My Classroom Tour... Finally!

I am so excited to share my classroom this year with all of you! Since I am looping with my second graders from last year, I wanted to change up my classroom theme a little bit but didn't want to start completely over again. I spent a ton of time sewing and creating things for my room last year and couldn't bear the thought of not using it.

I came across Schoolgirl Style's Road Trip theme classroom décor set and knew that it would be a perfect fit for my third graders. A little more mature but still fun and colorful! I love the way it turned out =) Here are some pics from my new classroom...

 

In the hallway leading to my classroom door, I wanted a fun welcome message for my kids. I saw this idea on Pinterest {here} and fell in love with the hallway display! The cars were actually very easy to make and Melonheadz had the cutest faces clipart that I used for the little third graders in the cars!

Don't you just love pennants?! This welcome pennant is hanging right inside my classroom door.

I have this funky little corridor right inside my classroom door and wasn't quite sure what to do with it. Since I have a massive hallway display (the cute little cars) I decided that I needed a space to display my students' work. I used ribbon, mini clothespins, laminated sheets of black paper, and road trip nametags to make this display. It is so easy to change out student work using the clothespins!

Here is a close up of one of the student work displays. (Please don't mind my reflection in the paper!)

This is the area where I display our daily "I can" statements and anchor charts. I stole the idea for the magnetic curtain rods from Christina at Second Grade Sugar and Spice. It has worked for me very well so far! I'm always looking for more space to hang anchor charts and this idea was perfect!

This year, I'm using a vocab wall instead of a word wall. Each week, I introduce the new vocabulary terms as we learn them and add them to the wall. I refer to the words throughout the week and the kids use them for their vocabulary homework. To make the display, I just used ribbon and Velcro. The Velcro makes it really easy to change out the words each week.

Here is a close up of the vocabulary cards. Each card has the term, definition, and illustration of the word.

I wanted to keep the lanterns that I used in my classroom last year, but wanted to put a new twist on them. In Schoolgirl Style's décor set, there are postcards from all 50 of the states. I decided to name each table a different state using the postcards. My kiddos LOVE being called to the carpet by their state!

Okay, I have to admit something here- I went a little crazy over the summer buying chapter books for my classroom! With the transition to third grade (and the fact that most of my students have already read the majority of my books), I figured I needed to add many more chapter books. I found these amazing bins on Really Good Stuff and filled them up in no time!

Each student has their own chair pocket this year where they store their data notebooks. On each pocket, I put a license plate with the student's name. They are attached to the chair pockets with Velcro so I can easily switch them out!

Here is our "Road Trip Through the Writing Process" bulletin board! My students always seem to think that once they write their draft in writing workshop, they are done. Does anyone else hear me on this?! I thought my kiddos could use a visual reminder of the ENTIRE process!

This is our student computer center. Nothing fancy, but my students LOVE when it is their day on the computer!

I HATE clutter. So last year, I made this curtain to cover up the last few cubbies that I wasn't using. Behind the curtain, there is stuff shoved everywhere! With very limited storage space, I have to hide things anywhere I can!

Okay, can I just tell you that I am in love with this 5 drawer organizer? One of my biggest issues last year was trying to manage my turn-in basket. It would get so full with papers all mixed up and out of order. This organizer from Really Good Stuff is FABULOUS. Each drawer has a different label (morning work, math, word study, reading, and other). It has really helped me stay on top of grading papers. I couldn't live without this thing!

Alright, you made it to the end of my tour! I hope you enjoyed checking out my classroom!

New Blog Design and Other Fun Stuff!

I am sooo excited about my new blog design! I was looking for something unique for my blog and came across Sour Apple Designs's DIY. I was thrilled to be able to design my own blog! It was fun, fast, and super easy to do. The hardest part was choosing all of the colors, fonts, and designs. What do you all think?! I still need to tweak a few things, but it's close to being finished. If you're interested in designing your own blog, I highly recommend this website. Click on the image below to learn more about it!

 

On to other fun things... I have some new products that I am excited to share with you! First up is the classroom timeline that I created to replace the one I used last year that was totally falling apart. I have this hanging in my classroom and as we learn about different events from history, we add the event card to the timeline. The kids love doing this! This kit includes includes:

 

*Timeline (starts at 1800 and ends at 2030)

*Directions for making the classroom timeline

*18 event cards that include dates for: George Washington, Harriet Tubman, Abraham Lincoln, Alexander Graham Bell, the Washington Monument, Susan B. Anthony, Eleanor Roosevelt, Martin Luther King Jr., Neil Armstrong, Benjamin Franklin, Sojourner Truth, Thomas Edison, George Washington Carver, Helen Keller, the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, Rosa Parks, and Barack Obama

Each event card has the date, name, and brief description of the event. Here is a picture of the timeline in my classroom:

 

 

It is a little bare right now, but will look more complete as we add events throughout the year. To learn more about this item, click on the picture below!

 

 

I also just completed a mini-unit on Christopher Columbus to celebrate Columbus Day on Monday, October 8th! This unit is packed full of meaningful activities to use on Columbus Day. Reading, writing, phonics, and math activities are all included. In this packet, you will find: a recommended book list, an original book titled "All About Christopher Columbus: A Biography of the Famous Explorer" (This book is written in kid-friendly language that your students will be able to understand!), an acrostic poem template, a character map of Christopher Columbus, ABC order practice, number stories that include true information about the explorer, and a R.A.F.T. writing activity (your students will pretend to be Christopher Columbus and write a letter to a family member explaining the voyage). Click on the image below to check it out!

 

 

Last, but not least, this week I am planning on teaching my students how to make predictions. I think it's so important for students to make predictions while they read, but equally important is explaining the thinking behind their prediction. Using evidence from the book to support their prediction is crucial. Otherwise students make wacky predictions without really thinking about the story. Tomorrow, I plan to read the book For the Love of Autumn by Patricia Polacco and fill out this chart with students' predictions during the story. I also plan to model my own predictions and use plenty of think alouds to explain how I made my predictions. I always tell my students "Reading is THINKING!"

 





 

Well I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! I am loving this fall weather and spending time with my little family. Here is a pic of my son, Grady, and I at the apple orchard this weekend. We had so much fun! Have a great week =)

 

 

 



Teaching the Theme of Books

Theme. A five letter word that has proven to be challenging for me over the last couple of days. There are so many different ways to teach the theme of a story. Some people think that theme is a universal word like "honesty" or "cooperation." Others think it is a lesson learned from the story. So which is it? And what is the best way to teach theme?

I decided to create a chart of common book themes in the first column, an explanation of each theme in the middle, and a column for book titles at the end. The kids have really used this chart when discussing theme during our reading workshop. They reference the chart looking especially at the explanation in the middle. For my kiddos, understanding words like "perseverance" and "compassion" can be difficult. The explanations seem to help with this!

Each day during reading workshop, I read a picture book with a different theme. After the book is over, we discuss the theme or lesson learned from the story (I still can't decide between the two- I taught my students that theme can be either!) Once we've decided the theme, I add a picture of the book to the last column. I've found that putting up a picture of the book is more helpful for triggering my students' memories than just writing the title of the book. Plus, adding this miniature picture is always exciting to them for some reason!

Here is a picture of the chart that we created: (we've only added a couple books so far)

I am working on making a list of picture books that go along with each theme. When I am finished with this list, I will share it here on my blog!

Well I can now say that I've posted my first "official" post on my blog... how'd I do?!