My Classroom Library Setup

How to set up my classroom library was definitely something I researched and researched and researched.  

I wanted to know what worked for people, what didn't work for people...what looked the best, what was most convenient. All of those things played a role in what I have now. 

I do not think it's by any means perfect....I think it might change some more over the next few years. 

Here are my books all set up before being organized.  I had acquired boxes and boxes and boxes of books over the past few years and decided reading level was the best way to organize them to start with.  

I ended up putting the books I had 'sets' of together, Science books together, Famous Americans together, folktales together, and sports books together.  

To the left are all the 'set's and to the right starts the levels. I have from a low 2nd grade reading level to a high 6th grade reading level....and as fate would have you, that is exactly the range I needed this year!                                                                        

The little cups on the top of the shelf with number sticks in them are labeled with numbers that correspond to my students (alphabetically). I use these numbers for the Super Improver Wall (my behavioral management system) so I'm not singling out a student for behavior problems in front of the entire class as well as to keep track of their books.  

When a student gets a book out of a bin they place their number stick in that bin.  When they return the book they return it to the bin with their number, get their number, and place their number in a new bin.  

This way all that time I spent organizing the books doesn't go to waste! 

Here is what the numbers look like before I printed them. I used a circle cutter and then just hot glued them to a large popsicle stick.  I explained to the students HOW to use them at the beginning of the year and they have done wonderful with them! 

Want a PDF file of the number? Just leave a comment with your email address :) 

Famous Americans Anyone?

As I began my famous Americans unit I decided I wanted to introduce close reading to my students. 

Close reading tends to be a more difficult passage that is reread in order to gain more information and get a better understanding of things.  We had not done close reading yet so I chose to make these fairly simple yet very informative.  

Our State's standards require Cesar Chavez, Abraham Lincoln, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr., Thomas Jefferson, and Thurgood Marshall. That's a lot to throw at a third grader all at once! 

I threw together some information, added a picture and finished up with some questions and requirements while doing their reread. 

Students would do one a day (they would start in the morning for morning work and finish up right before Content) and we would check them during content block.  

I feel like it was a great introduction to close reading and also a great way to integrate literacy into my content! I threw these together so fast (haven't even checked them for grammar errors), but I'll share them in a PDF document if you comment with your email address. 

Anchor Chart Wall

You spend all that time working on those anchor charts…and then what?

I decided I didn't want to just throw them out once we were done with them...plus they are beneficial if students can look back on them!

I made this huge blank wall at the beginning of the year with an unsure plan for it. 
I have a divider curtain between me and one of my team teachers.  I tried opening it at the beginning of the year and it just wouldn't open.....not that we would have ever opened it during class anyway.  
It is kind of a cushiony wall-sort of like vinyl.  I decided that was the perfect canvas for a huge bulletin board! I looked around a little bit and finally to enough ideas.  I knew I wanted a black background with pops of color.  I started with a plastic tablecloth...used static to hold it up long enough to staple it...but it was so bumpy. 

So I got another tablecloth and tried again...still bumpy!
Then I finally decided to get heavy paper and use it...much better! I ordered pastel borders and BOOM! 

As the school year has progressed I've made many anchor charts and the strands my students seem to struggle with the most I decide to 'anchor' their learning on the back wall.  

First I laminate the anchor chart (I have to cut it in half and laminate it and then tape it back together), then I staple it up with the original 'I can...' statement.  My plan is to switch them out as necessary and since they are laminated they can last even longer.  I will hole punch them and hang them on a slim pocket chart holder I have. 

It really made the room pop having so much up and students do go back and refer to it from time to time.  

What do you do with your anchor charts?

My Classroom Tour

I think when you first get a teaching job you sit and think of all the questions. 

    How will I do reading groups?

    How many kids will I have in my classroom?

    What if the other teachers don't like me?

    How will I prepare them for SOLs?

    What if I have horrible behavior problems?

That's what all went through my head 24/7 for the many months before starting my first teaching job! I was on my computer constantly trying to prepare for my first class. I had the pacing guides printed out, highlighters in hand, pencil at the ready and I was trying to find supplemental resources for anything and everything I would need. 

