This is a picture of the classroom. It shows the five table groups we have for students to sit at. One thing my teacher is using this year (for the first time, I believe) is a table for the teacher in the front of the room - the table with the yellow tub on it in the picture. I see this as a sort of 'staging area' for the day. It's a place for lesson plans, photocopies of student activities and a place for students' work. My teacher rarely uses her desk, which is at the back of the class, and I really like having this space for getting things ready and having papers organized, while in front of the students.
This is our classroom library, which holds a variety of reading materials, from ABC and number books, books we've read aloud, big books, nursery rhymes, and a multitude of other books for students to browse. While there is time every day for students to read books that are specifically at their reading level, they sometimes get to explore books of their choice from the library
This is the word wall - posted on a wall lined with cabinets. Each letter is printed in upper and lower case, has a picture, sight words posted and in a pocket so students can remove the word to use as a resource.
This is a piece of 'equipment' in one of the literacy centers. I wanted to share it because I've never seen it in another classroom and I think it's really ingenious. It's a magnetic column (like you'd find for displaying magnets in a gift shop) that can be used for a variety of purposes. One side (on the right) has important info for the teacher (monitoring sheets, daily schedule, etc.). The other sides have literacy activities, such as ABC flashcards, and can be used for word sorts. Since it has multiple sides, a few students can use it at a time, and it doesn't take up too much space.
3 comments:
I really enjoyed the pictures of your classroom. In a lot of ways, it reminds me of my old elementary school K and 1st grade classrooms. This connection I made to your photographs really brought me back. I am teaching in a second grade class right now and while they are still little kids, I feel that second grade is when writing takes a larger role in the classroom, which has left out time for more hands on and group activities. I am sure in your first grade room, a lot of fun activities take place, with lessons built into them. If I teach a higher grade, I hope to still have fun and keep in mind that just becuase the focus of education will be stressed more on structured academics, it doesn't mean that it can be fun. Having had a chance to get to know you, I don't think you will ever have a problem with keeping an activity fun. With your bubbly personality, you should be able to keep up with the kids.. this is a quality that many loose into adulthood.
Keep up the positive attitude.
Thanks for sharing all of those pictures! I too really enjoy hearing about all the different classrooms that we are in and seeing them is even better! It is great to get ideas from other teachers and to see how we can make them work in our own classrooms. I love that your teacher has a word wall. I know that this is pretty common in the lower elementary grades but I think it is something that is really important to have. I am in a 5th grade classroom this year. My teacher doesn't have a word wall in our classroom, and really I didn't give this much thought since it is a higher grade. I recently got to be in a 5th grade classroom at Northern Heights and was pleasantly surprised to see that the teacher was using a word wall. It was a great inspiration to see it being used for this age group, and I know that it was still beneficial to the students. I now have been looking for different ideas for how to integrate a word wall into the classroom and am positive that I want to have one in my own classroom when I start teaching. I really like your teacher's idea of using the cabinets for the word wall. The outside of cabinets is so often an unused space and having the word wall there makes them much more useful!
Thanks for sharing the beautiful and colorful pictures from your classroom. Your CT is ingenious in how she utilizes the space in the classroom! I really appreciate that every inch is dedicated to resources that enhance student learning and not a cute poster of cats with a motivational saying. How did your CT invite students to use resources such as the word wall and the magnet column?
Some of my favorite uses of space were the staging table and magnetic column. My CT also uses a table at the front of the classroom and I agree that it a great way to be prepared and within reach of papers yet still be in front of the entire class. The magnetic column on the other hand is pure genius! This seems like a great center for literacy and math manipulatives – and you don’t have to worry about losing cards! What are some of the things in your CT’s classroom that you plan on using in your own classroom?
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