Classroom Layout 2013-2014

Many of you are busy catching the last rays of summer sunshine, but our school is busy getting back into gear for another fun-filled year.  I wanted to share some pictures with you of my classroom.  Some of the components haven't changed, while there have been some great improvements (mounting my projector, for one!).

This is the view from the front corner of the room by my computer station.  I have made the entire back wall my writing focus wall.

This shot shows the far back corner of my room.  This is where the cubbies are.  I have added my birthday celebration board above my cubbies.  I'll add the students pictures under the appropriate month.  They will be holding a dry erase board with their birthdate written on it.

This is the board where I write my morning message.  Below students can post any questions they have about concepts that we've learned throughout the school year.  This is a great tool for students who are shy about raising their hands and taking a chance.  This area was made by the use of the backside of a large vertical file draw cabinet.  I scalped this from a retiring teacher.  Behind it, I have my sink area (which isn't something I enjoy looking at).

This is the front of the classroom.  I LOVE my black background on my bulletin boards.  They make the colors pop on all the charts and documents hanging.  Around my smart board, I have sectioned off my board with pink painters tape.  My schedule will be placed on the far left of the board, once it's been finalized for the school year.  On the right side of the board, I'll write the date, and the homework assignments for the week.  There is also space for classroom news that can be added to and changed as necessary.

This picture shows my guided reading table corner.  My CRAFT board is there, as well as all my reading materials for the small groups that I meet with.  You can also see my favorite wall in the room (The reasons I love my Job!) I have hung up every class picture from my years at this school.  I also have my diplomas, and family pictures here.  

Well, that about covered it!  I really like starting out the school year with the students sitting in groups of two, and facing the front.  This way they have a partner to share with, and are focused on the lessons being taught.  The cups at each pair of desks are from the dollar bin at Target.  They are my favorite find of the school year!  I used Velcro dots to stick them there.  

My Lovely Classroom

I thought I would open the doors to my classroom to show you what I live in 40+ hours out of the week!  Keep in mind, we are half way through the school year, and...there may be some messes around. :-)

This picture is from the front of my room.  I love the theme posters that I downloaded from Beth Newingham's post on Scholastic.  She is such an amazing teacher, full of ideas!  The two mailboxes in the back of the room are used for communication with students.  The taller gray one is used for material that needs to go home (i.e. newsletters, notes, monthly lunch menu, etc...)
The shorter mailbox is used for what we call Weeks Worth of Work.  Every Tuesday we send home the graded papers from the previous week.  There is a 1/2 sheet cover letter that gets stapled to the front of the packet.  Parents sign and write notes for the classroom teacher and return it the following day.  This mailbox system replaced a file box.  The mailboxes are much better because I don't lose papers between file folders like I did before.

This picture is taken from the other side of the front of the room.  From this angle you can see my group meeting space.  I also have some tall bookshelves that were made by a friend of mine during my first year of teaching.  They are made up of 4 sections that stack on top of one another.  This makes it nice to rearrange the classroom in many different configurations.  These shelves are currently housing my students literacy boxes. 

This side of the room looks a little cluttered.  I have a string hung across the room and have my Daily 5 "Status of the Class" board hung there.  I also hang strategy posters as we learn them in class along this line.  My 'desk' is in the top left of this picture.  Our rooms are so small, and I realized that MY desk area was taking up about 1/4 of the space of my room.  I decided to do away with it last year, and lived with an empty desk for a month before I actually had it hauled away.  I have NOT regretted it since!  The BLACK HOLE is gone, and I can easily find things in my classroom.

This is the front of my classroom.  My new find from earlier today will probably mean that I'll be able to get rid of the smaller blue bookshelf, and possibly the green one that houses my leveled readers.  

I have the most amazing best friend who teaches down the hall.  We are both implementing the Literacy CAFE this year, and she found the cutest little chef and kitchen theme for us to use in our classrooms.  She is the best! 

This is where I have to share some frustrations...You can see how much room the desk in the front of the room takes up.  I have begged and pleaded and simply asked to have the projectors mounted from the ceiling.  They won't do it...

Frustrating, I know, but being in an old building has it's benefits...

I get to paint my room what ever color (or colors) I want to, which isn't true in the new buildings in our district!  (Plus, my indecisive brain gets to move the room layout as much as I want to!)

I hope you enjoyed the tour!  Come back again real soon!