Back to School Night Packets

From Teacher Vision:

• Make Back-to-School Night packets. On the day of Back-to-School Night, have your students create a packet for their families. Include the following:
  • a welcome letter
  • the school calendar
  • your homework policy
  • a copy of your daily/weekly schedule
  • important phone numbers
  • enrichment activities for parents to do with their children at home
  • a calendar outline of your curriculum for the upcoming school year

On Back-to-School Night, have all sign-up sheets for the entire school year out on one table. Include field-trip volunteers, room parents, classroom volunteers, etc. 

Spelling Games

Interesting website that uses a competitive game to work on spelling skills.  One of my 4th grade students was the worst.speller.ever, and I was forever trying new techniques with her.  I wonder if something like this would have helped.

Tutpup Games

Setting Up Your Classroom

A bunch of good ideas from Angela Bunyi's classroom.

6 Tips for Setting Up Your Classroom

Tip 1: Before you close up your school year, photograph your entire room. Analyze each photo and classify it as pass or fail.

I take a photo of every section of my room, and then I sit down and analyze it. What looks junky? Messy? What doesn't have a touch of home to it (plants or lighting)? If I couldn't stand it in my own home, it has to be fixed. All year, I have battled with the area around the backpacks and individual book bins. This area has had several changes and will continue to be improved on until it finally works. Here is my example of a simple pass and fail in our room:

Pass

Photo: Pass-Plant, photo, and nice lighting. Minor note- one book needs to be thrown or mended. It also happens to be in the wrong spot. Summer job checklist.

Fail

 

Photo: I believe in having a proper spot for everything, even if it is in a hidden junk drawer. Here I can remove the bookshelf boards (underneath) to the closet, the umbrellas to the coat hanger area, and the papers to the trash. The bag of books need to be sorted asap. I give myself a bonus point for the plant.

Tip 2: Make First Impressions Count

When a visitor walks into your classroom, there are two views that are important. The one directly in front of you, and the one that is in the distance (usually a 60 degree angle across the room). Because of this, I push two areas. These areas would be where you want to put your larger plants, reading nooks, lamps, pillows, student work, and so on. The other two corners are not as nice, and that is okay. They are the more practical corners of the room, and we need this to function on a day-to-day basis. Computer stations, math bags, reading bins, technical gadgets, teacher materials...

 

Photo: What you see when you walk in the door (although this is the wrong angle).

 

Photo: The 60 degree angle you would see across the entrance door. Your eyes don't immediately move to the right of this photo and look at our boring computer stations. FYI- The word wall (word parts) was removed for state testing purposes.

Tip 3: Get Rid of Your Teacher Shrine

According to the Sisters, one-fourth of a classroom is taken up by teacher stuff, or what they call "The Teacher Shrine." I promise life is much better without it. Get rid of the teacher shrine and you'll have more room to work with. For me, removing the teacher desk was a given, but I am not advocating for you to do that. Just consider removing, hiding, or storing your materials. Also consider looking at how much space your teacher area takes up in the room. You are one person, working with twenty-something students. First on my list is making sure my stuff is hidden. This includes teacher manuals. 

To hide teacher materials and personal belongings I am a fan of cloth, closets, and drawers. Cloth to hide open shelves. Closets to store, and drawers to throw things into. Seeing those teacher manuals and SDE booklets from three years ago is not attractive. They get placed in closets, at home, or in a closed cabinet. Place personal photos around the room, next to pictures of your class and then sit back and see the improvement. Here is a photo of my teacher desk (undoctored). Every time we line up, we clean off our desk. I am expected to do the same.

I also recommend having a routine for all those teacher papers you receive. I am a fan of portable filing totes and have a routine of organizing it as it comes in. These portable filing totes can go wherever you need them to, preventing papers from piling up on your desk,table, or home. I am also a fan of throwing things away. Sometimes that comes back to bite me, but it's worth it to me.

 

Photo: My teacher desk.

 

Photo: The blue filing tote is for sale at Target now. Several emailed me and said you couldn't find one. I saw some this week. This is a major friend regarding paperwork.

Tip 4: Create Consistent Colors and Themes

I remember how I would buy ten different cloths for bulletin boards in the hopes this would brighten up the room. Instead everything seemed to get lost in all the polk-a-dots, stripes, and bright colors. Now, I have a consistent black background and red border around the room. When I place something on those boards, it sticks out instead of the background. I highly recommend this step for setting up your room next year.

I also became a fan of consistent colors for other things. I have a lot of earth wood colors and greens in my room. You don't see patterns anywhere and this goes from my lamps to photo frames. I think of it like my home. I have a certain look I am going for, and even if something seems like a great steal or find it may not fit in my living room. Same thing for the classroom. I have become picky about what goes in our room because it is our home away from home. 

 

Photo: This is already busy, so you can imagine how busy it would look with a crazy background. What needs to stick out? A solid color across your room helps.

Tip 5: Lighting, Lighting, Lighting is Important

With an ounce of good weather, we are set with keeping the main lights off for the day. The secondary lights, mixed with open windows and doors, sets the tone for the room and gives it an automatic fresh look. Going back to my first tip, I analyze each section for lighting. I note "dark" areas in the room and use one of five light methods to fix it. Hanging lamps, table lamps, light stands, Christmas lights, and natural lighting. I try to cover all bases by thinking of our room in two halves.

