Classroom Organization

Good Morning! I have been thinking about how I would like to organize my classroom for the upcoming year. I moved rooms and grade levels at the end of the 2011-2012 school year. I was very excited to be moving into a very nice room and down a grade to fourth. I was leaving a room that had lots of storage and cabinets. You would think that I would have been somewhat unhappy about that, but I wasn't. I had to really sort through my materials and go through a lot clutter. With too much space and spaces that were hard to get to, it was not to my advantage to be in that classroom.(I noticed the teacher who moved in after me "cluttered" up the spaces because there was sooo much space for storage) I threw out a lot of things and  thoroughly organized and thought about how I wanted my classroom set up for last school year. Pinterest, I can forget, gave me soooo many ideas! I also realized that lots of teachers spend the amount of time that I do planning and creating. That was actually inspirational to me!

Tip#   1   I bought a bunch of heavy duty 3M plastic hooks from Lowes to use to hang up posters. I made sure that my posters were laminated. Then I punched holes in the top corner of each poster. Next, I used a large metal book ring and put it through each hole. I was able to put a lot of posters together. Then I found a place on  the wall, preferably not in the main view or a place that was awkward, and placed the 3M plastic hooks the correct distance apart and hung my posters. It is so nice to have my posters hanging, not rolled up. Plus they are easily accessible! Trust me, if you can't get to something easily, you will not use it! Hanging things from 3M hooks is a real space saver if you don't have a lot storage. I liked the they way that I hung my posters so much that I hung my extra tablets of chart paper this way. 
Tip #    Choose two colors for your room. I made my bulletin boards hot pink and green. I used hot pink plastic table covers from the Dollar Store for my backgrounds. I also made a bench for my carpet area. The crates are bright green and the cushions are hot pink. It helped make more  room on the carpet and brightened up the room! 


Tip #  2  DIY Seat Sacks for Students- I made my own last year and it helped them stay organized. There are several ways to make them. Here is just one http://www.sewmamasew.com/2011/08/back-to-school-desk-bag/

Tip # 3 DIY Crate Bench http://afirstgradejourney.blogspot.com/2012/07/diy-crate-bench.html

Tip #  4 Hanging up those bulletin board borders http://finallyinfirst.blogspot.com/2012/05/border-tip.html

Must Have Read Alouds

My fourth grade team and I were fortunate enough that we were able to order many quality picture books for read alouds during reading and writing workshop for the upcoming school year. We ordered a copy of each book for each teacher.  Each of these books are very rich and allow you to implement Common Core Standards in reading and writing. 

You will notice there are several books by Jane Yolen, Patricia Polacco and Patricia MacLachlan. (You can't go wrong with any other these ladies!) We received most of the books before the school year ended, so I have not had alot of time to look at them. There are a few that I have already used because I borrowed them from my local library. Building a quality library of read alouds to use as mentor texts is vital to language arts instruction. 

Here are the books:
The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg
Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
Water Sings Blue: Ocean Poems by Kate Coombs
The Paperboy by Dave Pilkey
Enemy Pie by Derek Munson
Stand Tall, Molly Lou Mellon by Patty Lovell
Switch on the Night by Ray Bradbury
River Friendly, River Wild by Jane Kurtz
Water Hole Waiting by Jane Kurtz
A. Lincoln and Me by Louise Borden
Aunt Harriet's Underground Railroad in the Sky by Faith Ringgold
Lou Gehrig: The Luckiest Man by David A. Adler
The Babe & I by David A. Adler
Bat Boy And His Violin by Gavin Curtis
No Mirrors in My Nana's House :Musical CD and book by Ysaye M. Barnwell
Faithful Elephants: A True Story of Animals, People and War by Yukio Tsuchlya
Grandfather's Journey by Allen Say
 Cendrillon: A Caribbean Cinderella by Robert D. San Souci
Sootface: An Ojibwa Cinderella Story by Robert D. San Souci
At Break of Day by Nikki Grimes
Sadako by Eleanor Coerr
Crow Boy by Tara Yashima
Follow the Drinking Gourd by Jeanette Winter
Back Home by Gloria Jean Pinkney
When I Was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant
Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold
Anasai the Spider: A Tale from the Ashanti by Gerald McDermott
Arrow to the Sun: A Pueblo Indian Tale by Gerald McDermott
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears: A West African Tale by Verna Aardema
Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood from China by Ed Young
Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad by Ellen Levine
The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson
Coming on Home Soon by Jacqueline Woodson
Tuesday by David Wiesner
June 29, 1999 by David Wiesner
The Talking Eggs by Robert D. San Souci
Paul Revere's Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Terrible Things: An Allegory of the Holocaust by Eve Bunting, Stephen Gammell
Twilight Comes Twice by Ralph Fletcher
Hello, Harvest Moon by Ralph Fletcher
Westlandia by Paul Fleischman
Thirteen Moons on Turtle's Back by Joseph Bruchac
The Scarecrow's Dance by Jane Yolen
Piggins by Jane Yolen
Letting Swift River Go by Jane Yolen, Barbara Cooney
Encounter by Jane Yolen
The Seeing Stick by Remy Charlip, Jane Yolen
The Memory Coat by Elvira Woodruff
January's Sparrow by Patricia Polacco
The Plot Chickens by Mary Jane Auch
Nothing Ever Happens On 90th Street by Roni Schotter
Babushka's Doll by Patricia Polacco
The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco
Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco
My Rotten Red Headed Older Brother by Patricia Polacco
Chicken Sunday by Patricia Polacco
Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco
Bully by Patricia Polacco
Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orcheestra by Andrea Davis Pinkney
How The Stars Fell into the Sky: A Navajo Legend by Jerrie Oughton
Knots on a Counting Rope by John Archambault, Bill Martin
What You Know First by Patricia MacLachlan
Through Grandpa's Eyes by Patricia MacLachlan
The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown
All The Places to Love by Patricia MacLachlan, Mike Wimmer
A Place for Fish by Melissa Stewart
Voices in the Park by Anthony Browne
Train to Somewhere by Eve Bunting
Smoky Night by Eve Bunting
Bigmama's by Donald Crews
John Henry by Julius Lester

Worksheet Fun

Good Morning! As I was looking on Pinterest (gotta love it) I came upon a website called Worksheet Fun. There are many good math worksheets. As I continue to think about math workshop and the different stations, I think that students will need independent practice on skills that were already taught. I will have students revisit these skills, especially multiplication facts, in September. 

I am still working very hard creating materials for the fall. I have been putting so much work into what my math instruction is going to look like. 

I need to start to think about Reading and Writing Workshop. We use the Fountas and Pinnell Literacy Collaborative Framework at my school. 

Welcome!

Good Morning! After reading so many blogs that last week, I have decided to go back to the blog that I had attempted to start. I am really going to work hard to keep working on this blog and pass along many of the resources that I find and that I have created. I never realized how creative I was until I started teaching! 



 
 

Hello!!

This is a test!!

I am trying to figure this out!! Maybe we can blog a little in class??

Hi Genevieve Coleman!