Some Shopping and Reading. That's a Good Day!

It's going to rain Friday.  I wish I could make the most of a rainy day and get in my classroom.  Not happening.  I have to wait until Monday.  But, I am so in back-to-school mode!  Today, I went to Ikea to purchase these magazine storage boxes.  How cute are they? 

I'm going to use them as book boxes for my friends.  They can store their books for reader's workshop in them.  I'm going to put their names on the front and keep them on a bookshelf with their reading binder.  I have these cute little book cut-outs that I think I'm going to use to label them with my friend's names. They were a great deal.  4 boxes for $2.99.  They even have plain white ones that are 5 for $1.99.  What can I say?  I'm all about the cute! ;-)  Originally, I wanted to get the plastic tubs for their durability, but the dollar stores around me just didn't have them this year and I couldn't bring myself to pay top dollar at the teacher's store.

Amazon was calling my name last night!  I made some purchases that I'm really excited about.  I've been reading about The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller on different blogs.  I can't wait to read this. 

Miller is a 6th grade teacher.  As a 5th grade teacher, I'm always on the lookout for books that address the upper elementary ages.  I think this one does!  In addition to giving you ideas on how to spark the interest in reading, the book is full of resources and forms.  I will be sure to do a review after I read it.

I also ordered Practice With Purpose: Literacy Work Stations for Grades 3-6 by Debbie Diller. While I have literacy stations ready to go, I've only used them on and off over the years.  My district is going to require them this year, so I'm hoping to find some new, fresh ideas in this book.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Now, the book I am most excited about!  Voices in the Park by Anthony Browne.  This is a picture book that, I think, will be an amazing resource for my friends. 

Here's a blurb from Amazon.com about this book:

"The author of King Kong and the Willy stories again features anthropomorphic chimps, who provide four unique perspectives: an uppity, overbearing mother and her glum son, Charles; and an unemployed fellow and his cheerful daughter, Smudge. What transpires factually is simple: the two children play together, their dogs do the same, the adults keep to themselves. Yet Browne reinvents and overlays the scene as each parent and child in turn describes their version of the events, altering light, colors and words."

This book should be great for mini-lessons on point of view, perspective, mood, word choice, and voice.  As with most good picture books you find, I'm sure I'll be able to use it for many other different lessons.  The illustrations are bold and interesting, sure to keep the attention of my friends.

Finally, here's what I am actually reading right now:  Day-to-Day Assessment in the Reading Workshop: Making Informed Instructional Decisions in Grades 3-6 by Franki Sibberson and Karen Szymusiak.  I'm only halfway through, but this book has been very helpful so far. 

My district has a very cut and dry report card.   In 5th grade, we use the same grading scale that is used in our middle school and high school.  Students get a letter grade, A+ to F, based on a numerical average. I've been having some difficulty figuring out how to use a reading workshop approach while still getting enough formally graded assessments to allow me to come up with a grade that fits our report card.  Day-to-Day Assessment has been really helpful.  I'm going to do a review when I finish reading and tell you just how I'm making it work for me. 

So, that's what I'm reading and will be reading.  I have a pile of other books I will save for another post.  If you know anything about any of the books above, please share your thoughts!

 

Parent's Signature Required!

What papers do you have signed in your class?  In mine, all test papers are signed by the entire class.  I will usually check for signatures at the beginning of that subject's period.  But every once in a while, for whatever reason, I need to have an individual student have a paper signed by a parent.  I usually just write "Parent's Signature" with an X and a signature line above it. When I started teaching, I had to think of a way to see those signed papers without drawing attention to the one or two kids that needed to have a paper signed.  Let's face it, the other kids know it usually means that kid didn't do too well on that assignment.  So, how to go about it?  A Signed Paper Basket!

Here's how it works.  This basket sits on a shelf near my desk.  The sign on front reads "Signed Work  -  Place your signed work in the basket face down."  In the basket is a big paper weight that sits on top of the work.  If a student needs to have a paper signed, they know that within the next two days the signed paper must make it into that basket, face down.  Face down so that other students can't see whose paper it is.  After school, I will take a look at the papers in the basket to see what was signed.  I note it by putting a line through the grade in my grade book. This is my way of documenting that I know the parent has seen that particular grade. I then place the paper back in the student's desk.  No muss, no fuss!

The purpose of this is simple. It's a trust issue between student and teacher. We all have had days where our work is not up to par.  I wanted my students to know that if they have a paper that doesn't go so well, I'm not calling them out on it.  It's not True Confessions time.  I'm not going to ask for the signed paper in front of the whole class, I'm not going to single them out, I'm not going to draw attention to it.  If I need to talk about the work with the child, I do so in private.  When it's time to turn in the signed work, they simply find a time at some point in the day to slip their paper in the basket.  I tend to get 90% of papers back in a day with no problems.  For those that don't get the work in the basket, well, we have a little private conversation about that!  Overall, this works for us!

Coming soon!  I am planning a week of posts called "Binder Love!"  I am hooked on binders and use them for several different purposes in my class.  I plan to share 5 different ways I use binders in my room to assist with organization, student work, teaching, etc.  I use binders for a ton of things, so it's possible you may see me revisit this topic again later.

