It seems like baby steps, but my classroom is getting closer to being complete, despite school already starting. To keep the table groups a little cleaner, I purchased broom and dustpans for them. I use the Parking Lot for any questions or thinking students want to share after a lesson when they didn't get to verbally.
Pictures of family and past classes make the space more personal and makes me seem more real to the students. They love getting glimpses of my life and love hearing stories.
I put materials for science labs on the shelf. The science manager will make kits for the table groups.
I had wanted to put a circuit board on the wall, but was told it is a fire hazard spoiling all my fun.
The students will fill out birthday shapes and I put them underneath the months.
The class library and literacy wall.
Yes, I had to make one too. I was a little disappointed that some of the objects I had wanted to put in it wouldn't fit. The dimensions would be better if there was another inch of depth.
I highly recommend the line rubric. I must thank Beth Kendall for sharing it with me. The first week of school we practice what a 5 line is and what it isn't. I take pictures for the rubric. They must have a 5 line or we go back to class and start over. Last Friday it took 3 times just to line up correctly and twice to get down to specials. The students know I am serious about my expectation and learn to comply.
I use sign language in the halls. Part of the 5 line is no talking in the halls, so this is how the students and I communicate with each other. They also use them in the classroom. I got the idea after working with a partially deaf boy with Down's Syndrome one summer.
Part of my classroom management is that everything is accessible for the students and they are responsible for getting their materials.
The colored boxes on the shelf under the plant are for the Kagan structures. Each group has a color.
The class and I are going to make a 3D Virginia Timeline. They will make diorama boxes that will be stapled to the wall. We will be starting Virginia Geography this week.
Each student has their own magazine holder to keep folders and books.
This shelf unit houses listening centers.
This is the class "Twitter" wall. I got the idea from Pinterest. Students will reflect on their learning using "Encapsulation" on the Twitter wall.
I still need to finish the "Facebook" wall. The Facebook wall is going to feature the students first and then later historical and literary figures.
A little bit about me for the new fourth graders to read about.
