What's New in F108 {Classroom Tour 2014}

This year is the first time in four years that I've stayed in the same classroom. I'm super excited that I don't have to start from scratch creating the classroom I want to live in. You can see last year's classroom tour here. Of course with less work in the area of classroom decor and arrangement, it gave me time to make some changes and additions.

One of the first changes is that my classroom now seats 32 instead of 24. Teaching Pre-AP comes with larger class sizes. With that, I've added 3-drawer carts at each table to hopefully limit that need for students to be out of their seats. The first drawer is supplies. The second drawer holds interactive notebooks. The third drawer was going to be for textbooks, but they don't fit, so it's a "work in progress" drawer for items that may not be finished and need a place until the next day.

This back board was blank most of last school year. I've added these "Assess Yourself" posters to encourage students to self-assess their work. I've decided to bring back the "A Team," but I plan to do it differently than I've done in the past. I like how this blogger uses sticky notes for his Wall of Champions. I have also added a tutorials schedule with request forms and posters for re-do deadlines since students have 5 school days to re-do assignments under 80 in our district.

There are a couple of changes in this corner of the room. My bulletin board now shows student birthdays for the month and a quote of the week. Then, there's the early finisher tic tac toe that was inspired by this pin. Students complete three assignments in a row to replace their lowest formative grade. I'm excited to see how this works with my students. This is by far the most addition to my classroom that most excites me. I've always looked for an early finisher idea that works for me. I hope this is it!

Not too much change in this corner other than the fact that there's a second weekly agenda since I'm teaching two preps.

The "CUBES Problem Solving Strategy" posters are new. Our new math standards require teachers to teach a problem solving method. I've always done this, but thought that posting it would be good for students. I found these posters free here. You'll also notice that there are a ton of textbooks on the shelf. Gone are the days of just a classroom set of books since with our new textbook adoption, every student gets a consumable textbook.

I didn't get a new desk, but I am determined to keep it cleaner and more organized this year. And you know that Evan's pictures had to get added to the wall.

This clipboard hangs next to my desk. I'm not the person who misses school unexpectedly. But, with a newborn, I imagine the chances of an emergency absence are higher. For that reason, I thought it wise to prepare some sub plans and emergency lessons. I've seen lots of sub binders on Teachers Pay Teachers and Pinterest that were geared towards elementary and way too cumbersome for me. This substitute flip book was perfect for my classroom. You can find it here.

I'm hoping that I've made changes that will encourage student learning and help me with organization. Remember, if you didn't tour my classroom last year, you can see it here.