School Days...School Days...

Well, it's that time of year again.  The first week of school.  It's crazy.  Really it is.  I started the week out feeling extremely overwhelemed and out of my element.  I'm finding that sixth grade is a lot more challenging than I imagined.  Quite honestly, it's been a huge learning experience for me, even in one week.  I'm learning that I have to research and learn HOW to teach things I took for granted in the past...systems for turning work in, heading papers, peer editing, how to have a productive conversation.  These are all things that I've managed to escape in the past.  In the past we practiced and perfected these things, now I have to TEACH them!  Who knew?!  The reality is, it's a bit stressful, but actually really exciting.  I love that I'm stepping outside of my comfort zone and actually learning things I didn't know.  It makes me feel productive.  At the end of the day on Thursday, my class was caught off guard by the last bell.  The students hurried to print their writing and Wordles, ran upstairs and then to their lockers.  Ten minutes later I finally made it up to my room only to find that every single student had turned their work into the proper file folder...SUCCESS!  It made the previous days of beating my head against the walls, readjusting expectations, and reevaluating the time requirements for what I thought would be the EASIEST of assignments well worth it!

Like most teachers I am constantly excited about room decor and school supplies.  This year is a little unique, my room was absolutely bare and I didn't even have a hole puncher!  I did have a school supply budget, which I've used only a fraction of, but I like to shop the aisles of Target after back to school for some great deals.  My most recent find?  Milk crates for $1!!!  I'm going to turn those into storage container/stools...stay tuned for that picture.  But even though I've found great joy in my meeting my students, I've been absolutely delighted at what my room looks like.  Here goes nothing!


This is my student work center.  My assignment calendars, absent work folders, turn in folders (which are now labeled with the class periods and actually hanging on the wall), student writing portfolios, bathroom passes, and question clothespins.  I use the clothespins to keep kids on task when I'm circulating the room: each student has a clothespin with their name on it.  When they have a question, instead of following me around the room, wasting time waiting for me to get to them, or bothering their classmates, they bring me the clothespin,  and return to their seats to continue working until I get to them.  I clip it to my clipboard and circulate answering questions in the order in which I received their clothespins.  I've used it a few times so far with GREAT success!

These are the rules we established for having a productive discussion in class.  I was VERY impressed with their ability to create ground rules that will help everyone feel included, respected, and valued.  I'm going to take these rules and post them in my room.

This board is on the side wall, immediately facing students when they walk in the door.  The first thing they do is write down their homework, don't ask questions about it, just write it down.  This gives me a way to link my assignments/agenda to Mastery Outcomes and standards.  I neglected to write up my This Week in History last week, it was a little chaotic.  But I've found that kids love it.  It's a constant source of discussion.  I used my Cricut machine and some vinyl paper to cut out the letters and stick them to the white board.  I'll be adding vocabulary to the bottom right-hand corner this week.

I could NEVER have a spot labeled "Early Finisher Activities" in high school!  lol  But they don't know any better!  These are all of my activities for students who finish their work early.  All are academically based to keep their brains working.  They always have the option to read, but this gives them some choice if they'd like a break from their book.  Some activities include writing thank you notes, creating Wordles for their current main character, mad libs, cross word puzzles, and Brain Quest cards.

Favorite bulletin board EVER!  I had students use paint swatches to write their first writing sample of the year.  The writing will go in their portfolio.  At the end of the year each student will receive their paint swatch back and they will write another story (hopefully much better than the first, if I've done my job well) using the same colors.

Don't mind the chaotic paper collection on the bulletin board.  It needs a title: "Reader's Bill of Rights". The bulletin board above "How else can I say" will be part of a group activity.  Students will develop synonyms for the words written across the top (there are 18 total spanning the front of the room) that can be used to "say what you really mean".  Instead of saying "She is nice."  Student can choose to say "She is kind, thoughtful, caring, trustworthy..."  Instead of saying "I looked around the corner" they can say "I (peeked, spied, glared) around the corner".  You get the idea.

The long and the short of it is that I'm feeling really good about how my room looks.  Now it's time to hit the ground running!  Tuesday is just around the corner.