Top Half- This would include the ceiling range. We have Christmas lights around the perimeter with some bundled up in clumps for good measure. We also have light stands that push light up, and a few hanging lights from the ceiling that push light down.

Bottom Half- This is where table lamps come into the picture, although I have some placed in higher areas. Again, I try to make sure each section of the room has at least one or two table lamps. I have also placed Christmas lights around the border of a few bulletin boards to add more light.

 

Photo: Note to self...line up student photo frames next year! Again, notice the pattern of threes- plants, lamps, and photos.

Tip 6: Everyone Needs a Junk Drawer..or Two...or Three!

My teaching buddy, Karen, knows about my junky little secrets. She knows. But she also knows that my room is never, ever, out of order. It's ready for a visitor at any given time. Visitors, however, are not permitted to go into my closet because it may be dangerous to their health and/or physically impossible. These are important resources, but they are not for show.

I think it is important to say that you should allow yourself to have not so neat areas, so long as they are covered up. That is the key. Cover it up! If it is not directly benefiting students, cover it up. Here are some of my examples of storage:

 

Photo: Oh no! Oh yes. The drawer above it is full of pencils, pens, rubber bands, tacks, paper-clips, etc.

 

Photo: My closet. All of my guided reading books are sorted in the filing cabinet by Fountas and Pinnell. They are labeled in zip lock bags. If you look closely you can see a toilet surrounded by big books, a DRA kit, running records, district materials, science materials, etc. These materials stay out of view for the year.

 

Photo: Students are included in this plan. Backpacks and lunch bags are out of sight, hidden behind two bookshelves. And the rule is, if it doesn't fit in your desk, take something home. 

Virtual Tour of Our Room

Want a tour of our room? This video was recorded the second week of school and includes commentary from me. You'll notice some changes if you have followed the blog this year. Currently, it opens in Microsoft Media Player. I will get it switched to a universal player later this week.  

 

http://www.bar.rcs.k12.tn.us/teachers/bunyia/virtual_tour_08.wmv

Furniture Disclaimer

You may notice that several of our lamps and pieces of furniture are not garage sale items. These things didn't come from hours of garage sale hunting or searching on Craigslist. They came from our home. Our family went from owning a large home to a rather small, modest one (by choice). We had so much furniture, we didn't know what to do with it all. Into the classroom many items found a new home. I fondly look at my papsan chairs from Pier 1 Imports and remember reading books in the master bedroom's sitting room. I look at the lamps and remember where they were placed in my old home. I realize how lucky I am in this department.

Second, I realize some counties/districts don't allow personal furniture. I have always brought in larger items without question, even with warnings from other teachers. Fire Marshalls have walked through my room in three different counties, and not once have I been questioned. As a back-up precaution, I am always prepared to say "temporary." This, apparently, is the magic word for bringing in decorations.

To learn more about our room, visit us here.

Self Guided Reading Assessments

My first stolen idea comes from e-teacher at the Elementary Teacher Blog.

Self-Guided Reading Assessment

I'm going to start using my digital tape recorder today for something other than recording my friends and me singing karaoke. I'm going to create a self-guided oral reading assessment for the kiddos. They'll take the tape recorder into the hall, press record, introduce themselves, then start reading a short, grade level passage of text. This way, I don't have to give the other kids busy work so that I can give the assessment, and I can go home and wear pajamas while I listen to and analyze the recordings for miscues.

Update, December 22:
This was the best idea I ever had! In addition to recording themselves reading, the students also answer a series of comprehension questions. I've adapted the grade 4 passages and assessment protocols from Reading Inventory for the Classroom. I also made a set of illustrated directions using photocopies of the front, side, and back of the tape recorder, which was very helpful. When kids need help, they ask other students to help them with it. My reading groups don't get interrupted, and I get all the assessment information I need. Oh, and I've been storing the files on my computer until I get one from each student (per reading passage), then burning it to a CD to back up.

Awesome.

Explanation

I am a stay at home mom to 3 boys- but not for long.  An elementary school teacher at heart, I will be going back into the classroom this fall (4 months and counting!) after a five year hiatus.

Really, I am excited about this.  My oldest will be in Kindergarten, my middle child will be in full time preschool, and my sweet baby will be one and (hopefully) will love hanging out with a bunch of little dudes his size all day at daycare.  And although I have loved my time at home with my boys, it is definitely time to start a new chapter, because I'm getting to the point where I clap for anyone who uses the potty, I puree my own foods, and the highlight of my week is that ten minute period when all of the laundry is done at the same time (not to mention that my husband would really love to put that second income back in our finances!).

The only problem is that I planned my last lesson 5 YEARS AGO.  And I have a brain like a sieve (thanks to my youngest who, at 9 months, has yet to sleep through the night).  So how do I go about keeping current on educational theories and gathering ideas for my future classroom?

I start this blog.

I know.  Follow me, though.

There are a million books out there will amazing ideas.  But I don't have time to read them all.  BUT.  There are also a million awesome teachers out there with amazing ideas, who have put those amazing ideas into practice and reported their findings!  Heck, most of them even post their lesson plans and tell you what they would do differently next time!

I come from the school of thought in which the best teaching ideas are either borrowed or stolen...and I am here to compile and organize the best of them so that I can put them to use in my classroom.  I will (of course) give credit where it is due, and would also love comments that lead me to new ideas.

This is for all of us, my teacher friends!!