Classroom Organization

This time of year, I am really into cleaning and reorganizing.  That includes my classroom.  So I have a few pictures of how I keep my classroom organized.

First off, how can you organize your classroom if you are not organized as the teacher?  I know these have been around for a while, but I made mine years ago and it is amazing.  When I have to put my classroom together every summer, this is where I start.  I keep all my materials for putting up the bulletin boards and every day use items.  I made mine to match the colors of my classroom.

People ask me all the time how I store anchor charts.  Here is my answer.  I used to keep them in a drawer and then I never used them.  These are only the ones I have laminated.  Most of my anchor charts are made each year with the students.  The ones I keep on the wall, I put on binder rings and they hang on a push pin on the wall.  We flip back though them as needed throughout the year.  SO essentially, I keep my anchor charts up all year for students to reference.

This is a quick look at how my students get home.  The first week or so is stressful for students when it is time to go home.  I keep this on the wall all year.  If a student's way of going home changes, they just move their clothespin.  During "Meet the Teacher," I have their names on clothespins ahead of time.  I have students find their name and clip it in the right place while their parents are filling out forms and meeting me.

This is my job chart.  I just write the student's name with dry erase marker each week or when it is time to change jobs.  I also make my students "apply" for a job.  They have to tell me why they are qualified for the job they want.  They love it and it makes them really take responsibility for their job.

Lastly, this is my work in progress.  I am working on organizing our math curriculum.  My goal this year is to have all of the lessons, with activities for the centers, and all printables put together so that next year, it is a "grab and copy" concept.

I am sure there are more organization tips I have, but these are the main ones I took pictures of and get asked about.

How do you keep your classroom organized?

New Classroom

Here are some pictures I have taken and never got around to sharing.  I am so bad a keeping up with my blog lately.  Anyway, as most of you know, I transitioned from special education to 3rd grade regular ed this year.  Man was it a change, but I have to say, I love it.  Not that I didn't love special ed, but this is a different kind of love.  I find myself still using my sped tools and I love how I get to use both.  Fortunately, I get to teach next to the sped teacher and we get to chat all the time.  It is awesome.  I love my job, even though I spend 80+ hours a week on it.  Anyway, on to the pictures.

By the way, please check out http://www.gofundme.com/msbendersclassroom

Okay, so I only have one picture on my classroom on the computer, but I promise I did take more.

Putting Together a Classroom

One of my teacher friends got a new job this year and I was recruited to help put it together.  Being the more crafty of the two, I got the crafty projects (which I love).  I didn't take a picture of everything, but you can get some of an idea of what we spent two days doing.

This is my absolute favorite part of her room.  This is where she will display the objectives each day.  I just love this idea.  I loved it so much, after I made hers, I went home and made one for my classroom (see mine below).  They were super easy to make and turned out super cute.

I took a picture of my favorite wall in the classroom.  This is where most of the instruction will take place.  She has her SMART board on the right and a whiteboard on the left.  On top she has her thinking maps.  Her school is big on using thinking maps for everything!

I could go on and on with more pictures, but then this post would be way too long.  I am so happy for her and wish her luck and success on her new position!

Picture Perfect Post

So what can I say?  I am bad with keeping up with the pictures!  But instead of a daily post of pictures, you get a big post with many pictures (ok, not that many, but still).

Some fun independent work activities I made.

Noun vs. Verb word sort.



Classroom Pictures

I know I have been promising pictures for a while, but better late than never right?  They are not in any special order.  I have taken a lot of time with my room and have changed it several times and probably will several more times.

Each classroom has a phone.  This is where I keep mine becuase it is where the phone jack is.  Also in this area is a bucket labled "Work Folders."  This is where I have my students keep any unfinished work.  This keeps it in one place and it is always there when they have time to finish.  Next to that area, I have my little table and chair for the listening center.  Instead of spending a lot of money on books on CD, I simply recorded myself reading them and put it on CD.  I have since changed out the stuff on the little table.  Makes a great center activity area.

Many people have heard of the "Clip It" system and I made mine to fit my classroom theme.  Can you guess what my theme is!?  I also made a form that I use to record at the end of the day what color each student earned.  I have some behavior issues and this allows me to show parents that some days are better than others.

This is just the inside of my classroom door.  Again, frog!  I also work on using manners, so I have my "Good Manners" poster up as a reminder.



When I first started, I didn't know what or how to write my expectations.  I narrowed it down to three and I am very happy with it.  They are general, but they work with my kids.

I LOVE this wall and the kids do too!  Each kid has a frog with their name on it.  Each frog has a ring of index cards.  On the index cards are sight words, CVC words, and CVCe words (depending on what skill that child is on).  They are responsible for the words on the ring.  I  have them come in and get their rings to study for about five minutes and then I quiz them.    When they get the word correct, they get a plus in the upper right corner of the card.  When they get five plus', they get to take the word off the ring.  The students get so excited when the words come off the ring.  It comes with built in motivation.  I was thinking of doing this with math facts too! 

Above the "Hoppin' Words," I have sentence starters and the alphabet for help on different activities we do.  I also have rings of a program called "Drops in the Bucket."  I copied the pages on to cardstock and laminated them.  Then I cut apart each section to allow students to focus on one skill at a time.  I give them dry erase markers to write their answers.



 

This is my space.  I have been debating about turning my desk, but I have not gotten that far yet.  The other thing I love, but you cannot see is that when students come up to my desk, there is a stop sign on the floor so that students know and respect my space.  And of course the frog carpet!

This is "Mr. Frog."  He loves to sit in the classroom library.  He is a great listener.  The kids talk to him when they are upset.  They also enjoy reading stories to him.

This is my math area.  I recently changed it and so far I am happy with it.  In the corner we have two student computers.

This is a close up of one of the shelves on the bookshelf in the math area.  These are activities that I made.  I bought containers from the dollar store and went at it.  I love it because I put all the materials for the activity int he container and I can just pull it out when students are doing centers and games.



This is my classroom library area.  Again, this is something I recently changed as well.  I used to have another bookshelf in this area, but I wanted to open up the space a little more.

 Close up of the library.  I have books sorted by AR levels.

This is where my students keep their classroom money.  They earn money by completing homework and making good choices. They can also earn money by getting a perfect spelling test.  Students can lose money for poor choices or not completing their homework. At the end of the week, they can choose to either save their money or buy something from the price list.  Notice the frogs!

Here is where I moved the bookself that used to be in the classroom library.  Also another view of my clip system.

I also took pictures of our Fall sentences we worked on this week, but I will save that for another post.  Happy Fall!