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After working in my classroom a lot this summer, I think I am finally done. I am so excited for this school year. Last year, after being sick most of the summer, I feel like I just tried to survive my fourth year teaching. This summer, I had ample time to lesson plan and change things around in my room. Most of these ideas are not mine, so I cannot take the credit. Some things still need to be cleaned up a little bit, but I wanted to get this post done before this week gets crazy!
This is my main (and now only) whiteboard. I covered my small whiteboard and made it into a bulletin board. I am trying to force myself to use my iPad and SmartBoard more. I've done the grid on the left for a few years now, and it is a huge part of success in our daily routine. If I forget to write the objectives for the day, the kids let me know! The white drawer organizer at the end is full of things that the kids can use - art supplies, costumes, Sharpies, and card games.
This used to be a whiteboard, and I decided to cover it this year. These are all quotes from Facebook friends on why they either love being bilingual or wish they were bilingual. I mixed in some facts on why it's important to learn another language. I love how this turned out! This idea was from Pinterest. Super easy to recreate. I used wrapping paper from Target as the background, stuck it on the whiteboard with removable command strips, and then outlined it in gold washi tape. I cut the letters with my mom's Cricut (shout out to my mom who has endlessly volunteered to help me in my classroom!)
This is where kids turn in homework. I had to label it because I have several areas with baskets and I had kids turning in work where they shouldn't. The yellow sign is for the late work and absent work drawer. I like to keep it separate because I don't like to grade late work before work that was turned in on time. I usually get to it at the end of the week. The green bucket is where I throw the zillions of pencils I find on the floor at the end of every day. Students know they can come to the bucket and take a pencil. I usually fill it at the beginning of the year with some cheap ones from WalMart, refill it with pencils from the floor, and I've never run out before.
These two pictures are my make-up work station. Spanish class is almost all about participation, so the biggest problem I had to confront was how to allow kids to make up their participation points. They get 5 points per day, which equals out to about 30% of their grade. This is the way I've been allowing them to make up participation points the last few years and I have had no problems at all with it!
For the actual make-up work, I have a folder online that the kids have access to from their computers. If it's not in there, they can find a hard-copy in the trays. The trays work well too because that's where extra copies are, so if they lose their worksheet they can grab another one. They know that once I'm out, I'm out and they're out of luck. (Sounds harsh - I do take into account whether they just were careless with it or they have a legitimate excuse. So, so important to listen to why kids don't have work done.)
This is my Spanish/Hispanic/Latino board. I love how it turned out! We aren't a super diverse school racially, so I try to incorporate things like this into my lessons in order to teach kids the importance of learning about other cultures and backgrounds.
This is my word wall. It's looking a little rough right now, but it'll be pretty before school starts Thursday. The paper is sticky wallpaper I got at Target. It is a PAIN IN THE REAR to hang up, so I haven't changed it in a couple years.
Okay, this is my favorite part! One thing I battle every year is kids rushing through their work so they can sit on their phones and play games. Not anymore, amigos! I've had my early finisher corner for a couple years (I've added things over the past few) and it is AMAZING what it does for engagement.
On the first day of school, each kid gets a checklist. On the checklist are about 20 things that kids can work on when they're done with classwork. There are word searches, crosswords, short stories in Spanish, and online listening activities. When they show me they've completed one, I sign off on their checklist. When all 20 things are complete, they can turn in their checklist to erase a 0 from the grade book. (Last year it was the first class to have all checklists complete gets a party - that was not a good idea haha! I don't think any class ever had all of it done and so it was an argument as to which class had the majority of it done).
If they don't want to to work on the checklist, that's fine, but then their choices are to work at the jigsaw puzzle table (puzzles are culturally authentic - last year the kids did 1000 piece one of Machu Picchu and ended up researching it themselves to learn more about it). They can also choose to go to the reading corner and pick up a magazine or Spanish book.
So these are brand new this year and I'm really nervous about them. I got this idea from another teacher's blog. It is expensive, but I hope it's pays off in saving my sanity this year! Top drawer is where kids put their cell phones for the class period. I will not force them to do it, but then it needs to stay in their backpacks.
Next drawer down is a laminated list of Spanish survival phrases. On the back is a space for them to jot down helpful notes or questions for the end of class. I am moving towards 90/10 immersion this year, so English will (hopefully) be used by me only at the beginning and end of class.
Textbooks - we don't use these much, but they're there if the kids need them.
Whiteboards, markers, and old socks as erasers. We use these almost daily!
Art supplies. I thought about boxing them up, but let's be real - the kids will just throw them back in the drawer, so that's what I did.
This is my back wall, also looking kind of rough because I need to restick some letters. I just hang pictures from countries I've traveled to so the kids have a glimpse into what's outside Kansas.
Thanks for reading and let me know if you have any input or ideas! All this stuff has been four years in the making, and I'm excited to see how year 5 goes! :) Have a great school year!