Setting Up My Classroom

A view of the right side of my room if you are standing in front.

A view of the left side of my room if you are standing in front.

Setting up my classroom usually takes me FOREVER! 
I really take the time to make sure everything is in a place that will work for the rest of the year. This year I had to do it all in two days!  I don't know about you, but in my district we have to completely clear our rooms at the end of the year.  Everything gets boxed, nothing on the walls, nothing on the bulletin boards.  It's a complete clean out.  That means at the beginning of the next school year, you are starting from scratch. 

Having been in this room for a few years, I have a pretty good idea of where I want everything, but it still takes time.  To be honest, I love setting up my classroom.  I think it's the organization nut in me coming out full force!  So, I thought I would take you on a little tour of my room.  The pictures above are some overall room pictures.

What I love about my room:
1.  It's pretty big!
2.  It has huge windows and is very bright.
3.  My room overlooks the courtyard in our school and looks out to a grove of trees next to the school.  It's really pretty in the fall when the leaves change colors.
4.  I have fairly new desks and chairs.  My chairs have great book baskets underneath them which is a great space saver.
5.  All my desks and chairs match!  Again, the organizing nut in me loves matchy matchy!
6.  I have one wall that is all bulletin board. 
7.  I have a wall that has a long white board on it.
8.  I have a Promethean board.
9.  I have all the tables and extra chairs to go with them that I want.  In our building, people are always on the search for extra tables and chairs.

What I don't love about my room:
1.  Storage is at a minimum.  I have three large portable closests and that's it.  I started with one closet and over the years as teachers have moved around managed to get two more.
2.  I have no sink in the room.  Our classrooms on the first floor all have sinks, but not if you are on the second floor.  It would be nice to have one.
3.  The location of my Promethean board isn't ideal.  It was installed by our tech department over the summer a few years ago without any teacher input.  But, we make it work!
4.  No refrigerator or lamps.  A couple of years ago our town got a new fire chief who decided we couldn't have these things in our classroom anymore.  I do miss my tiny fridge!
5.  Not much else.  I actually really like my classroom. :-)

So, let me show you some specific areas of the room.

My Class Library Areas

This is the fiction section of the library.  I took the time to reorganize this year.  The baskets are all from the dollar store.  They're actually pretty big and hold a lot of books.  I made genre title cards for the baskets, but a bunch of them still have cards that say "Assorted Fiction."  As the year goes on, I hope to categorize the books even more.  I still have lots to think about when it come to the library.  Should I level the books or keep them organized by genre?  I'm in the process of revamping my reading instruction this year, so I think my libary will evolve as that I work on that.

This is the non-fiction section.  It's just to the left of the fiction area above.  This was sooooo much easier to set up.  I was really surprised at how many more non-fiction books I have than fiction.  I know where I will be spending my Scholastic bonus points this year!  Again, more labled baskets for the various types of non-fiction.

I will do another post soon about my class library and how I work it. 




Our Meeting Areas

This is the front of the room.  We have a small carpet in front where the kids meet for Writing Workshop and other subjects.  We spend a lot of time on the carpet.  It's in front of the Promethean board so I can work between the board and the chart stand and everyone can see.  You can't really see the whole carpet here, but the kids love it.  I allow the kids to work on independent work where they like, so you will often see kids sprawled on the carpet working quietly.

This is a table in the back of our room that I use all the time.  During workshops, I will often pull kids to this table for conferencing. 
-Behind it you can see the reference shelf which holds our encyclopedias, dictionaries, etc.  To the right of that shelf is the shelf that hold our math tubs.  In the tubs are enough math materials for each table.  The Math Captain of each table grabs the tub and dry erase boards under them at the start of each math lesson.



Other Assorted Areas

This is a closer look at the reference shelf I wrote about earlier. Last year I found this enormous unabridged dictionary in our copy room.  I snagged it for our classroom, the kids love it!  The call it the "Mrs. Granger Dictionary."  Name that book!









This is the math shelf next to our door.  Its tubs hold the different manipulatives we use.  On the shelf is the bathroom sign-out sheet, passes for the nurse, and the all important Purell!  Above it is our class calendar.  This is also where we post any notices and things like the lunch menu.








This table is the "supply table."  On this table we have all our writer's workshop materials and any paper the kids may need.  It holds rulers, scissors, tape, 3 hole punchers, pencils, etc.  See how we got the name supply table? ;-)
Under the table is our big tub of clip boards.  These are a true staple in my classroom as I often allow the kids to work where they like around the room.  They can sit or lay on the floor, sit against a shelf.  The only rule is they have to be working.

So, that's my room.  There are other areas I will tell you about in later posts.  My desk areas is one of them.  I had to change it around a little, and I think it's going to work out.  If there's anything specific you would like to know about, just leave a comment.  I'm probably a little late with this post for most of you.  My district started school on September 2nd.  I now many of you start in August. 
I hope you all have or had a great Back to School!