Books as Cool as Ice

Okay... cheesy, I know....but check out my newly reorganized teacher bookshelf using $2 ice buckets from Walmart!

 

 

It just looks so much better and now I can actually FIND the book I'm looking for based on the unit or concept.  I'm trying to decide if I'll label them, or leave them open with the possibility of regrouping and shuffling around throughout the year.

 

PS- A very happy birthday to the best sister a girl could ask for!  Love you forever, Kathleen!

 

 



Classroom Tour pt 10- The Finale! (and total hodge podge)

My tour is coming to a close today.  I have just two more features to share with you.

 

We're in the midst of our reading workshop unit on nonfiction.  One component of the unit is allowing students access to topically-organized mentor texts.  I ordered these "Basic Stack Baskets" from the Container Store to keep them looking neat but also easy to borrow.  I used lables from Scholastic (they were free a few months ago with a book club order) and attached them with book rings.

 

I also wanted to share my collection of former team t-shirts.  Read more about how I created these here.

 

I hope you've enjoyed seeing my classroom and maybe got an idea or two to use in your own space.

Classroom Tour pt 7- Reading Rocks

Just by walking into my room all who enter know I teach reading...and love doing so!  There are lots of visuals and incentives to encourage an authentic community of readers.

I created this bulletin board using a projector to trace an iTunes logo.  I even stapled on old headphones for a 3D effect.  The students helped finish it up by creating book recommendations.

I also have a board for less lengthy recommendations above my library.

 

And here's a snaphot of my library with my checkout system.  I used old wood boards and recovered them with fabric and ribbon.  I used a staple gun and labels to make a "pocket" for each student.  Them my librarian or I can tell who has books checked out.  It's worked pretty well and reduced the number of lost books.

 

One last part of the tour...I've been using these incentive posters to keep track of our "Genre Reading Requirements."  If you've read with Donalyn Miller's amazing The Book Whisperer you're familiar with her 40-book challenge to increase reading stamina and volume.  (If you're not familiar, read it now.  Seriously.)  We have a similar challenge with 25 books of various genres.

 

I'm even on the poster (and being beat by most of my students!).  But I like encouraging them by talking about my own reading life and struggles with keeping my volume of reading up.

Classroom Tour pt 4- Organization for All

Organization is huge for me.  My ATPs tease me for the way I religiously clear my desk at the end of the day.  One of my favorite tools to keep this up is this drawer unit.  I bought it about a year ago for 50% off from Jo Ann Fabrics.  I added the stickers for each day of the week and for subject areas at the bottom.

 

Each drawer contains the handouts, picture books, and other resources for the day.  It's great for planning ahead and keeping my desk clear.

 

My students need their own ways to stay organized, too.  On each desk I have the typical bin of glue, scissors, markers, etc.  I also have a bin for each student's Social Studies folder and Reader's Notebook. 

The folders are specific to each unit.  Right now we're in our history unit, which I guess equaled orange?!  I am way more thematic with other units: blue for geography, green for economics, red for government.  I hole-punch all the handouts/ maps/ graphic organizers and students clip them into their folder.  And then they go home when the students are preparing for our unit test to study.

 

The Reader's Notebooks are made from larger composition notebooks.  I took them to Lowe's and they cut them in half for free!  I love a good deal.  It helped me stretch those 2/ $1 notebooks even further.  Plus I think the size is kind of perfect for our purposes anyway.

 

It's great having all these supplies handy to reduce trips to the lockers or lost and found.