Well, here it is! I have FINALLY finished my classroom and have the pictures to prove it! For some strange reason it took me longer this year than it ever has before, even though this is the first year I am returning to both the same grade level and same room!
Here we go!
This is the inside view of the front door.
Last year we read a story in our reading series where the characters were decorating their classroom and the writing prompt that came with it was- "What could you do to make your classroom a brighter place?" For the most part, my poor little friends were at a loss! I did have one student who came up with the idea for adding border around the front door and he was SO excited when he came in the next day to see that I had added it!
Here we have my hall/media center passes, guided reading baskets, snack basket and turn-in bins.
This is the back wall of my classroom. I have three "bulletin boards" I created out of fadeless paper with scrapbook paper and clothespins for hanging work. I have the pocket chart that my mom made me a couple of years ago for content area vocabulary and our supply station.
This is a close-up of the cubbies, I used ribbon along the edges to fancy them up a bit. The back of the cubbies is covered with black wrapping paper that I added polka dots to.
I keep textbooks and our reading series materials in the extra cubbies. I covered them with the wrapping paper so that it looks a bit neater.
Here is our supply area. I am very picky about how we keep supplies, especially extra crayons! They are organized by color into the small drawers so they are easy to find.
This is our writing/notebooking area. We keep our portfolios here too.
Right by my writing center I have my listening center set up. I use the crate seats to store extra supplies and listening center stories. The black on the table is a vinyl table cover my mom made for me last year. We also display our sight word scoops on the wall here. The flower is something I made last year- once I get the mini stickers of my student's yearbook pictures, I add them to the wreath.
Here are my supply cabinets. I use them to display classroom jobs, behavior chart, table points, homework club, brownie points, hall of fame, student of the month, related arts schedule, and my noise level chart. We also have our mailboxes here.
I added the bathmat under our behavior chart because I was tired of the magnets falling apart whenever a student dropped one on the floor. It works wonders!
This is my pride and joy, my library! The rug, ottoman, and green bean bag are all new this year. The tree is our reading tree, we add a leaf with the title of every book we read together throughout the year. It is pretty full by June!
This is my birthday display. Students get their name and birthdate on a tag on the present for their month. Below that we have my classroom community display. We add pictures throughout the year. That is probably one of the most popular things that kids show their parents on student led conference nights!
I will need to get a better picture of this, it came out pretty blurry. This is my word work station and word wall.
I used scrapbook paper for the back and black giftwrap ribbon to section them off.
This is the front board. I display my activity direction cards on the far left and the learning goal/scale on the right.
Here we have my center board and center group display. I also have my share chair (which needs a few minor repairs) and my brag tag display.
I keep my brag tags organized in the drawers. The students are responsible for hanging their brag tag back up on their number at the end of the day.
This is my desk area. I keep my teacher stool right next to my desk so that it is close to the rug and perfectly positioned for using the document camera. The white drawers by the window are going to be for our classroom tablets.
Here is my guided reading area. I have the gigantic science kits covered with the green felt to form a table of sorts. My TEs/materials are stored on the bookshelf behind the felt curtain.
Here are my student computers. Please excuse the mess of wires, I can't stand setting them up every year so I always leave them until last... :) I have my classroom and school rules on the bulletin board overhead. I like it there because it is something I will never have to change!
The baskets are something new this year. I attached them to the felt-covered foam board to store student headphones. I have my mystery walker poster/chart on the wall as well as my new reminder board.
This is the group table. It is most often used for guided reading extension. My center groups are not the same as my guided reading group, so I just send my guided reading group here to work on their extension activity. I also use it on those days when we have to split a class and I end up with extra students. The pocket chart stand (laundry rack!) holds chart paper on one side and our 120 pocket chart on the other.
Last, but certainly not least, I have my table supply shelves. I have made some modifications to them this year (including a removal of the polka dots/fresh coat of paint), but you can read about how I use them here .
Well, there it is! I am really happy with my classroom this year. It was a TON of work to get set up, but the kids and parents have all seemed to like it so far!
Leave me a comment and let me know what you think!
Victoria
