Anchor Charts and Anchoring our Learning

Let’s talk about anchor charts for a minute! I feel like I use them CONSTANTLY! I'm always prepping an anchor chart and thinking of how I can make it look pretty (at least to me, I'm no Picasso). I use anchor charts from day one and continue throughout the year. 

I thought I would take a few pictures from my first 2 weeks of school to let you know what exactly it is I do with anchor charts to start out the year :) 

You're Finally HERE!!! This is the cutest book I have ever read! I loved it for the first day of school because I could totally use theatrics and the kiddos were BUYING IT! 

This is a wonderful book about a bunny who has been waiting for You, yes You, forever! He is so excited you're here, but then remembers he had to wait so long and gets mad...but then is happy again...but then gets mad again. I think you get the point. This is a Canadian text, so I couldn't find it local (maybe you'll be luckier)...but we did watch it on youtube. 

Then we wrote on post-it notes what took them so long to get here (to my room for this year). I told them I had been there for weeks getting things ready and preparing for them and I had gotten so tired of waiting. 

It did help that we have a classroom bunny, who is white, and that added to the excitement of this bunny being excited to see them! 

Here is our classroom bunny! This is Mr. Fredrickson :) 

 Text Features

Fiction versus Non Fiction  

Good Fit books    

Then we started talking about reading and writing workshop and expectations. This was a LOT of talking about what we do during reading workshop, what we do during writing workshop, how we choose books, how we take care of books, etc. These posters were a lot of brainstorming and talking between the kiddos and I. Then we topped it off with everyone's favorite, Chrysanthemum. This brought us to the conversation about 'how we talk to people', 'how we treat people', and 'how we can all be unique.'     

  On to summarizing! This was big for the kiddos in order to help them understand how to summarize and how to write their summaries. We went with the 'somebody, wanted, but, so, then' We talked about each part and how we explain it in our words. Thennnnn we read Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. Doesn't everyone love that book?! We then created a post-it not for each part of our summary. We then read an AMAZING book called Going Places.

This book is about being unique, being brave, and being awesome! We read it and the kiddos went crazy! Then, we did a summary again on a different colored post-it note. They had it at that point!     

onnnnn to math!        

we started place value

addition and subtraction strategies

and rounding

Lastly, we worked on stamina...most of my kiddos acted like they had never heard this work :/ so we talked and we practiced and I was a little strict with our first go and we made it to four and a half minutes. It can only go up from here!     

Classroom Schedules (with free downloadable/editable schedule)

I made a new schedule this year...mainly because I need to remind myself the first week of school. I chose to go with my neon theme, but wanted it to be simple.   I printed them both on card stock and laminated them so I could easily move them around as necessary.    

I printed them on cardstock and just taped them by the door. For our Specials rotation I put a lime green paperclip on the day we start on and will move it as we change days. Simple yet pretty (at least to me). I'm adding a link to download the template for free.  Just add your own text!     

This is a completely new schedule for me because we adopted a new reading program this year! I'm super excited about it, but there is definitely a lot to learn as the year begins and I can't wait to delve into it's new-ness and learn all about it! 

Are your schedule's similar to mine...what is your biggest chunk of time?

2016/2017 Classroom Tour

The summer has just disappeared and we are now facing embracing a new school year! I didn't change much in regards to my room...I still have the same theme, but I moved A LOT around! The last thing I did before the school year was over was GET RID OF MY DESK! Yes, you hear that correctly! I gave up my teacher desk. I NEVER sat at it and it was just taking up space. The only problem was where would I put the odds and ends that were inside of it. The answer was a box an organized container with labels and glitter (not). 

I changed up my reading group table since I got rid of my desk! I had two mismatched filing cabinets that were beginning to decay..yes, decay! I painted them black and then angled them right behind my desk. Our new reading series has lots of posters, so I plan to hang them up once the year starts. 

 I took all of my supplies and put them in a little organizer and I'm loving the space I have now that I don't have a desk! I've placed all of my leveled readers and reading series extras in the filing cabinet and am in love with the organization and space! 

I still have caddies for each set of desks and they each have important materials in them that will be used daily as well as highlighters, glue, dry erase markers and pens, etc. I put one person in charge of the 'caddy' and they pass out supplies. 

You can get the READ signs from here.

I am SOOOOOOOO lucky to have an aid daily for my small group reading time, so she will be in this corner (which has been replaced with a small kidney table) and she has a wall of colorful, wonderful, very useful stuff! 

I have my Erin Condren wall calendars/motivational posters on one side. I also got the newest planner from her and I LOVE it. Here is a link to get $10 off! 

The other side has a lot of information about reading! I got the middle comprehension posters from here, and there are MANY more to change out! The Color Code Your Thinking came from here and my students used it CONSTANTLY last year! They would learn a new skill, find the correct post it note and make their own notes for the books they were reading. Books would be covered with post-its by the end and the students LOVED sharing what they had put on them.  

I had stations at back to school night. 

1. Supplies

2. Sign in

3. Getting Home Sheet

4. Seesaw information

5. Supply List

6. Hopes/Dreams (write your hopes and dreams for the year and we will make a chandelier)

I loved their desks! They were so colorful. I got the flip books from here and have used them two years in a row now! I get tons of compliments on them and there is so much information inside of them! I was lucky enough at this years open house that I could go through the information with parents individually and actually help them see how important it all was. 

Let's talk about this bookshelf!!!!! If you look closely you will see Mr Fredrickson, my classroom pet! I knew I needed a new cage to disguise him and give him more room this year. I found a bookshelf online for $20 and had my brother build two doors and hinge them on...then he cut a hole and made a ramp so Mr. Fred can hop up and down! He is in love! Not to mention I still have my personal, extremely favoritest (yep, I made that a word) books away from the students. 

My library and manipulative area. Neon bins came from Dollar Tree last year, along with the magazine files that I use as individual student book bins so they don't ruin the books shoving them in their desks. 

My Power Pix wall that will be filled up quickly once school starts! Power Pix is a Whole Brain Teaching technique...I strongly urge you to look it up and learn all about it. 

Hope you enjoyed my simply neon room! I sure do love it! 

Any questions about anything in my room?....just ask!

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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. 

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!

                                                   

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 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?!"