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.

Foldable Fun + Goodbye Student Teacher

I am a huge fan of foldables in my math classroom.I think they make note-taking so much more interesting. My first year of teaching, I remember going to a Dinah Zike's workshop and falling in love. My students had foldables galore that they put in a sheet protector in their binders. When I asked students to pull out their notes though, very few still had them.

Then, interactive notebooking inters my life. My students now use spiral or composition notebooks, have a table of contents, and their foldables are glued in on a specific page they can find. Now,more students have their notes and can locate them at a later date to study if needed.

Then, I attend CAMT 2013 in San Antonio, and not only does Jennifer of 4mulaFun do interactive notebooks, but her foldables (flippables as she calls them) are interactive too! I was coming up on the topic of converting rational numbers in my 6th grade math classroom. Taking notes for converting between fractions, decimals, and percents can be a long process and very cumbersome...but not with this product I bought from Jennifer.

So, instead of me going through notes, students started with a foldable that only had the outside labels. They cut out all the pieces that would fill the inside of the foldable with an example and written directions for each process. Students then did a matching activity where they used their prior knowledge to complete the foldable with all directions and examples in the correct places.

I checked off each groups' placements before allowing them to glue them in. Within 10 minutes, all students had completed notes that were not dictated by me.

And we were able to move on to using the notes to get the practice needed to apply the information.

I loved it and the kids did a great job! I will definitely be looking to make my note-taking more interactive in the future. Thanks so much to Jennifer for being willing to share a great product. If you're not familiar with her, you should definitely check out her blog and TeachersPayTeachers store.

In addition to a great day of math class, it was also my student teacher's last day, which made it bitter sweet. I had the kids write a note to her using templates I found here. Students chose to either write about something they remember her teaching, five reasons she'll be a great teacher, advice for teaching, or why they loved having her as a student teacher. I then took all of their notes and made a keepsake book with pictures of the kids, all their notes, and a few notes from me along with a gift card to a local teacher supply store to get her started on her way.

Unfortunately, because of the crazy Texas weather, my student teacher didn't get to walk the stage, but she's a graduate nonetheless. I hope she had a great experience in our classroom and I wish her all the best!

Teacher Week '13: Classroom Tour

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!

Also linking up with:

Flying High in First Grade

Surfin' Through Second

The Applicious Teacher

Teacher Week '13: Let's Talk About Me Monday

I can't believe that summer is over and it's time to go back to school this week. I had a meeting at 8am...eek! Since I was already up, I spent the rest of the day in my classroom, trying to get ready for the school year and tomorrow's Blog Hoppin' topic. Today, I'm linking up with Blog Hoppin' for Teacher Week '13: Let's Talk About Me Monday!

>1< I love teaching! So much that I left a leadership position to go back to the classroom this year. I am looking forward to meeting my 6th graders!

>2< I was in the Army for six years. I went to the Army after college when I couldn't find a job in accounting. I had a great experience in the Army and got to do things I never would have done, had I not been in the Army! When I post Army pictures, I usually use the clean, patriotic ones...figured I'd give you a picture that actually looked like I did something this time.

>3< My face often speaks before words ever leave my mouth. If looks could kill, there would be some dead bodies on account of my facial expressions. I'm working on that!

>4< I have a phobia of balloons. Well, phobia may be a bit extreme, but I seriously dislike balloons. Blame it on a childhood experience at field day. I hated running to the chair and sitting on that darn balloon.

>5< My husband and I had a small wedding of only 24 guests. We were married on the same day we started dating a year prior...hope that makes sense...we started dating 2/12/09 and married on 2/12/10. I thought it was such a novel idea. If I had to do it again, I probably wouldn't have chosen a date so close to Valentine's Day.

>6< My favorite candy is Reese's Peanut Butter Cups! I even took a picture with him/her/it when I visited the Hershey store in Chicago!

>7< My favorite number is 21, my line number when I pledged Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Oo-oop!!! I love my line sisters! We always have a great time when we get together!

>8< I usually get car sick when I ride in the back seat of a large vehicle...and lately, when I ride in the passenger seat too, so I prefer to drive rather than ride!

>9< I absolutely loved high school (and college). I personally think my graduating class had the best 10-year class reunion ever. Granted, I've never been to another class reunion, but I know ours was a blast! My hubby always talks about it and how I'm a different person when some No Limit, Cash Money, or LL Cool J comes on.

>10< I have the best friends! They went skydiving with me for my 30th birthday and flash-mobbed me for my 31st birthday! Don't mind me and my laughing all through the video...I was so tickled!

Alright, there's my 10 fun facts! Hope I make it back tomorrow with a classroom tour!

And don't forget that you've only got one day left to enter the Erin Condren Giveaway!

{Monday Made It} Birthday Treats

As a part of my efforts to build community in my classroom, I thought that birthdays provide an excellent opportunity to celebrate my kiddos. Our students always let us know when it's their birthday. My normal response is "Well, Happy Birthday!" and I keep on rolling with math. Why not have a little acknowledgement, a little celebration, or a little token to let them know I care. Of course, I'm not trying to go broke, but a 50 pack of giant pixie sticks from Sam's Club got me more interested in this pin, so I went for it!

I bought giant pixie sticks, balloon cut-outs, birthday stickers, and a galvanized tin to hold it all together. Now, when a student tells me it's their birthday, I'll have a sweet treat to offer!

A few other pins I have on my to-do list are below:

What Pinterest projects do you have your eyes on?