I missed all the cool link-ups for classroom reveals, so I'll have to just go this round on my own.
This is a view of the front of my room. To the left is my job chart and to the right is our character education program where Ron Clark's Essential 55 meet the 8 Keys of Excellence. If you look really hard, you can see my Author's chair. I just recently bought iron on letters and added the letters to my chair-it looks pretty fancy.
This is a view of the back of the room. See those table signs above the tables? On one side it says its respective table number, but on the other side it has one of the four regions of Texas. I'm determined to teach this little guys even through classroom decor!
Here is a collage of my turn in basket, supply station #1, library, and computer center. A little ribbon goes a long way, and by a little, I mean 8 rolls of ribbon.
Here is cozy central. I teach language arts/social studies, and I love watching my kiddos sprawl out all over the place as they read and write. Rarely are the students in their assigned seats. Behind the chairs is our library and the bins I use to keep a folder for each student. This folder houses their writing pieces regardless of the stage in the process. I also keep each student's behavior reflections in these folders.
These three pics are of some of the other bulletin boards in my room. The top frame is the CAFE menu. Notice there are no pre-printed strategy cards. The students make these. I attended the sisters' workshop in Houston this year, and they even visited my classroom! Like all other anchor charts, when the students create the anchor chart, it gives meaning to the students. I have to fight my inner self because it isn't always super neat, but it's about the learning not the neatness.
The second frame is a row of anchor chart frames. I added clothespins to a frame created out of poster board and decorative tape. I use the clothespins because right after we create the anchor chart together, we can just clip it right up. Super fast! I created labels for each one of the six areas I'll be creating anchor charts for all year: mentor sentences, featured reading skill, featured writing skill, social studies skill, Reading Talk Show (this could be a poem we are analyzing, a featured book, or a student's book review), and finally Word Collection.
The bottom frame is where I'll post student work. It reads, "Our Work Soars." There's a hidden message there. I wanted to embed something in my room that reminded me to not only teach my students but to continually push them to their own personal best. There are two places in my room where I have hot air balloons. Those balloons remind me that learning should "reach high" and be an adventure!
In this collage, I have my second supply center, my check-in system, reading/writing conference center, my work station, my tweet board to be used for exit/entrance slips, cleaning supplies, and our pack up list. See, I did add the ribbon like I said I would. :-) See this post for explanation.
And finally, this is located near the door of my classroom. My chains for behavior/reading incentive beads--thank you Miss Nelson, my birthday board, "no name" board, the filing cabinet I covered with laminated scrapbook paper (on top of the cabinet is a bathroom log, hand sanitizer for both the boys and the girls-they place it on their desk when they leave for the potty, a mystery walker container, and the "whisper bell"-see post), and finally on the door, there they are again, the hot air balloons, reminding us all that learning is magical!
-Veronica
