My Classroom

These are some photos of my classroom.  I tried to keep the mess out. :)

I've obtained MANY of my ideas from searching Pinterest and tried to make them my own so they would work for my classroom.

Around the World - This is an extra credit challenge math bulletin board.  My parents travel a lot, so the goal is the get pamphlets and artifacts to use to create problems throughout the year.

Exit Tickets - I originally saw this idea on Pinterest.  I love it!  The students self-evaluate how well they have met the objective.  I even have a self-evaluation spot on their physical Exit Ticket so we can keep a record.  I also like that I am able to quickly assess whether my students think that they understood the lesson.

My Door and Clock - Another one stolen from Pinterest!  You'll see brains all over my room because I have a growth mindset theme-ish thing going on.

Growth Mindset Wall - I copied the chart from Carol Dweck's book and I saw the Mindset Moments on Pinterest.

Artie the Articulator and the Public Professional Voice - One of my former students made the name up for Artie and it's kind of just stuck.  The public professional concept come from Kate Kinsella's workshops.

R.A.C.E. Response and Citing Evidence - This wall has evolved as I have learned more.  I used to use R.A.E.E. (restate, cite, evidence, explain), which didn't really make sense as an acronym.  Then, I saw R.A.C.E. on ... you guessed it.. Pinterest!  And I thought... How come I couldn't think of that?!?  Even though I'm currently only teaching math and science, I still use it ALL the time.

Standards for Mathematical Practice - My school gave me a set of posters from Jordan School District last year, but there is a lot of (good) information on them and they are small.  I barely ever referenced them with the students.  Now that I wrote them larger, the students are consistently analyzing which SMP on which we are focusing. (I still put the Jordan ones underneath.)

Instead of "I got...," try - This developed out of frustration with students constantly saying, "I got 4" or "What I did is..."

Getting to Know You Pennants

Every year, I used to have students create a t-shirt where they would include information about themselves and include a hand drawn picture, which was a Tribes activity given to me when I first started teaching.  I would also take each student's picture on the first day of school.  This year I moved to a smaller classroom and decided to combine the ideas.  I used the picture I took of them for a Getting to Know You Pennant where they also include much of the same information in a different format.  I use this at the beginning of the school year, but it can be used at any time.

Here is my teacher example:

Here is somewhat of what it looks like it my room.  I (actually my mom) mounted the student pennants on black paper.  

 

I designed a template that can be used to give students.  You can find it at my TPT site. Check out the template here.

Academic Language Frames for the Desk:  I have had these frames in many different formats.  At my former school last year, I didn't need to post the frames because the kids were trained pretty well in the previous grades.  This year I have a high number of English Learners, so I have found it helpful to put the academic language frames on the desk.

You'll also notice I have labels for "Collaborative Colleagues" to help with various partnering situations.  I have these frames available at my TPT store: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Academic-Language-Discussion-Frames-for-the-desk-2155694

Library sign - I saw this on Pinterest too. :)

Library Sign

Student "Mailboxes" - I've done a filing mailbox for the past couple years and I have really enjoyed the organization element of it.  I pass their homework, tests, etc. in their files.  As part of the their routine, they check their mail as they come into the classroom.  This year I have two sets of students, which makes it even more useful since I can't pass out papers to desks.  

Class Mailboxes

Getting to Know You Pennants

Every year, I used to have students create a t-shirt where they would include information about themselves and include a hand drawn picture, which was a Tribes activity given to me when I first started teaching.  I would also take each student's picture on the first day of school.  This year I moved to a smaller classroom and decided to combine the ideas.  I used the picture I took of them for a Getting to Know You Pennant where they also include much of the same information in a different format.  I use this at the beginning of the school year, but it can be used at any time.

Here is my teacher example:

Here is somewhat of what it looks like it my room.  I (actually my mom) mounted the student pennants on black paper.  

I designed a template that can be used to give students.  You can find it at my TPT site. Check out the template here.

Math Riddle Challenge - Modeling Fraction Division

 

 

This is a similar review activity as my simplifying fractions.  I used it as a carousel activity when I had a sub.  Students were able to work together to help each other out and the sub didn't have to try to model fraction division.  The students seemed to have fun with it since they got to move around.

 

Check it out the full version at my tpt site. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Model-Fraction-Division-Carousel-Activity-Sheet-and-Task-Cards-2155450

 

Weathering, Erosion, Deposition Relay

I saw this on a few pins and tried to adapt it to work in my classroom.  Since I teach science to two difference classes, I was able to refine it for the second group to make it work better. 

Objective: Students kinesthetically create an analogy for weathering, erosion, and deposition. 

Procedure:

1.  Before class - Create two different "landforms" using the same number of blocks.  I used my kids' mega blocks which were nice because they were large and easy to see.  On other pins, people have used legos.  Since I did the relay in the grass, I was worried the students would lose small legos.

*Since my students would later analyze the relay utilizing google docs, I took some before pictures for them to add to their document.

2.  Set up the course (if possible, do this before class).  I set my landforms on upside down blue bins to give the "before" landform and the "after" landform a platform.  It was also nice to have parameters for the students to deposit their blocks.  Set it up like a usual relay with the "before" landform" where the students will line up and the platform for the "after" landform approximately twenty yards away.

3.  Divide the class into two teams. (I just counted off.)

4.  Instruct the students to break off (weathering) one block (rock/sediment) from the landform.  Then, they run moving the block (erosion) to the other platform.  Once there, there nicely set the block down or build upon an existing block (deposition).  Then, they run back to the end of the end and another team member repeats the same instructions.  They continue going through the line until all of their pieces are moved.

*Other pins had students crab walk.  I tried that with my first group, but it took way too long.  They also didn't really have an effective way to hold the block.  They tried putting it under their chin, but it was kind of awkward.  I also used a lot of blocks.  If you used fewer blocks, crab walking would be a good way to demonstrate the time it takes to move an entire landform.

**I also took pictures (with an iPad) during this portion of each student for them to include in their analysis.  I uploaded the pictures to our google classroom drive for them to access.

 

My Evolution of Sharing

In my ninth year teaching, I think I have finally found the time and energy to share what I do.  To be honest, I have always been quite bad at sharing, but I think it was an insecurity issue.  I've been honing in on my craft for the past eight years and I think I'm at the point where I actually might have some ideas in which others can benefit.  Today, I have posted my first freebie on Teachers Pay Teachers.  It's a simple little review worksheet, but hey... everybody has to start somewhere.  I'm a little nervous about sharing some of the things I create since the basis for some of them comes from something else.  While I iron out those kinks, I'll share the items I can.

Here is a link to my first freebie: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Simplify-Fractions-Carousel-Ativity-2155112

I didn't know how to upload multiple documents, so here is a link the free accompanying task cards: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Simplify-Fractions-Carousel-Activity-Task-Cards-2155123