Setting Up for Back to School!

Well, school is just about to be back in session.  For some of you that may strum up feelings of excitement and eagerness to meet your new students and decorate you room.  For others, it may make you want to turn back into a toddler, kicking and screaming because you don't want to head back. If you are like me, I have feelings of both.  Summer definitely has not been long enough, but I love setting up my room and getting it organized so that my students can succeed!

Last week I spent a couple of days in my classroom getting a few things together.  I have photos of a what I have accomplished in getting my classroom organized.

1. Desk Organization: Here is my desk area.  It is not finished, but I thought I'd post it anyway so that if you are reading this and you are getting your classroom organized you can begin take ideas and implement them into your classroom. I use a dish rack to organize my curriculum materials.  I love this idea because I can easy access everything I need.  In order to stay organized, I need STORAGE, STORAGE, STORAGE.  A new thing I am implementing this year is my grade, copy, file drawers.  These are fairly deep drawers so that if I get behind on paperwork, the papers aren't scattered all over my desk.  My plan is to organize or complete all of the tasks in these drawers each day before I leave school. 

Whiteboard Organization: Here is one of the whiteboards in my classroom.  Two years ago I started selecting one board to designate for important information.  I separate the sections on the board with washi tape (If you have not heard of this, definitely look it up: AMAZING!). I teach two grades so there are two sections for essential questions, the agenda, and possible homework they may have each day.  The WBT section is my classroom rules based upon Whole Brain Teaching.  I will post my five classroom rules later on in the week.  The last section relates to my homeroom kids.  Each subject has a section so we can discuss at the end of the day what they need to complete at home.  The "C" with a star stands for "Challenge".  This year, I am going to work on character development with my students.  They will have a weekly character challenge, such as "introduce yourself to someone new".  We will then discuss how it affected them on Fridays.

Extension Center: The last section for today is the extension center.  This year students have a whole section dedicated to what they can do when they finish their work.  In the muti-colored drawers are science task cards.  Some may be related to what we are covering, some may be review, and the super challenging ones are things they have never learned before.  My classroom library and games area is also located on the shelf. This year I am doing two new things that I'm very excited about.  First, the "Shout Outs" wall.  In order to build the classroom community, students will have the opportunity to compliment others on their classroom work, character, etc.  The trays on top of the bookshelf are where students are going to turn in work this year.  I do weekly learning logs, but due to the busyness of the school day, I don't get them graded right away.  When students turn papers in based upon their beliefs about their understanding, I can easily see if I need to reteach.  This is a quick and easy formative assessment that gives me relevant feedback so that I can modify the lesson to meet the needs of my students.

Well, that's it for today!  Check back later in he week and I'll post more as school gets closer.  Have a wonderful day!