My Classroom Close-up

Well yesterday was Meet the Teacher and Open House.  I have to say it was a very surreal experience. While I have been busy the past two weeks with professional development and preparing my classroom, actually meeting MY students and families was exciting and emotional.  I really am a teacher!

I wanted to share the labor of love in creating my first classroom.  I hoped to create a space where my students wanted to come and learn yet also be functional.  So with no further ado... Room 207!

I am a big believer in the power of language especially with children.  Every student in my class is a reader, a mathematician, a scientist, a writer, and artist, an athlete, a musician.  So while each subject needs to have a bulletin board, using those titles students will hopefully also seem themselves as such. 

I am utilizing the big book shelf to hold the students textbooks as well as any of our center materials.  The desk situation proved to be challenging with only a small shelf below each chair.  Therefore the students will simply use that space to hold their notebooks/binders/ and planner.

Each week we will rotate student jobs so they also feel ownership in our classroom.

I purchased a nautical classroom set from Teachers Pay Teachers then had everything printed on heavy card stock and laminated to hopefully utilize through the years

 Besides the missing number strip, behind my desk is our captain of the week. I felt as though I was a good kick off and also allows the students to get to know me a little bit, outside of just being their teacher.

Being on a tight budget I decided to utilize a set of boxes to support the student mailboxes.  Another teacher suggested to make them look like waves.  

Above is where I wil be writing each subjects objectives for the day in student language, for instance in math one day I would it would say I can explain place value to the millions.  Also, the subject color will coordinate with the students notebooks/folders and paper turn in bins.

The big storage is going to be used to hold while you were out pages divided by subject and also our twitter wall we will establish the first week of school.  Students will chose their own twitter name and tweet in the morning and as an exit slip.

Our library and ready corner.

Eventually the big bulletin board will be utilized to display student work around the anchor. 

The goals will contain student data.  Data is very important at my school.  One thing I learned in my professional develop was for students to visually see where they are and where they need to be helps them in achieving those end results.  

I had a little something on each students desk as they came in yesterday.  I found the poem here on Pinterest and simply changed it to fit my nautical theme.

So I guess that means we are ready to set sail for our first day together in 5th grade!