Minimize "Stuff" to Maximize the Learning Environment

It's that time again - BACK TO SCHOOL! I'm already a week behind on the blog...there is no busy like back to school busy, and no tired like back to school tired. :)

I thought I'd start the year with a tour of my classroom. I am never satisfied with how my room looks. Every single year, I change at least one thing. This year, however, I made some BIG changes. We are only four days in, but so far, I'm loving it!

Here is a "big picture" picture of most of my room.

Things I loved and kept the same from years past: 

1. The Leader Board - You can read about the Leader Board on my "The 4th Nine Weeks Slump" post.

2. The bathroom/water/locker check-out system - I can't believe I've never done a post on this! It's definitely one of my very favorite things in my room, and it tops the list on classroom management priorities.

All of the classrooms at CRIS have four large metal cabinets in the back of the room. They aren't super attractive, but they do provide a lot of storage - and a lot of space for decorating. A few years ago I realized I needed a new system for how my kids left the classroom. I was encountering so many problems - the kids who wanted to leave seventeen times in one block, the kids who would just walk up to me in the middle of my lesson to ask to go to the bathroom, the kid who left his homework in his locker every single day...the list goes on and on. After much brainstorming, I decided to put those cabinets to work as my bathroom management system.

This is what the cabinets look like:

 

There is one cabinet for each block. I separated each block into three sections.

1. The student names - I printed each student's name and had them laminated. I then hot glued a magnet to the back of each name.

2. The "I'm Out" section - When a student needs to leave the room, he/she finds his/her magnet and moves it to this section.

3. The "I'm Back" section - When a student returns from the restroom/locker/water, he/she moves his/her magnet to this section.

The rules I go over with the students are:

1. You may only leave the classroom one time per block. So, if you need to get your homework out of your locker, you better go to the bathroom while you're out! Once your name tag is moved into "I'm Back," you can't leave again.

2. Only one boy and one girl are allowed out of the room at one time. So, if Suzy Q's tag is in "I'm Out," then Brenda Jo has to wait until she gets back.

This process has been simple and absolutely seamless. I was almost surprised and a little wary of how well it worked when I first implemented it. So far, it hasn't failed me!

3. The Supply Cubby - When I taught elementary school, I had one of my friend's dad build me a shelving unit for all of my construction paper. When I moved to middle school, I didn't really need a home for construction paper, but I didn't want to lose the shelving unit. I decided to re-purpose it into a supply cubby system. I purchased some great tubs from the Dollar Tree and filled them each with some frequently used supplies (dry erase lap board, rag for erasing, Expo marker, ruler, scissors, glue, clipboard, etc.). When we are working on a project, I have students grab a tub (they are numbered, so students grab the bin that corresponds with their number). I don't waste time passing out materials, and students don't have to fuss with pulling everything out of their book bags.

4. Homework & Objectives Board - I teach two intervention classes and two honors classes, so I split the white board in the back of my room into two sections. On the left side, I include homework, reminders, daily focus questions, and weekly learning intentions for my intervention classes. On the right side, I include the same for my honors students. It's great to have a central location for all the "need to know" information for both sets of classes.

5. Anchor Charts - I love having a place to hang the anchor charts for each of my classes. You can check out how I made those on my "Polished Look" blog.

Things I changed for this year:

1. NO DESKS! - My biggest change for this year is that I got rid of all the desk in my room - including my teacher desk. It was a huge leap, but so far, I love it! (And the kids seem to love it too!)

Because I teach two intervention classes, I really needed a comfortable space for small group instruction. I knew that if I added a horseshoe table or something similar, I'd need to make space somewhere. The teacher desk had to go. Once it was out, I had so much more room. I scrounged up three trapezoid tables to create my own version of a horseshoe table. One of the tables serves as my "desk," and the other two provide plenty of room for small groups. It's perfect. I added a little fabric fringe, and it's really become a functional and welcoming space.

I also am a huge fan of alternative seating in the classroom. Last year I went half and half - I kept about 13 desks, and I used tables, floor seating, yoga balls, etc. for the other half of the seats. This year, I used my state teacher money to purchase six new tables (Thank you, Ikea!) for my room. I was able to get rid of all of the traditional desks, and I used stools and chairs that I had last year for table seats. I have gotten nothing but compliments from the kids so far, and the tables are PERFECT for group work. 

2. Minimize "stuff" to maximize the learning environment - I am a typical teacher hoarder. I keep everything; I accept every free book, ruler, pack of pencils, etc. anyone ever offers me. Last year, I was up to EIGHT full bookshelves of books. Maybe twenty percent of those books ever got picked off the shelf. So, I purged. I (along with my husband, Ian and my best friend, Lisa) spent several days getting rid of "stuff." We donated books, cleaned out file cabinets, and passed along supplies of which I had an abundance. If I couldn't remember the last time I used it, I got rid of it. My goal this year is to truly minimize in order to maximize the space and time we have for learning. 

Here is my new reading corner - about five bookshelves less than last year!

One of the things I love most about my profession is that it constantly changes. Each year I get a new classrooms of students with a unique set of needs. Every year is different; every day is different. I work in a school that encourages and embraces risk taking. My administrators love when we try something new - even when it doesn't quite work like we planned. I am so thankful to be here, and I know it's going to be a great year!

