Classroom Reveal!

My kiddos come on Monday!!! I can't believe the new school year is here! I have spent lots of time in my classroom and I wanted to share some pictures of what I have been working on. If you have questions about the room feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of the post.

My school was built in the times of open plans and wood paneling. So, there is no door to the hallway (we have curtains) and it seems a little dark. I used primary colors to decorate my room because it lightens up the room and keeps it fun. I also used ladybug accents. I LOVE my rug :). I bought it three years ago and it has been perfect for my little firsties. I made ladybug spots for additional seating out of felt. 

 The yellow bulletin board is my word wall. I place the kindergarten sight words on the wall with the students the first week and add the first grade words weekly. The brown paneling under my projector screen really bothers me, but I will soon be covering it up with student art. :)

 My literacy centers chart helps me organize my groups and makes the whole process of changing centers easier. Once I have grouped my students I will put their names in the pockets and we will begin centers (after lots of practice of course)! Below the literacy centers chart I have book boxes for my students' independent reading books and phonics strips. They will use these during independent reading and library center. They will get to shop for new books once a week during library center. I currently do not have a start student poster up because I normally start it a few weeks after school begins, but it will be on the orange bulletin board.

 I have two classroom libraries. I have a genre and author section and a leveled book section. Each book has a sticker on the back to help the students put them back in the correct place. The stickers match the labels on the front of the baskets. I love this system and got it here! Students can sit in a cow chair, or bean bag and snuggle up with their favorite books. We will be practicing building reading stamina a lot during the beginning of the year and I have stamina posters that will be placed on the green bulletin board and have much more work to do on this board. The blue board will contain collaborative conversation anchor charts. I will share more about that very soon!!

 This year I needed a new way to organize my guided reading materials. I created these labels that match my student groups. I will be placing the appropriate book levels in each group's bin and supplies such as reading rocks, magic e sticks, etc. in the supply drawer. Another new addition is the color coded chart on my easel. I will use this for centers groups points. This will help me manage the students during each center. I will have some reward for the winning group after centers for the day. It might be a celebration bracelet to wear home, or a clip up. I am still working that part out :). You can grab the supply and tally chart labels here!

 The lunch board arrangement has been so helpful the past few years. Each day the students come in and move their magnet to the appropriate place. This way a quick glance can tell me who is absent and how many hot lunches need to be ordered for the day. Such a time saver! I also have my rules posted (based on whole brain teaching). You can grab them here! I also have the cutest ladybug schedule cards that my partner teacher made. Another new addition is the voice level charts. These came from Reagan Tunstall and you can get them here.

 I have changed my calendar wall this year and I have interactive calendar sheets that match the skills on my wall. Grab them for free here! The students will be using a white board marker and completing the calendar with me (and the calendar helper). This is going to help the engagement problems that sometimes happen during calendar. In each of the crates on the bottom of the math wall I have white board supplies for each carpet row. The students get so good at passing supplies quickly and quietly throughout the year! The space at the top of the wall is reserved for math anchor charts. I will be adding posters based on the standards for mathematical practice (Common Core). Strategy posters and other skills will also be added throughout the year.

 I have 24 students so I have arranged my desks in 4 groups of 6. I do most of the teaching at the carpet and independent practice is completed at the student desks. I have labels on each student's desk to help with grouping. I have paired the students into peanut butter and jelly partners as well as color coded them. So I can have peanut butter partners talk, or table groups talk and call a color from each table to share out. This system helps with collaborative conversations and partner talk. You can grab the grouping labels here! I also use peanut butter and jelly partners on the carpet. I have a large image of peanut butter on one wall and a large image of jelly on the other. When the students turn and talk, they look at the wall and it reminds them if they are the peanut butter partner, or the jelly partner.

On the student desks I have an All About Me packet ready for the students to start when they come in on Monday. They love this packet because it allows them to color and share important information about themselves. I learn a lot about them personally and academically through this packet! You can grab the All About Me activity here!

 The back of the room kind of drives me crazy! I have my teacher materials stored in the back and I do what I can to organize and hide them! :) I have my guided reading area in the back, as well as student mailboxes and storage. I tried to make the ugly cabinets look a little more cute by putting my colorful clip chart, birthday chart, and jobs clip chart up. I LOVE Erica Bohrer's job cards! I decided to attach them to ribbon and use mini clips with student names. The students on the left have the job for the week, while the students on the right are "on deck" and learning how to do the job for the following week. After two weeks (when both students have had the chance to do the job) the clips are moved to the next job card.

 The writing center and listening center were both revamped completely this year! I LOVE my new writer's goal clip chart! It will be so engaging for my students to change their clips at writing center. It will be such a great reminder to them for what they will need to focus on. Read about them here or get them here. I love my writing posters! I have a freebie available for the "If you think you're done…" poster. Grab it here! I use the small round table for supplies and I have a larger table the students use to spread out and write. I will be using monthly writing journals at writing center and writer's workshop.

This is another angle of the library with my welcome banner. I think I am ready!! I am soooo excited to meet my new little ones! I have my classroom procedure task cards, behavior punch cards, and first day of school celebration bracelets all ready to go! 

I hope you enjoyed my classroom reveal! I can't wait to check out other great classrooms! 

Happy Teaching!

Writing Goals Clip Chart, TpT Sale, and a Freebie!

School starts for me in 9 days! Eeeeek! No matter how much time I spend at school I never quite feel ready and I always find more to do. I will be sure to share some pictures once the room is compete and ready for my kiddos.

Today I wanted to share a cute Writing Goals Clip Chart I made for writing centers. Check the picture out below. It is a goals chart that students will use as they work at the writing center. They will choose a focus based on how their writing is progressing. I will be talking to the students during writing conferences to ensure they are selecting appropriate goals and they may change their goals as they achieve success with writing skills. I created the goals with first grade skills in mind, but I can personalize the wording to work for your classroom and students. Click here to get the writing goals chart.

I am also so excited to announce the TpT Back to School Sale!!! On August 3rd and 4th all items in my store will be 28% off with the promo code BTS15. Be sure to check out my store and other stores to grab some super deals! My TpT cart is already full of items that I can't wait to swoop up during the sale… only one more day!!

To celebrate the start of another fabulous year, I am offering a great back to school FREEBIE! I have created interactive calendar forms that my students use to increase engagement during our calendar time. Grab them here! Enjoy!!

Stay tuned for my classroom reveal coming soon! Happy Teaching!