I think my husband was quite tired of it pretty quickly. 

I also needed to set up my classroom. I had accumulated things here and there throughout the few years of school that I 'thought' I would need for my room...but now was the time to set up my classroom library, decide how to set up desks, decide how to plant or behavior management. 

Man I was overwhelmed 

     but so happy!

Here is a picture of my classroom a day after entering it....I was left with some wonderful stuff and I just needed to go through it all. 

So here is what all of that summer hard work turned into the day before school started.  As a first year teacher I couldn't wait to start with a decorated classroom that not only made me happy, but made the students smile. 

My husband was SO OVER HEARING ABOUT MY CLASSROOM!

He kept telling me that I didn't need to decorate my first year teaching.

HA!

                         

                          

First off, let’s talk about my Power Pix Wall.

It’s obviously empty at the beginning of the year.

This is a Whole Brain Teaching Concept that uses gestures, pictures, and phrases to help students remember important concepts.

As the year has progressed we have added pictures for the concepts we have learned.  I’ll make a post about this later, be looking for it!

Here I have my anchor chart wall.

It’s empty now...but I have since added anchor charts and “I can...” statements!

Here is the updated anchor chart wall!

                                                   

`

 I have talked a little bit about Whole Brain Teaching (WBT)…it encompasses a lot of my teaching techniques.  

Here is my Super Improver Wall (SIW).

I could talk for days about this...so maybe I need to make a post simply about that (one day).

 I decided to start in groups of 4.

I’m the luckiest teacher in the world with only 16 students…yes, 16 students in my class at the beginning of the year!

I have since changed a few students around...but they are still in groups of 4 halfway through the year.

 And my classroom library.  Here she is, in her somwhat-organized glory.  I am a first year teacher….so I don’t have a ton of books.

But man am I happy with what I do have! I decided to organize them based on reading level.  I used A.R. levels, scholastic levels, and a little bit of my brain to decide which group each book would go in.  It was a mess getting organized!

I got the bins from dollar tree right before school started.  To the left (the shelf you can’t really see) there is a non-fiction bin, science bin, and multiple author bins. The bins you’re looking right at are all from a 1st grade reading level up to a 5th grade reading level.

 I got a little carried away with the neon color theme! (If you can’t tell)

I printed out bookmarks from here!

I got the flip book from here

(this is a wonderful purchase! Everything is set up double sided so all you have to do is print and fold and staple! So worth it!) 

 Here is my reading comprehension board, birthday board and standing tables.

I have back-to-school night set up, so that’s what all the stuff is sitting on the tables.

I got the reading comprehension posters from here.

There are a ton of them and I switch them out as I teach different concepts!

The color-code your thinking came from here.

This could use its own post as well! These are wonderful and my students use them CONSTANTLY.

Here are my standing tables.  For students who want to or need to stand up they go to this back table.

Of course after back-to-school night the tables were cleared off!

Under the tables are books that my students read the first few weeks of school before I dove into my classroom library.  These are lower grade level and just more interesting with pictures.  This was easier to introduce than my entire classroom library and it made the first few weeks run more smoothly since we were just getting into the swing of things. 

 Here is my schedule (which I made myself on powerpoint) and my reminder cards. These reminder cards have numbers on them to help remind students when they are breaking a classroom rule.  I simply put the broken rule popsicle stick into their number pocket and voila. This board was eventually taken away after students settled into the classroom rules.

This is my math corner.  I have all of my math manipulatives stored here.

I got the bins from Michaels on clearance. 

 My filing cabinet looked so BLAH!

I found this textbook cover roll at dollar tree in neon colors. So of course I got it. It serves no purpose whatsoever other than it makes the cabinet a little less ugly!

Here is my small group aid table.  I have my computers set up here and for back-to-school night I also had a 'lend a helping hand' setup.  Parents could take hands to donate items to the classroom.

  

 Here is my teacher desk. I'm not even going to lie...I NEVER use this. I'm actually contemplating right now if I should get rid of it to save space. 

Here is my writing process that I got from here.

I eventually added clothespin names so students can move their pieces as they travel through the writing process.  This is just a visual reminder for students so they are not constantly asking me "what now?!"