Implementation
"Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much." --Helen Keller
GOALS ACHIEVED! This is my favorite picture I have taken. It may not look like much when you first look at it but this is what I see...
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I had the opportunity to utilize the meeting room for the first time yesterday. A small number of my students needed some extra help with a concept from a recent quiz. While most of my class completed a homework assignment I used the rolling white board and retaught the lesson to a small group. It worked perfectly!
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Our Furniture Has Arrived! The day we came back from spring break was such a great day! I did not allow any students into my classroom until their class period began. This was especially difficult for my sixth hour! It was fun keeping them in suspense all day. It was a great feeling of accomplishment to see their faces and hear their expressions as they walked into the classroom on the first day. Some students thought our room looked like a college classroom they visited with their older brothers and sisters. A lot of the students told me it was even better than they expected it to be.
Furniture Eve
The Friday before Spring Break, we had a camp out! The students and I thought it was fun to find a spot and work on the floor. We did an activity in a circle where we read graphs and interpreted them together. This lesson really got me open to new ideas for our new classroom. I loved that I was able to see everyone's faces as we went around the circle. I noticed that everyone was reading their graphs carefully awaiting their turn.
I am so grateful for our custodial staff because they have done so much work in preparation for our new classroom. They moved all of our furniture out of the room for us and shampooed the carpet! Thank you!
The Friday before Spring Break, we had a camp out! The students and I thought it was fun to find a spot and work on the floor. We did an activity in a circle where we read graphs and interpreted them together. This lesson really got me open to new ideas for our new classroom. I loved that I was able to see everyone's faces as we went around the circle. I noticed that everyone was reading their graphs carefully awaiting their turn.
I am so grateful for our custodial staff because they have done so much work in preparation for our new classroom. They moved all of our furniture out of the room for us and shampooed the carpet! Thank you!
Last Friday, I showed the students the video we watched at our Thursday professional development meeting. I was inspired by the students and teachers from the school describing how they utilize the furniture through their every day lessons. I thought the students would find this just as interesting as I did. The students created lists titled about what excited or surprised them from the video, what concerns they had about the furniture and what ideas or suggestions they had to combat those concerns. I also asked the students what they envisioned the first day to look like. A lot of the groups thought it should be a day where we learn about the furniture, create rules for the furniture and try everything out!
Opportunities Map
At the beginning of each school year, I seek out my book titled, The First Days of School by Harry Wong. This book always helps me reflect on what is important when managing my classroom. It also has great insight on making a great first impression with a new group of students. I think my "first days of school" inspiration has now been replaced with opportunities maps. (Thanks Rachel!) These really helped me think things through about the organization and management of my classroom. Either that, or I have a major micro-managing problem!
The idea of making each task that students do throughout the school day an opportunity, helped me reorganize some of the basic things in my classroom. It has really helped me minimize and focus on what is important. It also helped me pick the most important procedures and biggest concerns for the students and I to focus on before the furniture arrives.
Seminar is a class we have two days a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Seminar is a 45 minute period for students to catch up on classwork and get extra help from their teachers. I am excited to use this time to try out our open seating floor plan. With help from my students, we are going to create a poster with rules and procedures for this class period. We would like to keep this class productive and quiet so students can get their work done. We are hoping to use our new meeting area effectively for extra lessons for the students who need it.
We have been spending some time during our professional development meetings discussing new procedures that will begin to take place soon. I am enjoying this time of reflection and reorganization in the classroom. I am hoping if we take the time to put these procedures in place ahead of time we will maintain the current flow of the classroom. Through this particular procedure I am focusing on entry to the classroom and collecting student materials. I have realized that I need to put in some serious thought on seating arrangements. Some questions I am still answering are:
1. Will we have a seating chart on April 10th?
2. Will we have open seating every day or on given days?
3. What will the seating look like if there is a substitute in my classroom?
The students and I are continuing to work through some of these glitches.
1. Will we have a seating chart on April 10th?
2. Will we have open seating every day or on given days?
3. What will the seating look like if there is a substitute in my classroom?
The students and I are continuing to work through some of these glitches.
Wow! The students in Room 110 have great ideas for our classroom. We have agreed on some things. We would like to have tall tables in the back for better viewing of instruction. The students would like soft seating options and tables in the middle section of the room. A lot of the students thought it would be helpful to color code the chairs of our groups. My students also agree on a class pet, but I'm not so sure about that! I'm so proud of their work on the floor plans. It really has helped me make some final decisions about our classroom.