The 4th Nine Week's Slump

No breaks from January to April. Testing, testing, & more testing. Warm sunshine & blue skies. The anticipation of those last few days of school. What do each of these have in common...?

They all play a part in the inevitable and dreaded "4th nine week's slump." By April of each year, I can pretty much count on lower grades, less motivation, and sky high energy among my students. This year I wanted to try something new to help combat the daily struggle that accompanies our dwindling days of school.

Our school is a data driven school, and our students love healthy competition. When thinking of what I could do to get the kids re-motivated, I knew I could use these aspects of CRMS to my advantage. When I recently visited my cousin's high school language arts class, an idea that incorporated data, friendly competition, and fun finally came to me!

I popped in to observe my cousin's classes on a day that he happened to be celebrating a recent high test average. When the class average on a test is a 90 or higher, he gives them a "trivia day." He develops a fun, educational trivia game, and the students are able to choose groups and play as a reward for their hard work on the assessment. I absolutely loved this idea, and I knew there was a way to incorporate it into my middle school classroom.

So, here's what I came up with: THE LEADERBOARD!

With this board, I'm keeping up with four things for each class. 

1. Current Class Average - Each time I add grades to the grade book, I update the new class average. (This is super easy with the PowerTeacher online grade book used by our district....all the numbers are crunched for you!) 

2. Class average on the most recent test/quiz - First, note that I don't use classwork or homework for this. I'd be changing it ten times a day! After entering grades for an assessment into my online grade book, I update the class average on the board. 

Notes: 

- I use three stars (first place, second place, and third place) as a visual for students to see which class average is in the lead. 

- At the interim and report card, the class with the highest average will win a trivia day. 

- I didn't want to give a trivia day every time a class made a 90 or higher average on an assessment because I felt that would take away too much instructional time. Instead, when a class gets a 90 or higher average on an assessment, they receive a half day word game day (such as Scrabble, Apples to Apples, etc.). 

Below, I've included a close up picture of one class:.

3. The top three highest averages for each class - I don't list the actual average, I just list the names of the students with the highest three averages in the class. 

4. Honorable Mention - I give honorable mention to the student who raises his/her grade the most between assessments. (ex. Student A scored a 60 on last week's quiz but made a 100 this week. She increased by 40 points - more than anyone else in the class!)

Notes:

- If more than one student has the same average (ex. 3 of my students have 100 averages), I let them tie for first place. 

- At the interim and the report card, the top three students will receive the opportunity to exempt a quiz, classwork, or homework assignment of their choice. 

- There is no reward for the honorable mention, but I am finding that the students who appear here usually don't appear in the other slots. They are SO proud to have their name on the leader board; it really works to motivate them to continue raising their grades. 

Below, I've included a close up picture of one class:.

We've only been using it a few weeks, but so far it's working like a charm. Not only are my students motivated, they are feeling a sense of responsibility for their participation and effort as members of a class. All of my classes have improved their averages, and for the first time in a while, I'm seeing them really put effort into studying!

 

Exit Slips

I can't believe the first week of school has already come and gone! I am utterly exhausted, but I could not be more happy with my sweet, sweet class of eager learners. It's going to be a super year. I can already tell it's going to be a quick one, too. We stay so busy, it's time to go home before I know it! If only we had another hour...ha!

Today I want to share a strategy to collect Exit Slips that I saw, of course, on Pinterest. On the back of my door, I made an Exit Slip collector using a piece of poster board, left over border, and calendar numbers. I put a number for each of my students (and a few extra in case I get new students over the course of the year). At each of my table groups, I put a pack of sticky notes. Now, when I want students to leave me a comment, question, or suggestion, they write it on a sticky note and place it on their number on the way out the door. I can immediately know who didn't turn one in, and it's a great way to collect them quickly and in an organized manner. I can also place sticky notes right in my conference notebook so that I have a reminder for a discussion topic at our next conference!

Status of the Class

Well, today was the first day for teachers at BES! I have a love/hate relationship with the first few days back to school...I love catching up with my coworkers, but I could do without the meetings, meetings, and more meetings. It's all so important, but I wish we had a whole month to spread them out rather than just a few days!

Regardless, I survived, and I am really looking forward to Meet Your Teacher Night tomorrow! Woohoo for meeting the new set of kiddos coming through!

Today I want to share my Pinterest stolen and adapted "Status of the Class" board for the writing process. First, I moved both of my file cabinets so that the broad side is against the wall. I saw this on Pinterest and thought, DUH! What a brilliant idea to maximize space! I covered the sides with butcher paper and all of the sudden I have two new bulletin boards!

On one I am putting a birthday board (will post in the future!). On the other is my Status of the Class. Using poster board and left over border from my other bulletin boards, I created a six section chart (Prewriting, First Draft, Edit and Revise, Peer Conference, Teacher Conference, and Final Draft). I then used foam stars (glitter stars, of course), circular magnets, and some puffy paint to create a star for each of my students. I used the paint to write numbers on the stars. (My students each have a number that I use on just about everything.) As students move from one stage of the writing process to another, they will move their stars. This gives me a quick idea of where all of my students are, and it will encourage some of my writers who drag their feet to keep in pace with the other students!

Here are some pictures of the finished product: