled all of which I have photographs for.





These are my word work manipulatives.  These will be used for the "Word Work" portion of the Daily 5.





This is my "Math Wall".  I will use this wall to post strategies directly related to math.  I got the idea for posting the minutes around the clock from pinterest.  I placed clear tape on the wall surrounding the clock, and wrote on it directly with permanent marker.  At the end of the year it will peel right off! :)





This is my small group meeting area.  I will use this area to meet with a small reading group or math group.  There are 4 pocket charts hanging.  The first one is for the "Learning Goal".  The second is for the "Common Core Standard".   The third is for the "Essential Question".  The fourth is for the daily schedule.





Due to not having tons of leftover wall space, I purchased these at Target and wrote the name of the color on the largest circle.  It also helps to block out a little light so that we can use our Promethean Board.