Tour of my First Grade Classroom

Although I will not be teaching first grade this year; I thought I would share pics of my first grade classroom just in case someone sees something they like. One of my very favorite things to do is visit other classrooms (in real life or online) to get ideas. So I am happy to welcome you into mine. These pictures were taken just before Meet the Teacher night so some things look kinda bare since I like to start with a blank canvas (of sorts) before adding things with the kids. You will also notice that everything looks so neat and tidy....if only it stayed like that ALL the time! I added captions but if you see something you want to know more about don't be afraid to ask! FYI: If you click on the picture it will enlarge on your screen:)

Our meeting area

Standing in the front of the room, looking out toward two tables and our meeting area

The teachers corner (my space), students are taught from day one that they are only allowed in this corner if I am with them:)

The Entrance

View from the back

This picture gives you a good idea of just how HUGE my room was!

Side view. In the left hand corner of the picture are the boys and girls cubbies. They are on wheels, which is AWESOME because you can place them wherever you want them to be!

My small group table and our word family wall. This wall was inspired by some word walls at Caleb's Creek Elementary in Winston Salem, NC. I would give credit to specific teachers but I am sad to say I have no idea who actually deserves the credit. My collegues and I were at a workshop last summer at Caleb's Creek and walked around the school during break time to see teacher classrooms and get some ideas. This was one of the fantastic things we saw! I used the idea for my word family wall. It does not replace the high frequency word wall which is in the front of the classroom. I will blog more about what we do with word families in a separate post!

Aghh...it looks so bare from this angle...but remember it was before school actually started! LOL

I just put my donation station on the white board (easy set-up and easy take-down). Parent's could choose from two categories on the board: "Help us meet our needs" and "Make our dreams come true". The sign reads: If you would like to donate one of the items on the sticky notes, please remove the sticky note from the board and send the item in whenever you wish! Thank you.

These are our leveled take home readers. Students go to the basket with their just right level on Monday mornings and choose two books for the week.

I have to give credit to my amazing colleague Mrs. Kacsmarek over at Krazy Fun Teaching with Mrs. Kacz for this one. You can grab her button on the side bar! Use these super cheap photo frames for signs that parents need to see on Meet the Teacher.

Our writing station

This was my first year trying the bucket filling idea. It pretty much went unnoticed (thanks to my own forgetfullness) the first half of the year but boy was it useful when those kiddos came back after Christmas. I think they must have been tired of each other because they suddenly started being incredibly mean. So I rolled this bulletin board to the front of the room and we re-read

Have You Filled a Bucket Today? and started using it. Wow, it sure did make a difference! You can learn more about bucket filling HERE.

Our reading center

This what the student desks look like when they get to see them for the first time on Meet the Teacher

The reading center with easy access from either side!:)

Part of our math station

The reading center from a child's view:)

Our Jobs Chart. I sit my students in groups and name each group after a day of the week. Each group has a "gopher" each week that is in charge of getting any supplies that the group needs for work throughout the day. The gophers are switched out at the beginning of each week along with the jobs for each week.

Our crazy 6 day rotation for specials. I found that an easy way to keep up with it was with this pocket chart. We moved the big red arrow down each morning so we would know where to go!

A posted schedule is essential for little people (the truth is we all want to know what to expect ahead of time). For first grade, I kept it simple by just naming the subject or activity on each card. We would go over the schedule every morning during our meeting.

I promise to have a separate blog explaining my classroom behavior plan. I have used the same one for 10 years, with just a few tweaks depending on the grade level I happen to be teaching. I LOVE IT and it WORKS! Here are our five basic rules. I adopted these rules while teaching at Glenn C. Marlow Elementary School in Fletcher, NC. Oh, how I miss that school! It was there that I spent the first five years of my teaching career and boy was I lucky, it is such an amazing place to be (as a teacher or as a student)!

I can't wait to tell you all about my behavior system. Wait until you hear about the auction...kids LOVE it, it teaches great economic skills, and it's cheaper than keeping your treasure box stocked with shiny new toys all year long. Keep your eyes open for a post on this. If you are anxious to hear about it now, just let me know and I'll get the information to you as soon as possible!