Kimperfektion

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.

I'm super excited about my classroom this year! My classroom decor was inspired by a room done by Melanie @ Inspired in Style using the Dots on Black Collection from Creative Teaching Press. Here's a quick look around the room.

I think my favorite part of the room are the positive affirmations that line the ceiling. I debated over buying them, but I'm so glad I did. They're made by a company named Foster Mind, LLC, but I bought them for less here.

I'm really excited about the fact that I ditched the student desks and swapped them out for tables. I love that there's less furniture and I think the arrangement will make collaboration in the classroom much easier.

Here are a few of the details.

I like to think of this area as the command center. This table is just to the right of the door as students walk into the classroom. The bulletin board has a calendar, classroom officers, tutoring schedule, reminders, QR code for class website, and hall passes. I love the hall passes! You can find them over at The Brown-Bag Teacher, where Catherine shares her rationale for making these awesome hall passes. Just under the bulletin board is where I have chosen to put supplies for student use, a file box for absent work and for turning in work. Love how the shoe organizer gave me room to add more to the table and still have room to put handouts for the day at the front of the table.

Just to the right of the command center are my students' time cards. This will be my first time doing a classroom economy. I got the idea from a session by Dia Collins at CAMT this summer. Hopefully, I'll post more about this as I get the system all figured out. Each student has a time card, where they will keep a record of their class attendance and I will make notes about participation and behavior. Students will get paid for their work in class and be able to spend their money of various classroom supplies and privileges.

Meet Abima, our UglyDoll/class mascot! I never would have looked twice at Abima if I hadn't seen a pin that led me to Jennifer @ Teaching with a Smile and he was on sale, 50% off, at my local teacher store. Abima is hanging out at the top right hand corner of my word wall and will make announcements for the class as well as recognize student birthdays! Isn't he a cutie?!

Alright, last detail is over my desk. We were ready to give these frames away after we put some new things up in our guest room. They were sitting on the floor and I decided to take them to school with me and I'm so glad I did.

Of my six years of teaching, I think this classroom is my favorite! I hope my 6th graders love it as much as I do!

Okay, I'm a day late for the link up, but I had to put the finishing touches on before doing the blog post. Better late than never! Head over to Blog Hoppin' if you'd like to tour some more classrooms!